Because 2 days is never enough.

Erik and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary tonight by eating at a Manhattan restaurant that serves locally grown food. We thought it was appropriate to celebrate our anniversary with locally grown food since that was what we served at our 2 1/2 day wedding celebration in the Catskills. (We cannot vouch for the cake ingredients being local, but they certainly included organic flour and were beautifully crafted by Bread Alone, which also supplies organic bread and pastries to Fairway and many green markets in New York City.)

We wined and dined at the Bread Bar at Tabla near Madison Square Park. The Indian fusion restaurant is one of many restaurants operated by Danny Meyer who is inspired by the green market near Union Square, and tries to incorporate locally grown food into many of his restaurant menus. (We’re also huge fans of his burger joint called Shake Shack inside Madison Square Park.)

Erik and I met in Madison Square Park under the “silver tree” sculptures that are currently there for the summer sculpture park exhibit. While we were walking through the park on our way to the restaurant we noticed a small crowd gathered around for the summer book reading event. We stopped to listen in — lo and behold, it was Danny Meyer promoting his new book called “Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business“! We listened to him talk about his “itch” to be a restauranteur and his need to scratch it, which led him to his meager start in the New York restaurant scene. Then we headed over to Tabla to experience his hospitality firsthand.

We had (and recommend):

• Tamarind margaritas
• Green market apple & potato chaat - seasoned with tamarind chutney, spicy yogurt and chaat masala
• Green market asparagas foogath - sauteed with mustard seeds, ginger, kokum and fresh coconut
• Laccha parantha - layered whole wheat bread
• Tamarind chutney - sweet, sour, and spicy
• Chicken tikka - boneless murray’s all natural chicken marinated with curry leaf and ginger
• Beef coconut “fry” - malbari style fry with toasted coconut, black pepper, curry leaves and tamarind
• Chocolate bread pudding - black pepper brioche, caramelized banana ice cream, saffron anglaise

The flavors were spicy and complimentary to one another - a flavor jubilee. We definitely over ate, but we couldn’t help ourselves.

The Farm to Table site is a great resource for finding restaurants and stores that serve locally grown food in the greater New York area. You can also find some local food gems by searching the Chowhound boards.

I think eating locallly grown food for our anniversary is the beginning of a nice tradition for us, and it’s also a great way to celebrate summer solstice. Now all we need to do is find more restaurants with locally grown food AND outdoor seating. I can’t wait till next year.