Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Sprout in the Spring

Today is the first day of the 2011 CSA, and as a warm up, Davy and I went to Sprout for dinner last night.  Actually, we had a Groupon that was going to expire, but it was a nice way to begin the CSA season.  The link to the specials for the day was titled "Nice Weather, Excellent Food," and neither description was misleading.  


I started with the soup of the day, which was mushroom stew, and it reminded me of hot and sour soup without a lot of heat.  It had a pleasant, earthy flavor and texture from the mushrooms and a sweet edge from a few soft chunks of sweet potato.


The local meat and cheese plate was hearty and delicious, consisting of pork sausage, chicken breast meat, swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, mixed greens, caramelized onions and a spread that I think may have been a pimento aioli.  They were served on a wooden pizza board with a large basket of tasty Billy Bread, and the remaining goodies made a beautiful sandwich to take home.


Instead of sweet potato and caramelized onion on the pizzetta du jour, there were two kinds of cheese, bechamel and roasted tomatoes, plus fresh mixed greens to cut through the rich cheesy flavors.  I was pleased with my order, and Davy liked his fish soft tacos, which were prepared with trout.


Sprout is one of the most loyal local food venues that we have in Richmond, and is worth a trip, even if you aren't celebrating the start of a CSA.  In fact, it's a great place to console yourself if you aren't, because 90% of the food is produced in Virginia.  Happy CSA season!

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