There’s Michelin and there’s Zagat. Neither of them tell you where your food is coming from. Real Time Farms does.

Now any eatery (from the hipster food truck to the dorm food menus of your alma mater) can tell the story of the farms and food artisans that supply their menu. Curious how the beef in your favorite dive bar hamburger was raised. Click on “hamburger” and see pictures of the cow in the pasture and read about how the cow was raised. Feeling good about what you are eating just got a whole lot simpler.

Our New York area launch marks the nationwide release of these tools.  Tell the story of every ingredient by linking each to a farm and food artisan profile on Real Time Farms. As an ever growing user-generated database, Real Time Farms provides restaurants with a wealth of rich information to educate their staff and consumers. Once live on Real Time Farms, restaurants place their farm-linked menus onto their own site, saving thousands in money and time. (Click to Sign Up!)

When we drove into the bright city lights of NYC after a long drive from the Midwest, we were hopeful, but cautious.

Ann Arbor had been good to us – Chef Maggie Long of the Jolly Pumpkin Cafe & Brewery would send us emails of encouragement, unwaveringly confident in the success of Real Time Farms. Chef Dan Vernia of The Royal Park Hotel met with us when our idea was in its infancy, encouraging us, introducing us to people in the food community. Chef Alex Young of Zingerman’s Roadhouse, eat, prepared food CSA Harvest Kitchen, Chef Brandon Johns of Grange Kitchen & Bar, Selma Cafe, and Chef Thad Gilles of Logan, all played a pivotal role in the design of a menu storytelling tool launching nationwide today.

Chef and Owner Christophe Hille, Northern Spy Food Co.

Our first meeting following our whirlwind foodie extravaganza at the TEDxManhattan “Change the Way We Eat” Conference was with Northern Spy Food Co.‘s Christophe Hille.  We were hooked the moment we sat down and took a sip of the blood orange spritzer and took a heaping forkful of their signature kale salad. Next on our list to hit up was bobo. A bohemian heaven with an edge with James Beard Award winning Chef Patrick Connelly and co-owner Carlos Suarez  – they were in! We walked away with big smiles on our faces! Then it was Brandon Gillis at Bark Hot Dogs. Good ole’ “happy” dogs with all the trimmings – seriously, could we get any better? PRINT. Restaurant was our last stop on our Big Apple trip. Swanky and sophisticated, without being stuffy, a feather in our cap when Forager Johanna Kolodny and Executive Pastry Chef Heather Carlucci-Rodriquez enthusiastically joined the NY area launch. Think Westport Aquaculture’s Blue Point oysters in a half shell with champagne mignonette on their rooftop lounge.

Rooftop Press Deck at PRINT.

When we got home, we couldn’t wait to share the news with the team – this thing was going to spread! Being transparent about the sources of your food could become the norm, rather than the exception.

With word of “the people who are really walking the walk” signing on, Kate Galassi, Forager for Compose, spearheaded Compose’s involvement and is featuring the farm and artisan-sources of their intimate and surprise 10-course tasting menu. Careful not to spill the details of how the ingredients would be combined, Compose opted to list their ingredients and staples used to create their one of a kind menus.

We realized any NY launch wouldn’t be complete without restaurants outside of the Big Apple – after all, though some may doubt it, there is life outside of the city. Denise Warren of Fable at Stone & Thistle Farm signed on – a down-to-earth, from the farm, weekly Saturday harvest four-course prix-fixe meal served following a farm tour in their 1860’s renovated farmhouse. Don’t worry if the meal fills your soul, and leaves you feeling completely satisfied. You can cuddle up and stay the night at their bed & breakfast, and enjoy a tour and farm brunch the following morning.

Food Network’s two-time Chopped Champion, Ric Orlando was next. A master in the kitchen of New World Home Cooking Co. and New World Bistro Bar, Ric has been using local, seasonal ingredients since 1989, before it was officially cool. Ric, cheers, we’re honored!

The Bees Knees Cafe

Finally, The Bees Knees Cafe, Carol Clement’s creation located on Heather Ridge Farm in Preston Hollow, NY serves meals Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on the farm and features farm-fresh seasonal ingredients to make pure deliciousness such as their infamous Oink and Moo Chili made with pasture raised beef and heritage chorizo pork straight from Heather Ridge Farm.

To round off the group, we were lucky enough to get PA’s Glasbern Inn at the Lehigh Valley Historic Inn. Like Fable at Stone & Thistle, and The Bees Knees Cafe, you’re dining “at the farm’s table”. Taste sustainable farming in action while trying courses on their tasting menu that include pastured chicken and grass fed beef. It’s a sweet life.

Have a restaurant in mind you want to see on Real Time Farms? Are you a restaurant that wants to tell the story of your menu and demonstrate your commitment to transparency? Our doors are open! Sign up now!