Tomorrow at 11:00 am at 7485 Dean Martin Blvd. suite 106, Mario Batali, Zach Allen, and Doug Taylor (the owner, Culinary Director and Executive Pastry Chef respectively of MOLTO VEGAS — Batali’s restaurants in the Venetian/Palazzo) will hold their fourth Farmer’s Market in as many weeks.
Last week, Batali et al, with help from The Palazzo, held a version of this happening inside the hotel, complete with free organic wine, free bread from Bon Breads Baking Co. and all sorts of fresh and sustainable goodies from local and California farms.
“We want to do well by doing good.” Batali told a large assembly and press conference gathered at the end of the day. “We are all about the geospecificity of food…how it looks and smells close to where it was grown. In five years we’d like to be able to feed Las Vegas from farms within a 100 mile radius of here.”
Privately, he told us he expected to get maybe 10 locally-grown items to such a an event when he and his cohorts hatched this plan. “Instead, 40 good, local things showed up (ranging from garlic to Gilcrease Farm’s squash blossoms) and we knew right then we could make a go of a market and use these in our restaurants. It may not be feasible for Grand Luxe Cafe to incorporate this kind of buying into their cooking, but for our three tiny restaurants, it makes perfect sense.”
Molto Mario (who is an uber-mensch btw when it comes to talking and posing with his fans) also predicted Vegas could go all-sustainable with everything it eats in another five years.
It’s not that we don’t want to believe him, it’s just that finding all that sustainable, 99 cent shrimp within a 100 mile radius of here might prove difficult.
Loved the story this morning on KNPR. Sadly, Henderson’s Thursday Farmers Market on Water Street suffers from the trinkets and kettle korn mentality as well. Will the Molto Vegas Farmers Market be an on going each Friday occurance and will it always be at 7485 Dean Martin Blvd? Thx!
I just wonder how setting up this kind of display at The Palazzo ( I realize that Batali’s restaurants are there) helps the locals demand local products. I live here and can find but one local item in Whole Foods–honey. While quite good, you’d think there would be more exposure to these products, especially if the chefs are asking for it. The Henderson Farmers Market is quite depressing and somehow never seems to reflect what is actually in season. Seems like half the products were purchased from a local Albertson’s. Geesh, I could do that myself!
The local farmers markets so far have been a waste of time.
I can buy out of season conventional tomatoes from cali at food
for less… The point of farmers mkt’s is local and preferably organic.
GOMARIO!