Barton Seaver

Blue Ridge, a wine-centric American, is getting ready to open in the DC's Glover Park in mid-May. The Buzz talked with executive chef Barton Seaver (ex Hook and Café Saint-Ex) about his plans for sourcing and serving foodstuffs from the mid-Atlantic region to pair with the restaurant’s East Coast and other U.S. wines.

Zagat Buzz: What can you tell us about the menu?

Barton Seaver: We’ll be cooking a wide variety of proteins – duck, lamb, beef, pork – from the [mid-Atlantic] region on an ever-changing menu. We’ll be buying whole animals, so that we’ll do things like brining a pork shoulder and slow-roasting it, serving ham steaks and chops, and making stews and pâtés. We’ll be serving catfish and trout. Vegetables will be a star of the plate. That means using super-fresh corn, in season, cooked on the wood grill so it gets a great smoky flavor.

ZB: What will you offer to people who just want to sip and snack?

BS: There will be a bar menu with a lounge-friendly focus on local cheeses and charcuterie. We’ll offer some finger food using fresh produce, like some lovely crisp root vegetables for dipping.

ZB: You are well known for your support of sustainable seafood and local growers. How do these interests and concerns come into play in this new venture?

BS: We see Blue Ridge as a community restaurant that will bring diners together. At the same time, we will support small communities of growers and farmers in the mid-Atlantic with our dining dollars. We are tapping into wonderfully rich cultures of traditional food producers who are only too happy to introduce us to their neighbors. A Kentucky Mountains ham smoker tells me about a nearby corn mill making grits, and about a source of sorghum syrup, as well someone making bacon.

The evolution of the local food movement is an amazing phenomenon. Smaller local farmers are getting together distribution networks that enable them to sell to city users at highly competitive prices. Now it is possible for restaurant-goers to have it all – wholesome, ethical food, served to the public at a very reasonable cost.

– Olga Boikess