Not Your Average Joe's

New Gloucester beef featured in New England chain restaurant
By: Michael Hartwell
Gray New Gloucester Independent
August 08, 2008

Cattle raised in New Gloucester are finding themselves all over New England this week, one piece at a time. >>

Chris Bodington, the vice president of culinary for the Not Your Average Joe’s casual dining restaurant chain, based out of Massachusetts, added a steak dish to the menu for the month of August made cows from Wolfe’s Neck Farm, which raises some of its animals in New Gloucester at the Pineland Farms Campus.

“The unique thing about Wolfe’s Neck is that it’s an all-natural as well as local product,” said Bodington. “The way people are eating today, that’s one of the trends.”

Bodington creates all the new recipes for the restaurant chain from the test kitchen in the Randolph, Mass. restaurant. The 16 locations of the restaurant are all in New England.

The menu calls the item “Wolfe’s Neck Farm spice-crusted all-natural top sirloin” and it comes with blue cheese, mashed potatoes and a corn and tomato relish from a farm in Massachusetts.

“We’ve actually been talking to them for a while about getting one of their steaks on the menu,” he said of Wolfe’s Neck Farm, which is based in Freeport but is owned by Pineland Farms in New Gloucester. In addition to New Gloucester, some of the animals are raised in North Fairfield.

Bodington said if the item sells well enough, it may make its way into the year-round menu.

Not Your Average Joe’s revamped its menu a few years ago to feature food that is raised in New England and is produced naturally, which means without chemical fertilizers in the case of vegetables, and without antibiotics or growth hormones in the meat.

“I think people are just becoming more conscious of where their food is coming from,” said Rick Hunt, vice president of sales and marketing at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester.

He said although natural foods cost more, consumers are willing to pay the extra fee. He said natural foods take more resources to create than conventional ones.

“It’s not necessarily a lower yield, but it takes longer to get the animals to market weight,” said Hunt.

“A lot of people think it’s advantageous to eat natural beef,” said Bill Haggett, CEO of Pineland Farms. He said the large market for natural and organic beef is driven by fears of complications from some of the chemicals use in conventional cattle raising.

Another selling point, according to Haggett, is that some people prefer to buy products raised locally. He said his company’s beef is already being sold in more restaurants than he can remember, and is labeled as the store brand for both Hannaford and Whole Foods supermarkets.

“The third region they buy our beef is it’s great beef,” said Haggett. “There are a lot of people who think it’s the best beef in Maine, and I’m one of them.”

As for the perceived health benefits of natural meat as compared to conventional, state experts say they’re not aware of any.

“I think it’s a personal preference on the consumer,” said Dr. Henrietta Beaufait, the Maine state veterinarian. “As a vet., I’ve seen healthy animals and sick animals in both ways of farming.”

Beaufait although conventionally raised animals have growth hormones incorporated into their feed, the FDA requires that hormone regiment to be cut off before slaughter so it can’t be found in the meat.

“I think it is a marketing niche,” said Hal Prince, director of quality assurance and regulations, which handles meat inspection for the Maine Department of Agricultural. “It’s a personal preference, whether you want an organic natural product or a conventional product.”

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Watertown restaurant visits Newton’s farmers market
By: Chrissie Long
Newton TAB Blog
August 07, 2008

The Not Your Average Joe’s in Watertown will be hosting cooking demonstrations, offering tastings and encouraging shoppers to support local farms and growers at the Newton Farmers Market in Nonantum. >>

As part of a month-long “Just Picked, Just Caught, Just Joe”, both the chef and culinary director will be on hand to give demonstrations and answer questions.

Not Your Average Joe’s will provide market shoppers with reusable grocery bags and will sell special “Just Picked, Just Caught, Just Joe” farm fresh recipe cards. One hundred percent of the proceeds from these $1 recipe cards will benefit The Food Project in Lincoln, Mass.

Not Your Average Joe’s will also be on-site at the Dedham Farmer’s Market on August 13th and the Medford Square Market on August 21st.

The demonstrations will take place from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the farmer’s market located at American Legion Post 400 on California Street.

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Try these easy ways to be a 'locavore'
By: Joanna McQuillan Weeks
South Coast Today
August 06, 2008

Want to get on the "eat local" bandwagon, but don't feel like cooking in the dog days of August? I've got two suggestions for you. >>

The first is to take yourself and your favorite dinner companion to Not Your Average Joe's, where the second annual "Just Picked, Just Caught, Just Joe" celebration is going on all month. The other is to check out the "5-Mile Dinner" set for Aug. 15 at Westport Rivers Vineyard & Winery.

NYAJ Executive Chef Chris Bodington has developed a special menu to showcase the best of locally grown produce and freshly caught seafood.

Chef Bodington, of Cumberland, R.I., has been with NYAJ for 11 years, coming on board when "we were getting ready to open our second restaurant, in Needham." Now there are 16 restaurants, including an outpost in Leesburg, Va.

Last year's inaugural "eat local" promotion "was very well received," Chef Bodington said. "What we're trying to do is, whenever possible, to incorporate local product" into the menu.

He explained, "The reason we chose August ... it's a big month, you have blueberries, tomatoes, summer squash, zucchini, and sweet corn" flooding into the market.

But of course, everyone has their favorites. "The thing I really look forward to is the tomatoes. Such a simple thing — but there's just so much you can do with a tomato," said the chef, who spends much of his time developing new recipes in NYAJ's Randolph test kitchen.

Diners have until Aug. 31 to check out the seasonal specialties, such as vine-ripened native tomato and fresh mozzarella salad; a "Just Picked, Just Caught, Just Joe" pizza topped with spinach, portobello mushrooms, Great Hill Blue cheese from Marion ("one of the best in the country," Chef Bodington said), mozzarella, marinated tomatoes and freshly grated romano; clam and chourico pasta; semolina-coated, fried New Bedford scallops; and a strawberry-blueberry shortcake.

The local theme even extends to the beverage list, with such offerings as Peak Organic Brewing Company beers from Portland, Maine; Nantucket Vineyards wine; and a Pink Lemonade cocktail featuring fresh-squeezed lemonade, Bacardi Limon, Ocean Spray cranberry juice, and Triple Eight cranberry vodka from Nantucket.

The original Not Your Average Joe's restaurant is at 61 State Road, Dartmouth. Call (508) 992-5637 or visit www.notyouraveragejoes.com.

As for the dinner at the vineyard, it will encapsulate the pleasures of summer in Westport: fresh corn, juicy tomatoes, squash, potatoes, greens, herbs and fruit ripe for the picking. The idea is to eat food that hasn't spent an eon on a truck being delivered to your supermarket, thus reducing fuel consumption, profiting the local farm economy, and benefiting yourself through fresher products.

Chef Mike Melo of M&C Restaurant in New Bedford has crafted a menu of shellfish, free-range chicken, vegetables, fruit, and cheese all drawn from within five miles of the vineyard.

After a 5 p.m. tour, dinner will be served at Long Acre House from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Reservations are required, and the charge is $75 plus tax per person. Call (508) 636-3423 ext. 2 or buy online at www.westportrivers.com

Joanna McQuillan Weeks is food editor of The Standard-Times. Contact her at foodedit@s-t.com

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Not Your Average Joe's promotes using local produce this summer
By: Staff
Dartmouth Chronicle
August 06, 2008

Not Your Average Joe's has announced the start of its second-annual "Just Picked, Just Caught, Just Joe" event. >>

The month-long celebration of New England's summertime bounty will take place at 15 Not Your Average Joe's Massachusetts locations throughout the month of August — including the original restaurant in Dartmouth —with a special menu comprised of locally-sourced ingredients.

"It's our way of utilizing local produce and local vendors," said Norman L'Heureux, general manager of the North Dartmouth Not Your Average Joe's. "Everything we always have is a little on the cutting edge," he added.

Mr. L'Heureux also suggested the customers "love having the opportunity to eat something from the area.'

During the "Just Picked, Just Caught, Just Joe" event, guests of Not Your Average Joe's will be invited to indulge in a simple yet delicious menu developed from farm-fresh, local ingredients, expertly paired to create dishes that highlight flavors synonymous with summer in New England.

The special menu also allows the chefs in Not Your Average Joe's kitchens to show their range while letting the products, such as vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh-caught seafood (such as New Bedford scallops) and sweet corn, shine for delighted diners.

"As a chef, I find August to be the most idyllic time to live in New England. The culinary bounty is extraordinary, providing the opportunity to incorporate a wide array of seasonal produce into our menu and allowing us to both support the local food movement and heighten flavor awareness among our guests," said Not Your Average Joe's Executive Chef and VP of Culinary, Chris Bodington.

"The key ingredients for an eat-local, eat-seasonal menu are flexibility, creativity and openness. Our chefs embrace that thoroughly to provide our diners with a unique, farm-to-fork experience throughout the month," Mr. Bodington suggests.

Not Your Average Joe's locally-inspired menu starters feature vine-ripened native tomato and fresh mozzarella salad: beefsteak tomatoes from Pepin's Farm in Easthampton, fresh mozzarella cheese, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, served with Not Your Average Joe's pizza chips. The "Just Picked, Just Caught, Just Joe" pizza is topped with spinach, portobello mushrooms, Great Hill bleu cheese made in Marion, mozzarella, marinated tomatoes and freshly grated romano cheese.

The restaurant group also features five "Just Picked, Just Caught, Just Joe" entrées, including clam and chourico pasta: Maria's Pasta (of Malden) fresh pappardelle tossed with The Smokehouse (of Roxbury) chourico and Maine mahogany clams, finished with a garlic white wine saffron sauce and served with a grilled piece of the restaurant's signature foccacia bread. Another sure favorite is semolina-coated scallops from New Bedford, lightly breaded and fried, served alongside hand-cut French fries, lemon caper tartar sauce and citrus slaw.

For dessert, Not Your Average Joe's pays homage to the height of the growing season with a strawberry-blueberry shortcake featuring a house-made biscuit filled with fresh Blue Sky Produce blueberries from Maine, fresh, marinated strawberries and ice cream, topped with fresh whipped cream.

The restaurant group's "Just Picked, Just Caught, Just Joe" menu will also offer guests the opportunity to sip locally-inspired drinks, including: Peak Organic Brewing Company beers, brewed at the Peak Organic's headquarters in Portland, Maine; Nantucket Vineyards wine; and a Pink Lemonade cocktail featuring fresh-squeezed lemonade, Bacardi Limon, and Ocean Spray cranberry juice made from fruit sourced at the company's bogs in Lakeville and Triple Eight cranberry vodka from Triple Eight Distillery in Nantucket.

Established in Dartmouth in 1994, the Massachusetts-based restaurant group was founded on the principles of serving creative cuisine in a casual setting at affordable prices. The menu features innovative dishes and comfort foods with a culinary twist along with a varied wine list and specialty drink menus.

For more information, visit them at www.notyouraveragejoes.com.

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