Last fall, Church of Boston brought on a new Chef de Cuisine, Jon Gilman, who came in to the kitchen with a lot of energy, excitement and one big idea: turning Church into more than just a great place to grab a meal and see a show. He was determined to turn it into the place to find locally-sourced food at a reasonable price. Church is one of Dramshop Hospitality’s three area restaurants, where Culinary Director (and Chopped winner!) Laura Henry-Zoubir oversees each menu’s concept. The underlying theory for Church, which is being referred to as the “One Step Closer” campaign, is two-fold. In one sense it refers to the quite literal act of bringing Boston’s food sources closer to home.
On the other, Church is attempting to bring the ideals of the localvore food movement—inexpensive, ethically grown food—“one step closer” to reality.
The campaign is something that Church is implementing as of late March. The other restaurants in the group are also hoping to have the majority of their menu sourced locally in the near future, as well.
After getting a sneak peek of some of the spring menu items last week, I spoke with Chef Gilman about area farms, inspirations for the menu and the inevitable comparisons to that one episode of Portlandia. “Before, if we were local,” he admitted, “it was by mistake. Now we’re going to be almost entirely local, but our prices won’t really change.”
Hesitant to believe that those house-made corn dogs with spicy ketchup were from around here, I challenged Gilman as to the source for Church’s meat. “All of our meat will be local, with the exception of the beef sliders, due to the volume. The sausage was made with pork from P&T Farms in Haverhill.”
So there you go.
“The ‘From the Farm’ section on the menu literally means from the farm,” Gilman explains. “Going down the list I can tell you where all of it is sourced.” At many restaurants, local-sourcing is still such a novelty that if an entree is local, the farm will be featured right in the name of the dish. At Church, they’re trying to stay away from that. “We’re not trying to brag, this is just how it should be.”
If you happen to like living in Portlandia, don’t worry, you can always ask about the farm where your meal was raised. On certain nights you can even meet the farmer who grew it (keep an eye out for Jason Sudeikis!): There will be a map with the farms featured, their locations and even CSA information for those who want to start cooking locally at home.
In late April, Church will start the next phase of “One Step Closer.” Within the nightly specials, there will be one locally-sourced 3-course dinner. The prices will vary but should stay in the high $20s to low $30s. On those nights, the farmer that is featured will be in house, walking around to meet and greet with interested eaters.
Even if knowing where your veggies sprouted isn’t much of a draw for you, Church’s new menu is still outstanding. Buttermilk fried chicken and Belgian style waffles with spring garlic gravy ($8) is a fresh take on the ultimate comfort food. The Fenway corn dog ($7) is a perfect meal to eat on the patio pre-Red Sox game. And for meatless fare, try some local macaroni and cheese with white truffle oil, Ritz crackers and sea salt.
That’s just good, wherever it came from.
CHURCH
69 KILMARNOCK ST.
BOSTON
617.236.7600
HOURS
MON-FRI
5PM-MIDNIGHT
SAT-SUN
11AM-MIDNIGHT