Farm-to-table has been a buzzword for several years now. The Triangle has seen no shortage of such restaurants: Zely & Ritz, Piedmont, Lantern, Watts Grocery, Magnolia Grill and too many others to name. I never expected to see a restaurant take it one step further at least when it came to the table.
SoCo Food is a farm-to-one-table restaurant in Wilson -- a beautiful 14-seat salvaged barn wood table. Technically, it's not a restaurant but operates under bed and breakfast and catering licenses. But for most folks, the dining, not the overnight accommodations, although I'm sure they are nice, will be the draw.
SoCo Food is run by chef Jeremy Law (pictured right) and his wife, Kimberly Kulers. The couple bought what would become their 11 acres several years ago.
Here's the skinny on their love story: Kulers grew up in the area and has worked in the horse business all her adult life. She travelled to Colorado for a trade show, got stood up by a cowboy for a date and ended up meeting Law at the same bar. They were engaged three months later. And he moved to North Carolina to start their life together.
Law had worked in restaurants in Colorado, including for Chef James Mazzio, Food and Wine's best new chef in 1999. When Law first moved to eastern North Carolina, he worked as a reporter for the Wilson Daily Times and then for the NBC affliate in Little Washington. After his foray into journalism, Law wanted to return to restaurant kitchens so he spent a year and a half working for chef Vivian Howard at Chef & The Farmer, a well-regarded farm-to-table restaurant in Kinston.
Then Law, 37, and Kulers, 32, tried to figure out how to open their own restaurant. They decided to renovate a former garage on their property into a bed-and-breakfast with a dining room, three bedrooms and a professionally-equipped kitchen.
They are betting on this idea: "People will drive for good food," Kulers said.
They are just 45 minutes from Raleigh and they have Chef & The Farmer's success in Kinston as a model.
Law describes his food and explains the restaurant name as "Southern comfort with a modern twist." They grow their own organic vegetables.. They planted 50 blueberry bushes and plan to add chickens and goats next year. "I feel so smug," Law says, "when I pull potatoes out of the ground and I didn't have to go anywhere."
Dinner is by reservation only. You can come on Wednesdays and Thursdays for dinner at the community 14-seat table. Or you gather a group of at least eight friends and make a reservation for Friday or Saturday nights. A three-course meal costs $30, four courses cost $40. It includes tea, water, bread and French-pressed coffee. It is BYOB.
To make a reservation, call 252-243-8441.
Comments
SOCO is it.
Tue, 08/09/2011 - 21:08 — wiltsonAAAAARGHHH! My secret restaraunt spot has been exposed! ;) Jeremy and Kim do not disappoint. The owner/chef makes your dinner and owner/hostess takes care of your every need. You just can't get better service.
Jeremy is an ingredient alchemist, but keeps the combinations clean. You are aware that anytime he could whip out an over-the-top dish full of exotic fanciness, but there is a whisper of Southern Zen here. A respect for the ingredient, a high level of craftsmanship, and then a nice whack across the taste buds to keep you from taking yourself so seriously.
Congrats SOCO, you're doing it right.
SoCo Resaturant
Tue, 08/09/2011 - 19:09 — juliathejewelerMy husband and I have visited SoCo on several occasions. We have reserved the table with our own party as well as just showing up to be seated with whoever else came that night. Both situations have their own charm; however, it is really fun to come with a group of friends.
In a nutshell, the food is worth the drive. We have always been served delicious, inventive, locally grown foods (some grown just outside the front door) and locally roasted coffees. We enjoy matching our own beers and wines to the menu du jour. The service is very personal and friendly-- no uppity food snobbiness here.
My husband worked with Jeremy and Kimberly to create an amazing meal for a "significant" birthday celebration for me-- course after course of beautifully presented and sense-provoking dishes, some as dainty as a bite and some I ate slowly, already regretting the moment that they would be gone. It was a meal I'll always remember.
Do yourself a favor and try them out. Worth the drive from anywhere. Remember, if you live far away, there is a bedroom directly over the dining room!