Savory Maine uses only seasonal, local ingredients in its salads. (Christine LaPado-Breglia photo)
Grace Goldberg recalls the first time she visited Meadowbrook Farm, located in the Kennebec Valley town of China. The farm is where Goldberg, the owner-chef at Savory Maine, procures ground beef, tenderloin, and other steaks for the healthful and delicious farm-to-table meals she serves at her downtown Damariscotta restaurant.
“It was a beautiful sunny day,” she says, “and I saw three cows up on a hill, and I swear they were dancing. And they were beautiful, with the reflection coming off their black coats.” Goldberg’s joy at seeing firsthand that the animals that provide meat for her restaurant live happy lives in open pasture is palpable.
Meadowbrook Farm’s bucolic fields and pastures are certified organic by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
“I know they are going to get killed, get turned into hamburger, but for anyone that eats meat, to know that those cows lived an incredible, wonderful life until then…” Goldberg’s voice trails off.
She points to the increasing popularity of writer and food activist Michael Pollan, the author of “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual,” among other groundbreaking books, and the importance of “listening to one’s body” and eating healthful food raised organically, without chemical interventions.
“It’s a lot of where I am now, and being sure as much as I can be that the animals were raised well,” she says. “I almost never eat red meat out in a restaurant unless I know where it came from — or pork or chicken. Once you know, it’s hard to go back.”
She holds vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and other food items to the same high standard.
This story originally appeared in its entirety in the 2019 Farm & Table edition of Lincoln County Magazine. To read the full story, click here.
