BRANFORD -- Eggplant, tomatoes and basil: it's any cook's dream to have fresh ingredients at their fingertips.
The Stand, a BBQ joint in Branford, is giving new meaning to the term "Farm-to-Table" serving up produce from its very own backyard garden.
"With the fresh food and the garden it brings another component to the BBQ," Co-owner and head cook Eamon Roche. He relishes being able to incorporate fresh hand-picked vegetables into the menu.
"A lot of our herbs come out of the kitchen garden but then I'm looking at some of the beet greens and I see some of the mustard greens things like that are getting me thinking about what I'm going to put up for lunch," said Roche. "I'm standing here cooking the food and I'm looking at the garden thinking ok, that's what is gonna go with it."
The two-acre garden feeds the restaurant and any over flow goes straight to the veggie stand out front that keeps customers like Craig Newton coming back for more.
"It's absolutely amazing that all this is together in one place, with so much fun and a great spirit," said Newton, who lives in Branford. "It is a venue, I'm telling you it's a venue. I'll be back, definitely."
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