Red Devon, Farm Market Bistro
by Paul De Angelis

You couldn't pick a more appropriate area of Dutchess county to plant an "all- green" farm market-café- restaurant than in the quaint hamlet of Bangall, smack in the middle of the northern part of the county and within striking distance of the rolling farmlands and horse meadows of Washington, Amenia, and Northeast. With inspiration from Napa Valley California, and perhaps taking a leaf from Red Hook's Gigi Market and McEnroe's Organic Farm Market on Rt. 22, the new owners have taken the former Stage Stop Restaurant, re-baptized it Red Devon, and set about creating what promises to be the destination food emporium and bazaar for the multifarious farm foods of the Hudson Valley.

From the reconstruction and renovation of the building to the provisioning and preparation of the foods, Red Devon is determined to do it the "right" — i.e. the environmentally-sustainable — way. Local carpenters and woodworkers have reclaimed old barn wood to re-create an open and airy main dining room with a large skylight where once James Cagney's bar stood as the centerpiece of a traditional American steakhouse (the bar remains, but moved to the other side of the wall). A modern state-of -the art bakery and kitchen have been installed, but with equipment selected with an eye to both conservation and suitability for recyling. All compressors for the refrigeration units are located in the cellar to minimize energy use as well as heat and noise pollution; water is cooled geothermally. A new patio built out to one side will be mostly tented in the summer months, while the roof of the banquet room, which will also be used for overflow from the restaurant, features a roof to be covered with dirt this fall. In the spring it will be seeded with meadow grasses that will grow to their natural height, maintaining the room naturally cool during the height of summer.

The combination of green awareness and farm-friendliness should come as no surprise given the ownership and management of Red Devon. The owners, Julia & Nigel Widdowson, live on Temple Farm in Millbrook, where they raise a small herd of Devon beef cattle raised on grass alone. The couple is active in land conservation, farming and environmental advocacy groups. Meat served at the Red Devon will come not only from their own herd, but from other locally and humanely-raised chicken, lamb, pork, beef and baby cow (in lieu of veal because of the traditionally inhumane way in which veal cows are raised). Vegetables will come from local farms as well as Temple Farm greenhouses, while herbs will come from gardens located next to the restaurant. Strictly local cheese and other dairy products will be used, along with local juices and sodas, always in glass, never plastic. All baking will be done on premise. Coffee is from Dean's Beans in Massachusetts, tea from nearby Connecticut's Harney's and In Pursuit of Tea. Take-away containers will all be compostable. In fact, the only non-local items Red Devon intends to offer are lemons and limes and a few similar items that a modern restaurant needs but which are impractical not to import.

Not just the owners, but also the chef at Red Devon, Jim Jennings, has an impressive background. Local gourmets will remember him from Red Hook's Bois d'Arc (another name for an osage-orange tree, pronounced Bo Dark in Jennings' native Texas). During its northern Dutchess heyday, Jennings was hailed by New York Times food critic Marian Burros for his "big flavors" and "90's version of all-American cooking, ... perfectly expressed."

Red Devon seems to be taking a "slow food" approach not just in its culinary attitudes but even towards its opening. Open for business this winter (either early December or early January, from 6am to 6pm), will be the café-bakery and market, even if the season's offerings, since local, will of necessity be limited (greenhouse lettuces, etc., and of course squashes and the like). Breakfast and lunch will be served. The restaurant proper will open only at the end of February or beginning of March. I doubt I'll be alone in awaiting that moment impatiently.