sprouts...

A welcome seedling to the choice decision tree around is the new Sprout at 1 N Morris Street.
Its barely over a month old (continuing construction seems to feature the setting up of some awfully quaint and nice looking benches made of reclaimed wood), so every visit thus far has been at a different stage of its metamorphosis. I can only picture its final version; but I really liked the unfinished airy setting each time, sans objets d'art (thus far?) that seem to clutter so many places of like persuasion. Despite being bright and spacious (I was told it used to be a police station and a furniture store among earlier incarnations), it was also pleasantly cool from the hot sun and made for a perfectly languid meal.
I've enjoyed both a recent lunch and a dinner there and since the menu changes frequently (its nice they post updates on facebook), I would just add that the food tasted very fresh and well put together (also points for being quite eclectic and of course for the sourcing of ingredients). Sprout is also a market - They were featuring some local art and produce for sale and oddly enough, comic books too ?!
It will be interesting to see how they fare (pun intended). Variables: their location (for example, right across from crossroads, with its own idiosyncrasies and other nearby options), their price point (lunch ~$10+, dinner ~$20+ (including t&t and a drink) and an unconventional menu (I liked seeing choices of sides of cucumber salad, beets or tomatoes with my lunch sandwich! AND I love my crisps and fries :)). Also will be interesting to see how service goes once the bar is set up (or raised, I'm feeling quite punny)
I wish them luck especially since I like what they're doing and done so far.

Speaking of local dining and the buzzword nature of the same, Alan Richman writes an extremely interesting article in the July 2010 GQ on the topic of "ethical dining" and culinary ideologues. "Eat No Evil"
The start:
Thanks or No Thanks - to the New High Priests and Hipster Philosophers of the Food World. Lately it feels like everything on the menu comes with a heaping side order of guilt - "Is that mache local AND roof-raised? Whats the carbon footprint of your burger? Was your salmon farm-slaughtered or delicately line-caught?". Its enough to put a man off his meal.
The end:
One of my niece's friends proposed what I believe is the most easily understood guideline for eating ethically when she said that it came down to "not eating like an asshole". How sad that in America today, even that seems an unattainable ideal.

And appearances by fascinating people like Dan Barber, Eric Ripert, Alice Waters and Mollie Katzen among others in between !