Whenever I travel, I’m one of those weird girls who’s always on the look-out for ‘the best’ place to eat. This becomes a kind of obsession throughout the trip, to which my companions are not always the most keen on. While being ‘the best’ is subjective, characteristics of what I’m looking for usually include a place that has good reviews, something unique about their food – a good story to go along with the restaurant perhaps, pescatarian friendly, and while I’m not averse to paying a little more for a good meal, the bang-for-your-buck quotient is usually a main factor. I like being a kind of food detective around the country, scouting out places that I’ll always remember. Local Harvest in St. Louis Missouri hit all of my ‘best restaurant points’, and went above and beyond my expectations. Go. There.

While visiting Megan, we went these twice! What’s unique about this restaurant is that they use entirely local produce. A couple doors down, they also have a small grocery where you can buy local. I love this new movement in food where people are really choosing to encounter the areas that they’re in through their food. It’s fresher, and you get a more holistic experience in general. If you’re going to vacation, don’t you want to really experience where  you’re visiting?

The first time was for dinner, where the prices were a little higher, but the specialization of the meal was undeniably better than for lunch. I had a pecan crusted Tilapia over goat cheese polenta (yes…I looove me some polenta), and some mixed vegetables. With cranberry sauce on top, it was almost like my personal version of what Thanksgiving dinner should be like (I’ve never been a huge fan of the traditional fare). Megan and I shared a lemon bread pudding for dessert which was crazy delicious as well.

For lunch, a couple days later, Megan and I both had similar meals. Check out that purple cauliflower! I think it’s just stained with beets, but the visual presence that it had was really interesting. I had a mediterranean sandwich and beet and goat cheese side salad. Yum. Yum. Can you tell I like goat cheese?

If you’re ever in St. Louis, you’ll have to check out this unique restaurant located in the Tower Grove area. The menus are constantly changing, so feel free to go in as often as you’d like…at least that’s my view on that..hah.