Full Circle at the Farmstead

Speaking of Meals

Just 20 feet from the tasting room, the Halls are in the midst of converting a barn constructed about six years ago into a 108-seat indoor/outdoor casual dining spot, appropriately dubbed Farmstead. As of press time, the restaurant is scheduled to open in late January or early February.

The Halls used materials salvaged from the renovation of the tasting room in the construction of the restaurant. For example, the bars are made from redwood recovered from the old farmhouse, and the stone used to build the fireplace is from the farmhouse’s 19th-century foundation. The outdoor dining patio is constructed amidst an apple orchard, allowing patrons to dine on the delectable cuisine of Chef Sheamus Feeley in a unique farm setting.

Feeley, formerly of the Rutherford Grill by Hillstone Group, the brand behind Houston’s restaurants, will be heading up the kitchen and delivering his passion for fresh ingredients to diners through innovative dishes. While planning the kitchen, Hall kept Feeley’s areas of expertise in mind. “He has a lot of experience with wood-fire cooking methods, so we installed a wood-burning oven for roasting meats and seasonal vegetables, along with a wood-burning grill.” The restaurant also boasts a Spanish-style plancha grill, which is a flat skillet that produces extremely high temperatures—great for caramelizing meats and vegetables. “Not a lot of people in California are working with planchas, so it will be very unique to Farmstead,” he explains. While the casual menu will offer selections like the Long Meadow Ranch cheeseburger, there will also be more unusual creations such as wood roasted grass-fed marrow bones with a beet and parsley salad as well as short rib potatoes with beets, herbs, and fried egg.

To Market, To Market

While the tasting room and restaurant are new projects for the Halls, farming is in their blood. Ted Hall, the current family patriarch, grew up in the 1950s on a small family farm in western Pennsylvania, where his mother schooled him in the values of organic farming and sustainable lifestyle practices, unheard-of philosophies in those days.

The Halls currently cultivate 15 acres of olive trees, six acres of organic fruits and vegetables, and run 1,500 head of cattle on property in Napa, Marin County, and Humboldt County. The five acres of historic orchards date back to 1870 and produce such a fine oil that celebrity chefs like Charlie Trotter and Alfred Portale use it in their restaurants in Chicago and New York City. The Highland cattle, which are a Scottish heritage breed, are grass fed (versus corn fed), which makes for more flavorful cuts of meat. The Halls also have bees for honey, chickens for eggs, and pigs for pork production.

Considering that the Halls have been ranching in the western hills of Napa Valley since 1989, it only makes sense that the ingredients making it onto the plates of Farmstead diners would come from the Long Meadow Ranch. Farmstead will also feature a daily seasonal farmers market offering items from the ranch, as well as an organic nursery, both of which are set to open in the spring.

“I envision that in the summer, you can come to the restaurant and have an organic heirloom tomato salad, stop at the market next door immediately after and take one of the heirloom tomatoes home with you, and also go to the nursery and buy the seeds or buy the plant to work with at home. This culinary and agricultural center is really meant to be a food-wine-and-farm experience.” Considering that back in 1991, Hall, along with his brother Timmy, were youngest registered members ever to sell at the Napa Valley Farmers Market in St. Helena, his life’s work is coming full circle indeed. More details about the ranch, winery, and restaurant can be found at www.longmeadowranch.com.