Fresh Origins is America’s leading
producer of Microgreens and Edible Flowers. Combining the benefits of an ideal
climate with a deep passion for quality and innovation, Fresh Origins products
are sought after by the finest restaurants and top chefs. The farm is located
in the picturesque rolling hills of San Diego County, where the near perfect
weather allows for production and harvest all year. Fresh Origins produces
almost 400 Microgreens, Petitegreens, Edible Flowers, Shoots, Tiny Veggies™ and
related items. Many are not available anywhere else, with new introductions
nearly every month. Fresh Origins products are on top of the finest cuisine in
the world! Fresh Origins supplies distributors of specialty produce who serve
fine dining restaurants and resorts nationwide. There are also a few online
sources of their products available to private chefs and home cooks. Read our
first Culinary Queen interview with Kelly Sasuga:
For more information about Fresh Origins, visit their website
at
Open since December 2013, Vino Levantino is a newcomer to the Upper West Side located at 210 West 94th Street. It's the third wine/cocktail bar opened by Osman Cakir, who also owns Turks and Frogs and Orient Express (opened in that order) which were previously highly recommended by Whom You Know in Peachy's Picks, and Vino Levantino upholds the extremely high standards of both wine and cuisine established at those venues. We began with the half roasted eggplant accentuated with ricotta cheese, punctuated with pomegranate and dusted with za'atar. If you didn't know what that last one was either, let us educate you: za'atar is a terrific mixture of spices and herbs and it's from the Oregano family we understand.
As you know we love potatoes and these were amazing: roasted fingerling potatoes with garlic aioli were prepared to perfection and the sauce had the right amount of kick.
For our salad, we tried the Fattoush salad; this is the name in Israel for salad we were told. It's composed of tomato, radish, cucumber and lemon garlic vinaigrette and was amazingly fresh and zesty for summer.
For an entree, we found the chicken kebab most convincing and would definitely order it again. Grilled chicken cubes on skewers served with a scallion and black currant rice were standout and we're not sure if this was on purpose or not, but we like how it's arranged in a kind of monogrammed V. We look forward to visiting this gem again more comprehensively in Peachy's Picks where we will then discuss the real matter at hand: the wine. It's derived from the Eastern Mediterranean and Osman's business partner is from Israel we believe, so there are wines from that region as well. (Click here to see more about the word Levantino/Levant; we had a little geography lesson as well.) You know the wine is going to be superior based on the other two cocktail bars, and we had a tiny sip on our way to a review in another discipline when we stopped by.
Vino Levantino is Terrific Takeout!