Loco For Locavores

Garces Brings His Farm to the Table at JG Domestic

Jose Garces and his farmer Alex McCracken.
Jose Garces and his farmer Alex McCracken. Photo: Nina Cazille

The fruits of countless hours of labor on the Jose Garces-owned Luna Farm in Ottsville will be on display every Wednesday at JG Domestic starting next week. The Iron Chef and his crew will have a Farm Cart set up a the restaurant from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., where folks can pick up weekly hauls of fresh produce and farm-fresh goodies that will be on offer. And with the cart comes an installment of JG Domestic’s Meet the Maker series that will show off the handiwork of Alex McCracken, the farmer Garces hired to manage his green acres. In collaboration with McCracken, chef de cuisine Reinaldo Alfonso is going to prepare a dinner on Thursday, September 13 that will feature fresh-picked goods from Luna Farm.

Many of the dishes served that evening will be made with ingredients picked that day. While the $65 per person dinner’s dishes still haven’t been finalized, JG Domestic has a sample menu that includes such creations as Luna melons with bourbon-maple vinaigrette, cilantro and smoked pecans; fried green tomatoes with roasted shrimp and tarragon-caper aioli; wood oven-roasted 1/2 Jidori chicken with opal basil chimichurri; cherry wood-smoked sockeye salmon with roasted sweet pepper remoulade; roasted summer squash with eggplant, lavender, savory, pickled shallots and tomato fondue; and a Cobbler with pineapple tomatillo, ricotta sherbet, smoked pecans, opal basil and saba for dessert.

Garces Brings His Farm to the Table at JG Domestic