“Our menus change with the seasons. It is our mission to provide customers with the purest and finest local ingredients and to support farmers who take great pride and passion in their work.” Yeah, yeah, right. Heard that one before — like every single time a restaurant opens these days. But the owners of Sustain, which began operating this past year alongside Mercadito and Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill on a suddenly hot stretch of midtown, are actually keeping their word. Most emblematic of Sustain’s honest approach to American cooking is the signature “50 mile salad,” composed of seasonal products such as Borek Farms beets roasted in a wood-burning oven, Teena’s Pride heirloom tomatoes, pickled onions, spicy brassica greens from Paradise Farms, and fromage blanc from Hani’s Farm ($9 small/$16 large). The named farms are in or near Homestead, and every ingredient in the medley is plucked from within a 50-mile range. The rest of the menu likewise pays homage to sustainable foods, which would amount to squat if the stuff didn’t taste outrageously good. But here it does.

The menu is filled with wonders like the “50 Mile Salad” ($9) of wood-oven-roasted beets, pickled red onions, caramelized carrots, mixed brassica greens from Paradise Farms (in nearby Homestead) and soft crumbles of fromage blanc from Hani’s Mediterranean Organics (based in Miami). Another standout was the pumpkin swordfish crudo ($13). The fish (caught locally and named for its pinkish flesh), in a bath of citrus liquor, is the midway point between sashimi and ceviche. Corn bisque — vegan and, at $6, a bargain — was luscious.

The strip steak ($28) with marrow gravy made for a terrific main. The cut on the menu changes from night to night so that the restaurant can make full use of the cows it purchases from 4 Arrows Ranch, in Ocala. “We’ll go into every part of the animal,” said the managing partner Jonathan Lazar, who added that the cows “never see antibiotics, never see a feed lot, never see growth hormone; they roam 800 acres on a farm, eating wheat grass and wild berries.” True, Ocala is more than 50 miles from Miami, but “we visited dozens of farms and this is the best one we found.”

Lazar and his partner, Brian Goldberg, were determined to give Miami something new without, he said, “trying to be too hippie-ish. We don’t want to come off as educators, or preachers — that would be the worst thing. We just wanted to support local farmers and get off the industrial-agricultural grid.”

They are willing to sacrifice revenue to virtue: it’s one of the few restaurants in America that won’t serve bottled water. (There are, however, lots of bottles. The restaurant’s well-stocked bar includes, if you must know, biodynamic wines and small-batch liquors.) Even the décor consists mostly of recycled items, including the salvaged cypress that was used for the tabletops. But the one thing that isn’t recycled is the menu, which is drawing foodies to Midtown Miami (a new mixed-use development near the Design District), some of them from much farther away than even those Ocala cows.

3-1-2011

The bright medley is made of wood-roasted beets, pickled red onions, caramelized carrots, mixed baby brassica greens from Paradise Farms, and soft crumbles of fromage blanc from Hani’s — all sourced within the namesake distance. It seems midtown Miami residents have yet another fine restaurant in the neighborhood.

It looks good, too. Long, curved wooden sticks (dubbed a “mangrove installation”) that line one of the main walls resemble a museum display of ossified dinosaur ribs; they blend in with other Whole Earth elements such as blond wood tables made from reclaimed cypress. Contrasting the natural trappings are steely urban features such as a poured concrete floor and an industrial ceiling masked by large mesh pods of recycled aluminum (small globes that cover hanging LED light fixtures are of matching material). A full bar lines the left side of the room, and an open stainless steel kitchen in back exudes smoke and enticing aromas. Owners have minded details large and small: Music is appropriate (not too loud in style or volume), the thermostat is set in sane fashion, and guests are attended to in a welcoming and competent manner at the front door. (read full story | see slideshow)

A “fine restaurant,” says Klein, Sustain also “looks good,” where “music is appropriate (not too loud in style or volume), the thermostat is set in sane fashion, and guests are attended to in a welcoming and competent manner at the front door.” Staff is “trained well,” and words and phrases served up by Klein to describe the food include “flawless,” “hefty and heartwarming,” “a gratifying mosaic of tastes,” and “captivating caravan of flavors.” Bottom line? “Yup, Sustain is real. And it is real good.” [MNT]

When you can tout Michelle Bernstein as a mentor and cooked in the kitchens of acclaimed restos Casa Tua and Fratelli Lyon, the bar for success is, oh, skyscraper high. Throw in that everything on your menu must be eco-friendly and sustainable, and chef Alejandro Pinero is putting a lot on his plate (no pun intended). But that’s exactly the idea at Sustain, which opened recently in Midtown. Here, we talk to the Cuban cook talks roasted pig, braised oxtail and where you might find him on his day off.

We’re sure every dish on the menu is like a child, but which are you most proud of?

Since I have two children, I can’t choose favorites, but I must say that I love our Porchetta and the house-made sausages.

Most popular dish on the menu?

The yellowtail snapper with slow roasted tomatoes, sunchokes, and ocean broth is quickly becoming a favorite.

Was it difficult to create a menu that is completely sustainable?

The real challenge is finding a large variety of products from sustainable farms. In fact, it is even more challenging to source the majority of our products from South Florida, considering that our emphasis is not only sustainable farming but supporting our local economy.

Local ingredient you’re digging right now?

All produce from Worden farms.

Best advice anyone ever gave you about being a chef?

Strive for perfection and achieve excellence. (read full story)

Chef Piñero has worked under high-profile chefs like Michelle Bernstein, as well as Chef de Cuisine at Fratelli Lyon, and Sous Chef at Casa Tua. He has delicately crafted a menu that utilizes only local, sustainable products that are prepared directly from the restaurant’s Energy Star-approved wood burning oven and appliances. “My passion is deeply tied to our drive toward sustainability,” he explains. “I’m looking forward to sharing this commitment with our customers.” The restaurant uses only meat and produce that are from local sources and sustainable producers, and their seafood complies with the Monterey Bay Fish Guide. Menu items include delicious blend of classic and modern dishes such as Sustain’s specialty “50-mile” salad, made only from ingredients that have been sourced within fifty miles of the restaurant. In keeping with the restaurant’s eco-friendly theme, Sustain also serves filtered water from an in-house filtration system. (read full story)

Delectable bites ($4-$5) and starters ($6-$16) include warm house-made soft pretzels accompanied by wholegrain mustard and orange blossom honey; and retro pigs in a blanket served with spicy mustard. Generously portioned mains ($14-$24) include a signature roasted porchetta, a traditional herb and garlic infused Tuscan dish offered with braised escarole and confit rosemary potatoes; a delicious crispy skinned BBQ grilled quail with Brussels sprouts, cippolini onions, and mustard-horseradish cream; and a hearty wreckfish served with cannellini beans, escarole, chorizo, and local clams. (see original story)

The experience starts with the décor—mangrove trees were imported from one of the few such sustainable forests (in Guatemala) and the ceiling fixtures were produced from recycled aluminum. The real story, however, is the food. The menu is divided into “bites,” “starters,” “mains” and “sides,” with locavore elements interspersed throughout. The strip steak is sourced from Four Arrows Ranch in Ocala, the veggies from hydroponic farm Swank and Paradise Farms, and the snapper from P.T. Fish. Chef Alejandro Piñero (whose previous stints include Casa Tua and Fratelli Lyon) is “deeply tied to our drive toward sustainability.” Check out our menu preview and work up an appetite. Sustain opens this Saturday, December 18, and is located at 3252 NE 1st Avenue #107 (305-424-9079). (see original story)

They’re also plating free range meats from Four Arrows Ranch in Ocala, including porchetta pork loin rolled in herbs, wrapped in pork belly, and slow-roasted for 12 hours, and a wood oven-roasted 28oz cowboy steak served with Potatoes Anna, not to be confused with “Potatoes, Anna!”, which is what Enrique Iglesias shouts whenever he runs out of tater tots. (see original story)

Maybe you want banana peppers straight from the farm.

Maybe you care about doing right by Mother Earth.

Maybe it’s important to you that the meat on your plate grew up in the cow equivalent of Club Med.

Or maybe it’s not. At all. Maybe you’re one of those “whatever” people.

But either way, there will come a time when you’re on a date with a yoga instructor who grew up in Seattle, wears only hemp products and visits the farmers’ market every morning. (Trust us, it’ll happen. And don’t be surprised if her name is “Grass.”)

So say hello to Sustain, the city’s newest, greenest bistro, throwing open its earth-friendly doors this Saturday night in Midtown. (read the full story)