The concept of farm-to-table dining isn’t a new one: the movement has grown and evolved, especially in biodiverse regions like the Midwest, where livestock and produce are raised in abundance. When Tom and Rachel Carlin announced Burl, a new concept in Evanston, they did so with a commitment to source 80% of the menu from regional producers. This commitment covers not just the food on offer, but the beverage program as well.

“Coming from Galit, I had done Middle Eastern Food. I was at Dove’s, where we did Tex-Mex. I was at Publican Quality Meat, a European-style butcher shop. I cooked Italian back in the day. I had this very eclectic background with no real driving focus, and I’m a white dude from Missouri,” said Carlin. “I don’t have a strong food culture to pull from except that I have this deep connection to farms. I’ve always enjoyed working with these farmers and talking with them, and telling their stories.”

They don’t call it farm-to-table, either: at Burl, it’s farmer-driven food. “I ask [the farmers] every week what they have,” said Carlin. “And then I go a half-step further and ask what they want to sell, what they want to get rid of, what they make the best margins on. Then I commit to buying 50 pounds of that product every week until it’s gone.”

The carrots, which are roasted in Burl’s wood-fired oven that forges at least some aspect of every course of the menu, are a prime example of a farmer-driven dish. “They knew we would buy 100 pounds of carrots a week, so they can count on those numbers,” said Carlin. Burl’s cabbage, which is roasted, poached, and served with two moles, is another foundational dish that was inspired by this unique approach. The menu’s anchor dishes, built on items like Catalpa Grove lamb, stay the same, but the dressings, accompaniments, and accoutrement rotate frequently based on seasonality, availability, and what the farmers have on their hands.

This builds sustainable practices for the farm, as well as the agency for farmers to help shape the menu at Burl. After hearing that Carlin was opening Burl, Trent Sparrow, who owns Catalpa Grove Farms, began increasing his stock of a specific type of pig, knowing that Carlin would want to be able to serve it.

“The real thing, for me, is our dollar spend, the amount of actual money that we’re spending with local purveyors, and how much of that stays in the region,” said Carlin. Down at the Farm, a program started by Marty Travis and his team at Spence Farm, has also been essential to the success of the restaurant, said Carlin. Each week during peak season, Travis circulates a list of products grown by hundreds of farms to restaurants. He takes orders, sources the produce from a widespread number of farms, and then distributes it to chefs, acting as a centralized distribution center for farm partners.

The ethos has resonated in Evanston, said Carlin. Guests appreciate being able to know where their food is coming from, and Carlin works hard to ensure that his team can speak to that in detail and with care. “It’s the storytelling, being able to have actually seen the thing growing, understand how hard it is, and meeting the people who are doing the hard work,” Carlin said. “I always tell the staff: we don’t sell food, we sell stories through food.” In addition to taking his team to visit farm partners, Carlin also hosts farmers and producers at Burl to give talks to the team.

It’s Carlin’s hope that a ripple effect starts at Burl’s tables. “Consumers don’t think about how valuable products are until you actually visit and see them in person. Otherwise, you just walk into a store and buy your produce out of a crate.” “I would love to be able to change the world, but I’m just a cook. But if we can make our little corner of the world better, it’s just going to get bigger.”

Burl

2545 Prairie Ave, Evanston, IL

Wednesday, Thursday 5-9pm

Friday, Saturday 5-10pm

Sunday 10am-1:30pm, 5-9pm

Closed Monday, Tuesday