| What
if regionalist Kevin Gaughan promoted locally produced
food instead of government downsizing? Would he carry
the day for the locavore movement?
He might find that more Western New
Yorkers are ready to become converts to the IOO-mile
diet than they are to bureaucratic consolidation.
In fact, many here have long believed in a more sustainable
style of cooking.
Chef/owner Carmelo Raimondi of Carmelo's
Ristorante in Lewiston described himself as a locavore
long before the term became chic. Raimondi calls the
food and philosophy of his sophisticated, contemporary
restaurant at 425 Center Street "impressionistic-traditional
yet spontaneous. When it comes to cuisine, integrity
and freshness is everything; much pride and passion
is put in every dish."
Born and raised in Lewiston, Raimondi
was not exactly thrilled when he inherited the restaurant
from his father-who died unexpectedly while the future
chef was in college. A trip to Italy instilled the
reluctant restaurateur with passion and respect for
food. Influenced
greatly by Mario Batali, Raimondi describes his culinary
epiphany: "You know what, this guy isn't doing
anything that complicated. He's taking the best quality
ingredients from the area he lives in, applying the
principles of Italy's traditions... and he's working...
to make the best food possible." Local
flavors and foods part of the menu at Carmelo's. On
a June evening we sat with him in a cozy corner of
the establishment as  Carmelo
explained that his spring menu included garlic and
scapes (the greet shoots of the garlic plant) from
Singer Farms in Appleton, fresh homemade sausage from
the Natural Link Meat Market in Lewiston, honey from
Erin's Nectar Farm, and homegrown hydroponic tomatoes
and cucumbers from H2 Grow in Model City. (As an aside,
Modern Corporation's H2 Grow is a reuse success story.
The company uses the methane gas from its refuse collections
to create a very successful and widely distributed
hydroponics vegetable business.) While we chatted
Raimondi was anxiously awaiting the produce arriving
very shortly from Tom Tower's Farm Market in Youngstown,
one of his main suppliers through the summer and fall.
Although he learned a lot from his
father (Carmelo Senior ran a much more traditional
restaurant, featuring "American Continental"
cuisine), today the "locally grown, locally trained"
chef has turned his father's place into one that is
distinctly his own. This is a man who truly believes
that eating locally bolsters our economy and our collective
health.
________
Vicki A. Marshall is a graphic designer.
Margaret M. Toohey is CEO and owner of the Lewiston
Insurance Agency. |
425 Center
Street 
