Northern Spy Food Co.

Walking into Northern Spy Food Co. on a recent snowy, rainy and extremely slushy winter’s day was like arriving at a friend’s country kitchen — without having to leave the East Village.

The simple charm of the space immediately drew me in, and I felt lucky to catch it on a rare quiet day. The new restaurant and market, on 12th Street in Manhattan, manages to feel intimate and cozy yet fresh and modern.

There are about 12 small tables and a bar. A tiny market with a great selection of locally made products sits at the back of the space, next to the kitchen. One would usually have to make a trip upstate to see such an array of handmade products in one place, but here you’ll find Sprout Creek Farm raw cow’s milk cheese, Hawthorn Valley Farms lacto-fermented dilly beans and Batten Hill Creamery whole milk, all in the same fridge. Northern Spy also stocks some goodies from local Brooklyn artisans, like Hot Bread Kitchen flatbread and Early Bird granola.

Settling on a decision for lunch was no easy task, as there are many delicious and interesting options for vegetarians. Both vegetarian salads read so well that I’ve promised myself I’ll come back to try them. The first is a most appealing kale salad with cloth-bound cheddar, kabocha squash, almonds, pecorino and lemon dressing. The second, a farmer’s salad of kohlrabi, carrots, sweet potato, celery root and arugula with yogurt vinaigrette, sounds earthy and colorful.

Given it wasn’t a particularly salad-y kind of day, I finally decided on the polenta with braised greens, roasted mushrooms and crème fraiche.  I then had to toss up between two side dishes: wild rice with mint and feta or runner beans with parsley and cheddar. I ordered the latter and enjoyed the tangy richness the cheddar lent the gigantic, creamy beans. I look forward to trying the wheatberries with pickled shallots, and the red quinoa with radish and sherry vinaigrette on my next visit.

My meal would fall in the comfort-food category, for sure.  The polenta was perfectly hearty and creamy, a great contrast to the browned oyster mushrooms. But what I found most comforting was the fact that I actually know the farmer who grew and dried the corn for the polenta, and that almost every ingredient in my lunch was sourced from the tri-state area. When a restaurant features so many local purveyors, the diner experiences a deeper connection to the ingredients that make up the meal. Nourishing the public’s awareness of farmers and seasonality is Northern Spy’s contribution to our changing relationship with food in America.

In New York, tasty food is easy to come by but food made with real integrity and care is a rare experience.