photos: Matthew Wexler
Roo de Loo’s final installment on the Austin food scene...
After several days of indulging on barbecue, breakfast tacos and margaritas, I thought I’d take a brief respite and check out Austin’s burgeoning urban farm scene before hitting the town for one final culinary rodeo.
My first stop was Springdale Farm, located just a few miles from downtown Austin. Created by landscape horticulturist Glenn Foore and his wife, Paula, the couple’s farm is just under 5 acres of land surrounded by modest homes and more than a few cars that have seen better days. There was a torrential downpour the afternoon I visited, but Glenn and Paula welcomed me with open arms and umbrellas as they stood under a leaky muslin farm stand. We chatted a bit about sustainability and the locavore scene. Glenn’s eagerness to further engage the community is apparent through Springdale’s participation in urban farm tours, on-site dinners and their own Community Supported Agriculture program.
Next stop was Boggy Creek Farm—the vision of Larry Butler and Carol Ann Sayle, who have been growing commercially since 1991. They are USDA-certified organic, which doesn’t come easy. Carol, with a wide toothy grin and sunspots from long days in the field, reminded me of a modern-day Aunt Eller, proclaiming, “We’re all about the soil, but we don’t know everything!” She enthusiastically bantered about the challenges of the small farmer as I wandered the grounds, stumbling across fresh strawberries, spring onions and some plucky chickens who found their way under my feet.
Although I hadn’t done anything more than chat up some locals and sneak a mouthful of red leaf lettuce right from the ground, I was craving a coffee break as if I had been harvesting all morning. I dashed off to nearby Progress Coffee, a hip coffeehouse located in a converted warehouse on Austin’s near east side. Progress Coffee is “fair trade, organic, shade-grown and custom-roasted by hand in small batches.” It’s so peaced-out, I think may have seen the Dali Lama at the barista making my double latté.
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