Today, Ray & I attended the Regional Food Systems Working group meeting in Nevada, IA.  It was a great opportunity for local food supporters from across the state to get together, share ideas, and learn more about our passion of working with local foods.  Our lunch today was catered by Robyn Anderson from “The Bistro in Story City”, an ‘occasional café’, as she likes to call it.

The hallmark of The Bistro’s offerings is freshness…something Robyn thought was lacking in her dining experiences elsewhere.  So, with no formal culinary training, she took the dive into the restaurant business and has never looked back.

The Bistro is somewhat of a hidden gem in the community. There isn’t a lot of marketing for it, and nearly all of her business has come from word of mouth.  The Bistro isn’t open all the time either, but when it is, there are rave reviews from this small café.

Everything for the café and catering business is made from scratch: soups, salads, and desserts, just to name a few.  She takes pride in the work that goes into making her food.  Many of the ingredients are obtained from local farms either through her food vendor or directly from area farmers she has come to know.

Just because you are eating out, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy local food.  A growing number of Dubuque County’s restaurants use local sourcing, and some are willing to cater using ingredients from area farms.  Go ahead….check out a new local restaurant tonight!  Don’t forget to share your meal with us on Facebook and Instagram with #eatdubuque.

Happy eating!