Hannah's Off the Square, 100-mile Meal, April 20, 2010

MILES TO GO BEFORE WE EAT


By Ellen "EJ" Sackett
Originally published in the Denton Record-Chronicle, DentonTime, April 15, 2010


Nine summers ago, Sheena Croft arrived in Denton with nothing but her cat, her car and a small overnight bag. Excited to start a new life in Texas, her boyfriend, now husband, was about to begin graduate studies in art at the University of North Texas, while Croft, a trained chef, planned to travel around Texas to learn about its cuisine. 

They packed all of their belongings in a huge Ryder truck and drove in tandem from southern Georgia, stopping to spend the night in New Orleans. The next morning, they woke up to find their truck gone.

They did, however, have an apartment ready and waiting. The property management company provided them with towels and tooth- brushes. Croft’s aunt sent a care package of clothes and helped them with immediate expenses. But the stress of starting over in a new place took its toll. At a shopping excursion at Sears, the couple had a minor melt- down. It got the attention of a clerk, who called in the store manager, who listened to their story and offered them a line of credit at zero percent interest. The Sears manager also handed Croft a section of the Denton Record-Chronicle with an article about a new “Tex-French” restaurant that was opening in two weeks, called “Hannah’s Off the Square.”

“I put on clothes from my aunt and drove to Hannah’s,” Croft said.

She was determined to convince the then-owner, Eric Hill, that she was the perfect person to be chef. Unfortunately, he already had hired someone else, but Croft didn’t give up. She told him: “I know this cuisine. I know your customer base. I worked at a restaurant just like this for three years. Let me create a menu.” 

Almost a decade later, Croft is still creating menus as the restaurant’s executive chef, never leaving her Southern roots far behind. “We didn’t have fast food,” said Croft,

referring to her years growing up in southern Georgia and northern Florida. Instead, her family ate what was readily available to them. “My chicken was shark tail, alligator, snapping turtle — they were all mystery white meats,” Croft said. “We’d get mussels from the river, go down to the creek and get crawfish, go deep-sea fishing where the Suwannee River enters the Gulf of Mexico. We were down there every other weekend, bring back whatever, fishing in the river behind our house, getting mullet, smoking the mullet, gathering hickory nuts for the fire, drying sassafras leaves from the tree in the backyard for gumbo filé.” Even now when Croft goes home for Christmas, she can count on being served either quail or squirrel. “My mom gets her .22 out and goes into the front yard,” she said.

Croft became particularly mindful of using fresh, local ingredients a few years ago when she read the book Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet, by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon. The book inspired her to create a meal served family-style for Hannah’s patrons using only ingredients found within a 100-mile radius of Denton — all the way down to the salt. The 100-mile meal has now grown into a biannual event. Previous such meals were held in the fall, when fresh, local produce is abun- dant. However, Hannah’s upcoming 100-mile meal is the first to be held during the spring. “There’s not as much in the spring as in the fall,” Croft said. She called it “a challenge. I just want to see if I can do it.”

The 100-mile-diet concept is related to the Slow Food movement, whose focus, in part, is reducing the environmental impact of how food is brought from farm to table. “It’s also the way of preparing food — the idea of things being cooked simply within their season, as fresh as possible,” Croft said.

The dishes served Tuesday night will be based on what produce is available “right then,” Croft said. “The food really does dictate the recipes.”

The menu will include soup; simple salads; sauteed greens; roasted and braised meats including beef, pork and chicken; egg dishes; and fresh strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. The meal will be accompanied by local wines selected by wine steward Jason Lastovica.

“My large food vendors have contracts with local farmers. I can order through my regular supply,” Croft said. She will also get some specialty items from small farms “at the last second.” She’ll use herbs grown in her own garden, a stash from her larder of canned goods and red wine vinegar from other seasons and 100-mile meals past, and produce from local growers through the Denton Community Market and The Cupboard Natural Foods. In addition, she has been promised amaranth (Chinese spinach) from the community garden at Bowling Green Park. “I have a plot there,” Croft said. “I put in tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, chili peppers, all kinds of stuff. I’m really excited to be able to get some things from there for the next [100-mile meal] in the fall."


$$$ 


Hannah's Off the Square Restaurant
111 W. Mulberry St. Denton, TX 
940-566-1110
$75 per person, limited seating

Yesterday evening at Hannah's

Last night I had a leisurely conversation with Chef Sheena Croft at Hannah's Off-the-Square. It was unusual to have her undivided attention as she is typically tied up in the kitchen. But last night she had some free time, so she came out to the table to chat with me and my husband.

Let me insert that we had a wonderful meal. I had the melt-in-your-mouth buttery sea scallops with the risotto, my favorite kind of comfort food. SS had the vegetarian special--mostly to please me, I think, since I considered that too. Both dishes were out of this world. The vegetarian plate came with mashed potatoes, spinach, and asparagus. I particularly liked the tomato au gratin, and SS was generous to share his with me. (Although I did trade him a scallop.)

Back to the conversation. One of the most important parts of running a fine-dining restaurant, as opposed to a repeatery, is getting fresh, seasonal produce and consistently high-quality meat and seafood. The problem with a set menu is that diners come to expect their favorite menu items. But what if the sea scallops are too gritty? Sheena has to send them back. She can't serve them if they aren't up to snuff and maintain the integrity of the dish. She told us that when she can't provide a menu item because of a bad food source, she'll get calls and comment card complaints from irate customers. But how can she serve less-than-quality food and keep up the restaurant's reputation?

Corporate-run repeateries buy their produce seasonally in huge quantities and freeze the ingredients for later use. They hire other companies to build the menu items based on the specifications of that restaurant chain's chief culinary chefs. Those menu items come to each restaurant's back door frozen. The individual repeatery then reheats the food and adds sauces or whatever before it comes to your table. So when you go to Applebee's or Chili's or any other those kinds of restaurants, the food is always the same. This mass-production is also why repeateries can afford to keep costs lower. Not so with a small, privately-run restaurant, that build everything from fresh and from scratch.

But the problem is, many customers aren't that discriminating, nor do they know to appreciate the differences between the two types of dining experiences. They want value for the buck, they want their expectations surpassed. Most don't want to gamble on their dining experience. It's a tough audience to play to, and the small restaurant business is tough to be in, when every meal is based on variables, especially if you are a true culinary artist as Sheena Croft is.

Good news. Hannah's new dinner menu is coming soon--maybe as early as next week. I've been informed: the sea scallops made the cut. (Whew!) And Sheena is considering offering the vegetarian plate that SS ordered as a permanent fixture on the menu. I vote yes.

BTW, the new lunch, brunch and bar menus are already out. I ordered Hermalinda's Chicken Tamale Plate--two chicken tamales with corn masa, made with scrambled eggs, cotija cheese, diced tomatoes and two small red and green salsa sides. That's the menu description, although mine also had black beans and a half of an avocado. I have no idea who Hermalinda is, but her chicken tamales rock! I could've used a lot more salsa, however, because tamales have a tendency to be a little dry. That's not a complaint, mind you. That's just my preference.

I must tell you something funny, though. Hannah's basic napkin is cream-colored to match their tablecloths, but they leave a cream film on my black pants. I've filled out many-a-comment card with a  request that they reconsider the use of these particular napkins, to no avail. Hannah's does have black napkins, and so unbeknownst to me until my conversation with Sheena last night, the servers have been informed to make sure I always have a black napkin. Sure enough, when SS and I arrived, one of the waiters ran over to our table, just as I was about to put that awful cream-colored napkin on my lap. I wasn't paying attention, but he certainly was! I think it's hilarious that I get this special treatment, but more to the point: shouldn't Hannah's just replace the napkins? I can't possibly be the only diner who wears black pants. (Maybe I'm just the only one willing to speak up.)

I'm currently waiting for FedEx to deliver my new MacBook Pro. I'm already drooling thinking of all the possibilities once I get it in my hot little hands...!

Here's a photo of Hermalinda's Chicken Tamale plate so you have something to drool over too....

FARE SQUARE ~ Hannah's Carrot Cake

YES, YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CAKE 

By Ellen "EJ" Sackett

Have you eaten your vegetables today? Call it a serving or call it a religious experience; you can get your daily requirement in one fell swoop by ordering a slice of carrot cake from Hannah's Off-the-Square. Each cake is made with two pounds of carrots (never mind the sugar), sure to improve your eyesight and elevate your mood. It looks as incredible as it tastes, covered with cream cheese icing, spaghetti-length curly-Q strands of fresh carrots and a slice of orange. These aren't just for show. Combine the citrus with the crunchy and the creamy, and you'll have a sensory experience like none other that will leave you giddy for more. It's possible to get more, too. Order a few days ahead, and you can purchase an entire carrot cake to take home for $30 plus tax. (Psssst, the recipe is hush-hush, so don't even ask.)

Hannah's Off-the Square, 111 West Mulberry, Denton, Texas
(940) 566-1110
www.hannahsoffthesquare.com
Hours:
Lunch - Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Brunch - Saturday & Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Dinner - Sunday & Monday, 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Tues through Thurs 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Happy Hour - Monday through Friday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

*Originally posted on www.goodtastebuds.com (October 26, 2009)