Travel News

Slideshow: A Foodie’s Tour Through Spokane, Washington

Locations in this article:  Atlanta, GA Moscow, Russia Seattle, WA

Is “farm to table” a buzzword or a way of life? Foodie adventurer David Latt, explores Spokane, Washington and ventures into Northern Idaho to see how this part of the country has transformed itself to embrace the farm-to-table movement. 

Food trends are often subject to hype. “Farm-to-table” leads to images of a farmer driving a beat-up, 1980s Ford pickup to the back door of a neighborhood restaurant and unloading wooden crates filled with his produce. Then, the high quality product inspires the chef who quickly writes the menu for that day’s meals.

Bad farm-to-table is a marketing campaign that pays lip-service to the fantasy. The produce may be procured locally but the quality isn’t good. Or the produce is local and good quality, but the chef doesn’t have the talent to prepare delicious meals.

On a recent food tour of Spokane and Northern Idaho, I discovered a handful of restaurants that are living up to the promise of farm-to-table.
Spokane, Washington
In Spokane, chef and co-owner of  Italia Trattoria Anna Vogel talked about the abundance of small farms within a 100-mile radius that supply the restaurant with the majority of its produce, cheeses, poultry, eggs and meat. She and partner Bethe Bowman were attracted to Spokane’s small town, cosmopolitan feeling. A small version of Seattle where their restaurant can, as she said with a smile, “change the way Spokane eats.”