Robert’s Maine Grill | Ultimate Farm-to-Table Dining in Maine

When a critical mass of New England fine dining restaurants began listing local farms on their menus about ten years ago, it seemed like the most obvious, overdue idea in the world.  Rather than buying anonymous commodity products from national suppliers, chefs were buying vegetables or seafood or sometimes meat from local sources. Maybe it was just a few pounds of tomatoes every summer, but there was something satisfying about being able to attach a specific geography to the ingredients on the plate. Now the farm-to-table movement is truly blossoming. Restaurants all over our region compete to claim higher percentages of local produce in season. Some do this by buying from hyper-local suppliers like Food Ex, based in Boston. Others form individual relationships with a handful of local farms, often with help from organizations like the Vermont Fresh Network and Chefs Collaborative. But last week, I had the chance to observe an even more direct relationship between a farm and a restaurant. I was invited to join a few other reporters to harvest some vegetables at Greenlaw Gardens in Kittery, Maine, then drive just a couple of miles down the road to Robert’s Maine Grill to eat a lunch feast made with our bounty.

  If you’ve ever visited Kittery, you probably know Robert’s sister restaurant, Bob’s Clam Hut. Both are named after Robert “Bob” Kraft, Sr., who founded the roadside shack in 1956 and ran it for thirty years before selling it to Michael Landgarten. Landgarten has kept Kraft’s vision alive, serving only fresh local seafood, carefully prepared. But with Robert’s, his vision is bigger. With 275 seats, the restaurant is physically bigger. But he has also expanded his local sourcing to include 90 percent of the produce they serve in the growing season.

Other “farm-to-table” restaurants may hit that number, but few are as large and as moderately priced. Dinner entrees run less than $30, save for one jumbo fried seafood platter. Lunch is generally priced in the teens.

But let’s get back to those vegetables. Back in 2010, Rick and Holly Greenlaw leased a small plot of land on Kittery’s last remaining dairy farm to grow vegetables. The farm had been started by Holly’s grandparents in the 1940s and was now run by her parents. Both Rick and Holly were holding down other jobs and they started small. But they approached a few local restaurants, including Robert’s, whose chef, Brandon Blethen, lived nearby. Robert’s bought up everything the Greenlaws could supply.

  Today, Robert’s gets most of its seasonal produce from this one farm. “It makes it possible for us to get all the benefits of having our own farm without having to learn a new business,” Landgarten says. And with the restaurant’s support, Rick and Holly were able to expand their acreage, buy new equipment and quit their day jobs.

“The demand for vegetables at this one restaurant created the farm,” Rick says. “I can’t imaging doing the farm while stringing together 50 different small restaurants.” Landgarten credits chef Blethen for his willingness to work closely with the Greenlaws, adapting his menu to whatever’s coming in fresh that day. During the summer, the couple deliver to the restaurant four times per week.

Greenlaw Gardens is really a two-person operation, but Landgarten has deepened his commitment to their success by giving his staff members a paid day off each week to volunteer with the Greenlaws. They weed, set up equipment, harvest. The program is so popular that staffers have to actually take turns to fill the slots.

Rick and Holly continue to learn their trade with help from the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association’s Journeyperson Program, which offers practical training and mentoring.

  On the day of my visit, we got to help with some harvesting (kale, Swiss chard, some root vegetables) before chef Blethen stopped by to pick up the vegetables. By the time we wrapped up our visit and headed over to the restaurant, lunch was waiting for us.

  The chef came out and talked about his own commitment to Maine farmers and fishermen. He spoke of his efforts to serve lesser-known fish like hake, redfish, and monkfish, which are abundant in our waters. “When you order this fish at a restaurant, you’re actively participating in the conservation of our fisheries,” he said.

  I asked Michael Landgarten how he can afford to buy all this local produce from the Greenlaws. Many chefs I’ve talked with cite the higher cost of local food as a major barrier. But Landgarten has a different way of looking at it. “The old way we thought about making money in restaurants is that the center of the plate, the protein, would be where your highest food cost is,” he said. “You make money on drinks and dessert and upselling soup and inexpensive things. As a rule, produce was supposed to be inexpensive.” Instead of following this model, Landgarten eschews massive steaks and chops, sets a reasonable prices, and allows his produce costs to hover near thirty percent of his total food costs. “We want to be proud of what we put on the plate.” Rick and Holly are proud to see their food on these plates. Rick says he’s learned a lot about cooking by talking with chefs during the growing season and even planning out the coming year’s crops in January. “We sit down with a couple of seed catalogs and a couple of pints and bust it out,” he says. “My favorite part of this job is talking to chefs and hearing what they’re going to do with the vegetables.”

Robert’s Maine Grill, 326 Rte. 1, Kittery, ME. 207-439-0300, robertsmainegrill.com.