America’s Top 5 Eco-Eateries

Enlarge Image Image Gallery At the Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham, chef-owner Frank Stitt lets the Alabama seasons direct the restaurant’s menu. Photo by Christopher Hirsheimer, used with permission from Artisan Books

One of the joys of travel is finding a restaurant that makes the most of a region’s unique culinary bounty. Serving a range of tantalizing dishes—from savory slow-roasted pork to sweet pumpkin souffle—these eateries are well worth the trip.

1. FORE STREET

288 Fore Street Portland, Maine (207) 775-2717

Even in the dead of winter, Fore Street chef Sam Hayward tracks down food from organic farms and sustainable fisheries and ranches. His Yankee ingenuity supports local farmers and provides diners with the highest quality foods such as salad greens and chervil grown in the snow. Hayward considers Fore Street’s pure, straightforward cuisine a “food narrative of New England.” Customers watch applewood-grilled meats, oven-roasted seafood, imaginative salads, and heirloom beans and root vegetables emerge from the open kitchen. “It’s a discourse about food, nutrition, and deliciousness,” he says.

POTTED LOBSTERS WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Chef Sam Hayward, Fore Street, Portland, Maine

Maine’s natural bounty is at its best with Fore Street’s sea-fresh lobster, woodsy mushrooms, and fresh herbs.

Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a an appetizer.

2 live Maine lobsters (1 1/2 pounds each)
1/2 cup unsweetened sourdough bread, pulled into 1-inch chunks
4 ounces fresh wild mushrooms (chanterelles, boletes, or porcini) cut into 1-inch pieces*
3 small waxy potatoes (cherry-reds, bliss, carola, or German butterball) sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 medium shallot, minced
1 small clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon chervil, chopped
1 tablespoon chives, sliced thin
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
3 tablespoons bourbon whiskey
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

*Use reconstituted dried mushrooms if fresh aren’t available.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Toss sourdough pieces in 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Toast in oven until golden, about 5 minutes.

Plunge lobsters into a large pot of rapidly boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove and plunge into ice water. Place a wire strainer over a mixing bowl. When cool enough to handle, twist tails off lobsters. Work above the bowl so all juices are strained through sieve into the bowl. Twist off claws; scoop out the tomalley (liver) and roe from inside the lobsters and force through sieve.

With a sharp knife, split the lobster-tail shells down the middle. Remove intestine and cut each side lengthwise. Force the knuckles off claws and push meat out of shells. Crack claw shells, remove the meat.

Sauté mushrooms with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter over medium heat, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper and reserve. Poach the potato slices in barely simmering water until tender but intact, about 4 minutes; drain.