When he opens his neighborhood bistro, Adsum, this summer, Matt Levin will include ingredients sourced from the Southwark/Queen Village Community Garden in many of the dishes he serves. It’s an idea that he says he’s been kicking around for months. Last week he met with the garden’s members to try to formalize a plan to use their homegrown hauls, and is currently awaiting an answer from the group. “I got a lot of positive feedback from individual gardeners,” Levin told Grub Street. “They still have to vote on it, but I think its safe to say that I will be utilizing something from the garden in someway.”
The ability to walk through a garden, pick carrots out of the ground, walk back to the restaurant and prepare a dish with them is an alluring prospect for the chef. “I’ve always tried to keep things local and support my neighborhood,” Levin said. “It’s kind of hard to get more local than three blocks away.” In the coming weeks Levin will begin reaching out to more of the city’s community gardens in order to source a wider selection of locally-grown ingredients.
Previously: Pigeons Not Welcome at Adsum.
