Little Saint in Healdsburg, CA has elevated its vegan eating expertise with the launch of The Second Story. This new eating idea is located upstairs from the bustling downstairs all-day vegan café and lounge Little Saints.
Notably, it affords a singular culinary journey crafted by Govt Chef Stu Stalker, beforehand of Noma, voted one of many world’s greatest eating places.
On the coronary heart of The Second Story is a multi-course vegan menu curated by Stalker that pays homage to the seasons, counting on the freshest elements out there on the eight-acre Little Saint Farm and the encompassing space.
Emily Dorio
“Each vegetable on the menu is from the Little Saint Farm. Regardless of the farm has out there dictates how I create our menu on an ongoing foundation, which is why our menu is ever altering,” Stalker tells VegNews.
“We’re so fortunate to have our personal farm—I really feel that I wouldn’t be a accountable chef if I didn’t use every thing from our farm,” Stalker says. “There’ll all the time be some instances which we have to supply elsewhere, however we’re all the time extraordinarily intentional in the place and the way we supply every thing on our menu.”
A vegan culinary journey
The altering nature of the menu turns into a part of the culinary journey, knowledgeable by Stalker’s work at Noma, a pioneering restaurant in hyper-local ingredient sourcing.
“We’re all the time taking part in round with new dishes at The Second Story,” Stalker explains. “Proper now we’re experimenting with a pumpkin and tofu dish utilizing soy milk from an area natural soy producer. I’m very enthusiastic about how this might prove.”
One other factor that units this eating expertise aside is its embrace of imperfections, celebrating the pure honesty of what the farm supplies. “I’m uninterested in making an attempt to make every thing look excellent when the flavour is an important factor of a dish,” Stalker says. “I’ve spent years making greens look ‘excellent’ and now at The Second Story, I intention to make the meals converse for itself with out the strain of excellent plating and presentation.”
With its plant-based choices, the menu combines acquainted flavors with thrilling discoveries, drawing inspiration from international culinary traditions.
Visitors can count on a multi-course menu that’s accompanied by a thoughtfully curated beverage program that includes wine pairings, low-alcohol and non-alcohol pairing choices, together with a choice of cocktails and wines out there à la carte.
Emily Dorio
An Little Saint’s award-winning vegan wine record—which boasts over 500 bottles—the wine program at The Second Story is notably adventurous, that includes cutting-edge picks like drought-resistant grapes, distinctive co-ferments, and non-traditional packaging.
Little Saint’s sustainability
Nevertheless it’s not simply concerning the meals and wine at The Second Story; it’s additionally about sustainability. The beverage program is a collaborative effort between Little Saint Farm, the bar, and the kitchen, with a mission to reduce waste.
They proudly introduce “closed loop cocktails,” creatively reusing elements from the farm to the kitchen to the bar. The menu showcases inventive interpretations of basic cocktails, utilizing imperfect produce, gadgets typically thought of “waste,” and elements that is probably not visually interesting however contribute to distinctive flavors.
Emily Dorio
The non-alcoholic pairings at The Second Story are equally various, that includes cocktails, tonics, ferments, nods to herbalism, and progressive elements like tepache made out of carrot skins.
For these with a candy tooth, Govt Pastry Chef Baruch Ellsworth leads the pastry program, providing plated desserts that reveal the workforce’s technical expertise and creativity. Akin to the remainder of the menu, these vegan desserts emphasize seasonality, incorporating contemporary and domestically sourced elements.
The welcome drink
One among Stalker’s favourite points of the eating expertise is the Welcome Bouquet that’s supplied to friends as they arrive. It’s a nonalcoholic drink that arrives in a terracotta cup topped with a flower bouquet from the Little Saint Farm.
“I really like that this isn’t only a drink—friends are additionally smelling and experiencing a glimpse into the Little Saint Farm,” Stalker says.
It is usually an association of flowers and flavors of the present season. “It is extremely a lot a mirrored image of what’s contemporary from the farm,” Stalker says. “For example, our fall drink might be dried flowers and autumn flavors with pumpkin and spices. Visitors are then in a position to deliver the bouquet residence with them as a memento from their expertise at The Second Story.”
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Nicole Axworthy is the Information Editor at VegNews and writer of the cookbook DIY Vegan.
