Matt Dillon Responds to Farm to Table Hypocrisy Charge

[Photo: thelxepeiakat / Flickr]
Eater National asked Matt Dillon, Sitka & Spruce's Chef/Owner, to comment on Madeline Dow's charge that he espouses the values of local sourcing but neglects to represent Washington wines on his wine list. Dillon's response follows:

"First of all, I've never labeled my restaurant "local" or "farm-to-table," so the whole thing is laughable ? I source a lot of local ingredients because they taste better and they don't go bad as quickly. Wine, like olive oil and vinegar, is a whole different thing ? and we just want to put what's really great on the menu, and to be honest the quality of wine that I can bring in from Europe for the price is so much better [than what I can get here]. We have a lot of glass pours and I want to be able to offer affordable, interesting glass pours and that's impossible with Washington wine..."

Eater Seattle commenters to yesterday's post outlining Dow's case against Dillon uniformly sided with Dillon, though one pointed out that there are exceptional Washinton wines that do pair well with food:

When WA wineries decide to make wines that are not overly alcoholic, overly extracted, with tons of volatile acidity, brett and not overly priced maybe they'll be on par with some of the basic wines from Europe. The food at Sitka and Spruce and a number of other local oriented restaurants, is about nuance, and WA doesn't meet those needs. There are exceptions beginning to shine...Buty, Syncline, Efeste, the Chenin from Hestia and some others, but it's not the norm.

· Are Farm-to-Table Restaurants Hypocrites For Not Serving Local Wine? [-EN-]
· All Sitka & Spruce Coverage on Eater Seattle [-ESEA-]