Grabbing a bite with Joey Wright
Each week, we chop it up with the folks responsible for dishing up food around the area. What restaurant should we try next? Let Joey Wright know at jwright@news-gazette.com.
Greenhouse Cafe at Allerton Park in Monticello has a unique menu compared to other local eateries.
The restaurant — which is open from April through February — offers cronuts and several fresh dishes.
“We have patio seating, we have indoor seating, or you can take your food out to the picnic tables in the meadow,” chef and owner LEAH BODINE said.
“We are also, pretty much, a farm-to-table cafe. I use several local farmers for lettuce, beef, pork, eggs, micro greens and vegetables. And when the Allerton Mansion kitchen garden kicks in, we pull produce from that as well.”
The middle of May means Picnic with the Peonies at Allerton, which Greenhouse Cafe took advantage of, as it does with other events inside the park.
“We have, over the last six seasons, garnered a really good following, and we have obtained a lot of regulars,” Bodine said. “We don’t serve anything that anybody else serves in the area. We have everything from pulled-pork nachos to turkey and brie with lingonberry jam on cranberry walnut bread.”
Greenhouse Cafe has gained a strong following in recent years and takes pride in supporting other local businesses in Monticello.
“Our mission is to support local,” Bodine said. “And especially since I’m a woman-owned business, I really support local women-owned businesses as well. A lot of the wines and stuff that we carry at the restaurant, they’re either women-owned wineries or women winemakers.
Joey Wright is a reporter covering prep and college sports for The News-Gazette and WDWS/WHMS/WKIO radio.
