Monday, July 26, 2010

The Art of The Vegetable

At Restaurant Eugene, our focus is on food --- obviously. But let it be known that food at RE is all inclusive and doesn't mean just porcine protein. These days the focus on all things swine is sometimes seemingly ubiquitous. This is not to say that we don't appreciate the pig here. We most certainly do. We'd just like to make the humble point that vegetables are astoundingly delicious too. Additionally, veggies are nearly limitless in the breadth of their flavor offerings. This is why we devote an entire section of our menu to vegetables every single night. Our vegetable plate changes nightly based on what the farmers deliver earlier in the day. And, honestly, it's more than a plate. It is bundle of fresh amazing flavor served reverently in a copper pannikin featuring eight vegetables and eight techniques.

Summer is one of the most exciting seasons for vegetables (and fruits, technically speaking). July's menus have read like a roll-call of summer's bounty:

  • sweet corn agnolotti with bacon, chanterelles, and baby tomatoes
  • heirloom tomato salad with arugula balsamic gelee and parmesan
  • mixed gem lettuces with sorghum, smoked peanuts, clabbered cream and tumbleweed
  • chilled butterbean & buttermilk soup with pickled shrimp, crisp onion and parsley-pecan puree
  • butter glazed baby carrots with carrot puree, opal basil, blackberry farm's brebis, melon and smoked lardo

And every night, there's the vegetable plate featuring the likes of glazed turnips, eggplant fondant, roasted potatoes, delicata squash gratin, dressed cherry tomatoes, spigarello, tempura squash blossom, sweet and sour eggplant, creamed peas, roasted peppers and more!

Vegetables, or course, find their way on to all sections of our menu. Even sometimes desert. Join us soon to celebrate Chef Linton Hopkins love of vegetables.






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