I was on the roof of Regi's American Bistro in Federal Hill the other day, checking out the future of locavore restaurant dining.
Owner Alan Morstein has more than 50 heirloom tomato plants -- each about six feet tall -- growing in big pots on top of his rowhouse restaurant.
First came farm-to-table restaurants, now "rooftop-to-tabletop," Morstein's term for it.
Some restaurateurs have always grown their own herbs, but raising their own produce is something else. Morstein created his tomato farmette because he wanted a more affordable, dependable source for tasty heirloom varieties that can fetch $4 to $5 a pound at the farmers' market.
If there are other restaurants out there doing similar things, I'd like to hear about it for a story I'm writing for the Taste section.
Alan Morstein of Regi's shows off his rooftop tomato farmette. Sun photo by Gene Sweeney Jr.