Business As Unusual

Life in a quarantined coronavirus washington, dc.

fresh veggies.jpg

This was supposed to be a slopes report. An almost-race recap. A recipe. A milestone moment put into words.

Instead it’s a compilation of the small businesses that I know and love and want to see still standing at the end of this storm, when we are let out again to dine and sing and laugh and clink glasses and hug. HUG. God, I am such a hugger. But now, right now, I need to be a supporter.

We returned from our trip on Saturday evening. I had cleaned out our fridge in anticipation of someone house-sitting for us. Had I know what we’d come back to, maybe I’d have kept that nub of cheddar cheese, that end piece of the loaf of bread. (I’m not one to waste, by the way - I was just on a cleaning rampage..).

But I came home to an empty fridge. I knew enough to buy coffee beans in Park City at a local coffee shop already seeing the signs of a business downturn. “We just got a shipment of toilet paper, there’s no way so much of it could have been used by now. So we have to think the worst…”

What have we come to?

Tae and I went to Whole Foods for a usual Sunday grocery re-stock. Note: I have a pretty strict local-only policy when it comes to groceries / produce. Obviously that’s hard to keep in winter months (I can’t survive on potatoes, much to my dismay). We really make an effort to shop small (I love Yes Organic Market, Eastern Market Farmers Market, Union Kitchen to name a few). I couldn’t believe that the shelves with all the not-so-good stuff were wiped clean, yet there was a bounty of produce still available. Piles upon piles of ginger and lemons - the stuff we should we stockpiling - left behind by those in favor of pancake mix.

I bought what I needed, knowing I had my work cut out for me. Already seeing how hard some of my favorite restaurants were hit, and having to shift to a delivery / take-out only service, I knew the farms they sourced from were next.

The resiliency of the industry has blown my mind - from Chef Dan Barber at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, to Chef Reid Shilling at Shilling Canning Company here in DC. After a few folks in DC and then New York/New Jersey asked me which farms I was sourcing from and if I knew of any up north, I knew I needed to get this blog post up. So I’ve compiled a list of things I’m doing to help my favorite businesses, as well as a list of known local farms who are offering their (sometimes rarely attained by regular consumers) produce. I’ll try to update this list as often as possible.

What we did:

Bought a yoga mat from Summit To Soul so that I can tune into East Side Yoga’s classes during my off days

Stocked up on food for Robbie at Howl To The Chief which sells K9 Kraving, made in the US (Maryland) raw dog food from USDA certified meat.

Bought a gift card to Shobha (for hair removal services I won’t be able to get this month) and a product from Sarah Akram Skincare (where I usually get my facials).

Bought a house account to Emilie’s, our local neighborhood restaurant, to help them fund projects (and likely fund staying open)

Farms that are delivering produce, by region:

DMV Area:

APD Farm: responsibly raised grass fed / pastured cows (Devon and Jersey cows) sought after by many top restaurants.

  • Offering free delivery to the DMV area with various cuts of meat as well as whole/half/quarter animal orders (if you have enough room for 400lbs of meat pls lmk and we can go in on a share LOL)

  • How to order: email info@apdfarm.com; view the product form here. They are currently organizing for Thursday & Friday delivery, i would e-mail them ASAP (wednesday) to see what you can get in on.

Moon Valley Farm: a female-founded community farm also offering CSA shares of amazing veggies, foraged mushrooms, local honey and so much more!

  • Offering home delivery of their CSA offerings as an a-la-carte option (meaning you don’t need to opt into membership) to DC/Baltimore zip codes (not all zip codes, you should check with them!)

  • How to order: email jill@moonvalleyfarm.net with your preference for size (full share, half share). They will send you the order form as well as available add-ons. At the time of ordering, a full share was $35 (including delivery) + I ordered mushrooms, local honey and beans. I got SO much!

Karma Farm

  • Karma is a Maryland-based farm that usually only provides to restaurants. They’ve partnered up with Scratch Made (a Baltimore-based local meal prep company that provides dinner kits that you cook, like Blue Apron, but not like Blue Apron because #local). If you opt into their kits, you can also add a produce box from Karma (I follow Karma on instagram and let me tell you their produce looks AMAZING).

  • How to order: Place your order with Scratch Made by Thursday, 5pm, online. All of Baltimore and most DC zips are available for delivery. This is a great option if you’re a house home with kids, husband, dog and really don’t have time to be prepping and cooking extensively!

Restaurants/Cafes we LOVE that are offering take out / delivery:

Shilling Canning Company: I’ve been raving about Shilling for months. It was the first restaurant we dined at right after I finished The Third Plate by Chef Dan Barber and went on my locavore kick. Chef Reid personally waited on us that night (we sat at the chef’s counter) and I learned and discovered SO much about this gem of a place. His wife Sara is a nutrition expert and works in a hospital where she helps kids who are metabolically challenged (as in, their bodies can’t handle more than a certain amount of protein each day or things could turn fatal..). Shilling quickly pivoted to create a special take out menu AND offered free delivery to all the apartment buildings in the Navy Yard area.

  • Check the Menu; order by calling / emailing

Emilie’s: As mentioned above, it’s our neighborhood spot. They are offering pantry items as well as a menu of takeout items and wine (ok hello sold)

  • Check the menu here; order by calling / emailing

Seylou Bakery: I got to interview Seylou founder Jonathan Betony last year for DC Magazine. The passion he has not just for bread but for responsible community - focused food is truly invigorating. Everything is milled on-site and he sources his grains responsibly. Forget the bread at the grocery store (and all the Karens who wiped it out). Call them to see what they have (they are baking daily) and reserve a few loaves. I took mine home today and they were still warm. I halved each loaf; kept one half of each out and froze the others for weeks to come.

Red Hen / All Purpose / Boundary Stone

  • This restaurant group has a special place in my heart. Red Hen was one of our first dates and Boundary Stone was our brunch spot in our first neighborhood. All Purpose has made me love DC for its pizza (as opposed to missing New York for it instead).

  • Regular delivery service is available via Caviar from All-Purpose Shaw, All-Purpose Capitol Riverfront, and Boundary Stone. The Red Hen will also offer carry-out that can be ordered by calling (202) 525-3021.

There are so many places in DC that you can support, check your neighborhood establishments, give them a call, check their Instagram. Some of them may not have the resources to be updating their websites, or going through a delivery service. More the reason to support them. And, check out https://www.supportdceats.com/ which a friend started as a database for the restaurant industry here in DC during this crisis.

PS the coffee shop I mentioned from Utah is Stoked, “the official coffee of the outdoors.” Stoked was founded by an ultra marathoner and they have some AMAZING tasting beans, guys. I brought home two bags. If you need coffee, consider supporting a local shop right now. If you’ve been to Utah / Park City and want to do something to support that town, you can buy from Stoked Roasters online (they are having a sale on all beans right now).

samantha giordano