Robert’s Maine Grill

Hey fellow Outdoorsies! Take a look at this great post about an up and coming movement of bringing locally grown produce to restaurants tables here in Maine and especially Robert's Maine Grill!

Robert’s Maine Grill Helps To Bridge The Gap Between Field And Plate

Hello again OutDoorsies! Jeremiah here from Bob’s Clam Hut. As summer approaches, we can all look forward to fresh, locally grown produce. Maine has more than 6,000 farms, upwards of 1.25 million acres of farmland and a quickly growing farm to table movement. At Bob’s Clam Hut and Robert’s Maine Grill we love to work with local vendors to bring in Maine grown and harvested products.  Two miles up the road from our restaurants is the Rustlewood/Johnson farm; home of Greenlaw Gardens a small, vey new, produce farm.

Greenlaw Gardens Owner Rick Greenlaw says the support of Robert’s Maine Grill enabled him to expand his small Kittery, Maine farm substantially. This summer Greenlaw Garden’s will be expanding their acreage 10-fold, adding greenhouses and  more vegetable varieties, and Robert’s Maine Grill will take full advantage of the increased variety and volume of local produce.

Typically, farm to table restaurants are small and very high end- think Fore Street in Portland or Arrows in Ogunquit, but Robert’s Maine Grill is striving to change that model. With more than 250 seats, sourcing enough locally grown produce is a huge challenge for the almost seven year old restaurant. “When we started Robert’s, the idea was to incorporate the practice of sourcing our food directly from local farmers and fishermen. We wanted to get off the Sysco truck. The challenge was finding sources that could consistently meet our demand.”  Said owner Michael Landgarten when asked about going local.

Robert’s Maine Grill is a two story building that stands in contrast to the Kittery outlet stores that surround it. Blue clapboard siding and a faux lighthouse give Robert’s an older, classic Maine feel. The menu has all the classic Maine seafood restaurant fare – lobsters, haddock, clams and lobster rolls- with an updated and creative twist. It’s the quintessential Maine restaurant, and Chef Brandon Blethen’s vision for the menu is a large reason why. “Growing up in Kittery, I’ve always had ties to local fishermen and the community. My brother was a fisherman and that was a huge influence in what food I create. Our cod and littlenecks dish is an example of that. Also my mother would forage for things like dandelion greens and create amazing food from that and simple local ingredients. The food I love has had a traditional Maine influence. I wanted our menu at Robert’s to reflect that.”

Luckily for Robert’s , Chef Brandon’s friend and local farmer Rick Greenlaw is just a stone’s throw away. Located on Wilson Road in Kittery, Greenlaw Gardens was able to supply Robert’s with hundreds of pounds of produce this past summer despite being a small, two person operation.  According to Greenlaw, the partnership with Robert’s was key in making Greenlaw Gardens viable. “I started in 2010, not having a clue what I was doing, or who would buy my vegetables. The folks at Robert’s reached out to us, and started buying whatever I could produce. Now we’re looking at making the farm our sole income, and this never would have been a remote possibility in our minds had it not been for the support of Robert’s.”

This summer, Robert’s Maine Grill plans on sourcing much more of its produce from Greenlaw Gardens because of the planned expansion of the farm. In 2013 Greenlaw Gardens will go from a ¼ acre size farm, to having 4 greenhouses and 2 ½  acres of planted crops. Greenlaw and Blethen worked together to create a crop list that would work for both Robert’s and Greenlaw Gardens. “The list that Brandon and I compiled is a comprehensive assortment of root crops, fruiting crops, and leafy vegetables, as well as a wide assortment of herbs as well. We’ve selected for over 15 types of tomatoes alone!”

For Robert’s, who already has a table-to-farm composting program and who hosts two community suppers every week, this is just the next phase in being a responsible community partner. For Landgarten, it’s partners in the community that enable Robert’s to reach that goal. “Our notion has always been to make locally grown produced at the height of freshness with minimal carbon footprint part of Robert’s. Bringing this to the traditional large Maine seafood restaurant like Robert’s is a bit of a new frontier. The Greenlaw’s and other partners of ours have made this possible and we’re very grateful. It allows us to be the kind of community member we strive to be.”

(Article Submitted by Jeremiah of Robert's Maine Grill)