Farm-to-table is a social movement that has taken hold, and restaurants around the country are divulging how and where they acquire their ingredients. Farm-to-table foodservice operators strive to purchase ingredients directly from the producer, and some have even started growing their own food. We’re highlighting a few establishments that are luring customers with the promise out-of-this-world dishes made from fresh, local ingredients.  

Showcasing local flavor

While Proof on Main in Louisville, Ky., is best known for offering more than 120 types of bourbons, Kentucky’s native spirit, it also has been praised for its local fare. Each plate is infused with a little Kentucky flavor thanks in part to the restaurant’s investment in local farming and food production. Adjoined to a 21C Museum Hotel, guests can view rotating contemporary art exhibitions while enjoying their meals.

Farm-to-table is a way of life in Montana. The Local Kitchen & Bar is owned and operated by people who have been hunting, fishing and tending to gardens in Billings for generations. The exotic flavors and ingredients featured on the restaurant’s menu are specific to the Big Sky Country but often underutilized. Try Bison Hash – a potato and vegetable combination served with Bison sausage – or an amazing salad created fresh daily with produce purchased from the farmer’s market or provided by local gardeners.

Food is love

Food and community are inseparable at SoLo Farm in Table in South Londonberry, Vt. The menu is constantly changing to reflect the season and what the restaurant sources from its own garden as well as from local farmers and growers. The meat is butchered onsite and the pasta – a staple on the menu – is hand-rolled by the owners, Wesley and Chloe.

Fried chicken and cornbread waffles can turn any town into a community. The Kitchen, with restaurants in Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins, Co., as well as Chicago and Memphis, Tenn., serves delicious, good-for-you-food while educating the community about the origins of its produce and livestock. The restaurant manages a nonprofit that builds learning gardens in schools across America.

Foodtastic events

Outdoor farm-to-table experiences bring chefs on-property to prepare dishes that flaunt the foods of the area – often right on the beautiful farms, vineyards and ranches where some of the ingredients were harvested. Outstanding in the Field hosts events throughout the U.S. at places like the Temecula Olive Oil Company in Southern California, where dinner is timed with the harvest and guests can taste olives right from the tree.

Midwesterners can dine at The Winds Café in Yellow Springs, Ohio, every November for its annual garlic dinner. A multi-course meal is dedicated to the garlic harvested around the corner at Peach Mountain Farm.

Ali’I Kula Lavender Farm in Maui grows about 55,000 lavender plants in 45 varieties. The farm offers gourmet picnic lunches several times throughout the year where guests enjoy sandwiches and a decadent lavender-infused dessert while admiring the rolling purple hillsides.

While we only covered a few destinations in this roundup, Travel + Leisure has compiled its list of the Best Farm-to-Table Restaurant in Every State.  If we missed your favorite farm-to-table restaurant, be sure to share it with our readers on Facebook.