Corner Bistro Buys Local Ingredients For Servings

BRISTOL, Tenn. – It’s called “slow” food.

First, local farmers plant and nurture vegetables, fruits and herbs. The organic nutrients are drawn from the ground, but only when the time is right.

They are then hand-picked by master chefs who prepare the fresh ingredients from scratch and incorporate them into Italian dishes, salads, sandwiches and full-course dinners.

Ben Zandi’s Troutdale Bistro at 724 State St. in Bristol, Tenn., is open for business, and business is good. This is true mainly because patrons today are seeking to please their taste buds with food culled and wooed through this “slow” process, Zandi said Friday  

The bistro’s biggest selling point may be its combination of fresh ingredients from farmers markets in Bristol and Abingdon, and the award-winning dining experience that Zandi literally brings to the table.
“I give a lot of credit to the people in this area,” Zandi said as his chefs and staff prepared for lunch. “They have an educated palate. We had a customer yesterday that wrote ‘Wow!’ on the check.”

Zandi, whose Troutdale Dining Room is the only five-star restaurant in the region, opened the bistro Aug. 11. He also operates Troutdale at Ridgefields and Café 70 at the Eastman Campus, both in Kingsport, and Troutdale Catering. 

So why open a location on State Street?

“The passion behind this was that we wanted to work with local farmers, and we agreed that our menu here would contain food that is 85 percent locally grown, organic ingredients,” he said. “Within one year, we hope that number will be 100 percent. Anyone that walks through that door can taste Appalachia.”

Zandi recently had the phrase “Troutdale Kitchens” trademarked as a way to incorporate a blanket label over his culinary craftsmanship.

“From local farmers to local diners is the message we want to send to the Bristol area,” he said. “Eighty percent of chain restaurants microwave and fry their foods. Or, they pour it from cans. But I believe America is moving more toward organic, and so is this area. The demand is high right here.” 

With entrées priced between $10-$25, a wider range of people have an opportunity to experience the Troutdale touch. The bistro is open for lunch and dinner and currently operates on a first-come, first-served basis. But it will soon be changing because of the bistro’s popularity and Zandi is urging people to make reservations first.

“The ingredients are fresher and the variety is greater than anywhere around here,” said Terra Kistner, a Bristol, Tenn., woman preparing to eat lunch at the new bistro. “I also like the fact that he [Zandi] can get people in and out of here for lunch so they can get back to work.”

Mitch and Kati Rainero, of Bristol, Va., joined Kistner for lunch and both said the quality of the food and the fact they contain organic, home grown ingredients were a plus.

“We’ve been to the Troutdale Dining Room, and here we get the same quality but it’s less formal,” said Mitch Rainero. “And the fact that he [Zandi] is going for locally grown foods is very important. He’s supporting our farmers and serving healthier food.”

Darrin Shelley designed the bistro’s menu influenced by Italian and regional cuisine. He spent five years as executive chef at the Troutdale Dining Room prior to beginning his stint at the new bistro. He said the menu will change seasonally, depending on which fruits, vegetables and herbs are in season.

“There’s a world of difference when you use locally grown organic ingredients,” he said. “You get a chance to meet the local farmers, and that give us a chance to develop a long-term relationship with them.

“At the same time, it’s sort of our job to educate their [patrons’] palates. This is a steak-and-potato area, but we’re trying to get them to expand their horizons. First, you have to gain their trust.”

Steve Burse, the bistro’s sous chef – the French equivalent of an under-chef – offered this comment to make clear what he, Shelley and Zandi want potential customers to know: “You will not find a can opener here.”

The bistro also offers a wide variety of wines and regionally brewed beers. A limited variety of cocktails will be available sometime next month, and Thursday nights will feature an open mic for local musicians to entertain guests.
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YOU SHOULD KNOW

Troutdale Bistro, 724 State St., is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Reservations are strongly recommended.
Place reservations online at http://www.troutdalebistro.com.