US (NY): The future of farming is sprouting in a restaurant

Beneath one of NYC's best restaurants, down a hallway you could find only if you knew where to go, rows of heady, hydroponic herbs, sticky with residue, grow under LED lights. Across the East River, in an old factory, a small lab of growers tinker with their own seedlings, while a greenhouse just two miles away grows its own special line of potent plants.

Tom Colicchio is an investor in Bowery Farming, a seven-month-old hydroponic vertical farm, which just recently started selling greens to tristate area Whole Foods. The chef calls the company the "new paradigm for farming," one that he's "really excited about." At his new Downtown NYC restaurant, Temple Court (previously Fowler & Wells), the Top Chef judge garnishes crudo with Bowery's wasabi arugula—a spicy green bursting with flavor. Or ask Claus Meyer, an adviser at Brooklyn Navy Yard-based start-up Farmshelf, or Alex Guarnaschelli, who sources from newcomer Farm.One, which has spaces at the Institute of Culinary Education and underneath the restaurant Atera in Tribeca. Each one of these chefs is a champion for the undeniable advantage of indoor farming: fresh, unique and local produce available all year round.

Read more at Tasting Table (Alison Spiegel)