Larry Hountz and his wife, Zhanna, founded City Hydro, an urban farm that uses LED lights and water to grow microgreens out of a second-floor room of their row house.KENNETH K. LAM/BALTIMORE SUN PHOTOS

TasteTHE BALTIMORE SUN | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016

Not always honeyedHungary’s Tokaj region makes a dry white wineas well as its sweet dessert wine. PG 3

Best of both worldsMaking a crunchy-tender fried egg. PG 6

Former Ravens safety Ed Reed’s organi-zation, the Ed Reed Foundation, haspartnered with local meal-kit deliveryserviceTerra’s Kitchen for a fundraiser tobenefit young urban farmers.

The delivery servicewill offer customersa discount and a chance to give to GreatKids Farm, a working farm owned andoperated by Baltimore’s public schools that

aims to engage students in foodpreparationand support classroom learning.

The code “REED20”will give customersa $20 discount on their first purchase atTerra’s Kitchen, according to CEOMichaelMcDevitt, and in turn, the company willdonate $20 to theEdReedFoundation.Thedonation, Reed said, will go directly to theFriends of Great Kids Farm, a nonprofitorganization that supports the farm.

Reed, who is now an assistant defensivebacks coach for the Buffalo Bills, said theidea to educate youths on nutrition hasbeen on his mind for nearly 10 years, eversince he hosted a fitness day for kids andhad a doctor explain how food affectschildren.

“When kids grow up into adults now ...they learn that taking care of their body islike taking careof their car.You’renot goingto put bad gas into your car. Why not treatyour body the same way? It makes all thesense in the world for us to do the rightthing forourbodies,” saidReed,wholosthisgrandmother to diabetes.

His father was also diagnosed withdiabetes, he said.

Reed said he wanted to help teachchildren that it’s important to treat theirbodies right, and much of it starts withhealthy food, he said.

“It’s something thatwereallyneed topayattention to. It’snot about just goingoutand

BALTIMORE DINER

Ed Reed, Terra’s Kitchen support kid farmersFundraising effort benefitsschools’ Great Kids FarmBy Brittany Brittoand SarahMeehanThe Baltimore Sun

Ed Reed’s foundation is raising money forthe public schools’ Great Kids Farm.

TERRA’S KITCHEN

See DINER, page 2

T ucked in a back corner of La Cuchara’s dining room,baby radishes, lemon basil, arugula, sorrel and dillstretch their tiny leaves beneath the glow of LEDlights, waiting to be snipped, sprinkled on dishes, brieflyadmired and gobbled up by diners.

TheWoodberry restaurant is among the first in Baltimoregrowing microgreens on-site using a process created by theurban farmCity-Hydro.

Founded in 2011by Larry andZhannaHountz, City-Hydrosupplies 75 varieties ofmicrogreens to local restaurants froma second-floor room of the Hountzes’ rowhouse nearPatterson Park. Now at maximum capacity, City-Hydro isteaching its growing technique to local restaurants — givingthemaccess to fresher ingredients andmore control over the

Tray to

tableVertical farmers teachrestaurants to grow microgreensBy SarahMeehanThe Baltimore Sun

Leek microgreens readyfor consumption.

Sarah Murray, sous chefat La Cuchara, uses mi-crogreens in a salad.Murray is directing thegrowing of microgreensfor use by the restaurant.

See MICROGREENS, page 2

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2 THE BALTIMORE SUN | TASTE | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2016 TASTE

eating healthy all the time, but amajority ofthe time,” he said.

In brief■ Brian Lavin, former chef at Fork &Wrench and Salt, is opening a newrestaurant inBrewersHillwithSpanishandItalian influences.Gnocco is slated to openJune14at 3734FleetSt., the formerhomeofBrewersHill Pub&Grill. Lavin partneredwith the bar’s owners to revamp the space,which has received cosmetic updates sinceit closed about a month ago. He saidMediterranean flavorshavealwayscalled to

him.The menu will feature dishes such aslamb tartare with eggplant, harissa, sesameand oregano; ricotta cavatelli with morels,duck confit and apricot; and razor clamswith grapefruit, tarragon salsa verde andprosecco. Sam White, who most recentlyworked atCinghiale, will head the front ofthehouseandGnocco’sbarprogram,whichwill highlight Spanish and Italian wines,amaro and vermouth.■ A Korean barbecue stand has joined thelineup of vendors at the forthcoming R.House food hall in Remington. BeBim, astall owned by the sisters behind BrownRice, will open at the food emporium thisfall among 10 stalls in the $12 million car

dealership-turned-foodie hub. BeBim willserveKoreanbarbecue inbowls (bibimbap)or buckwheat wraps filled with meats,vegetables and house-made sauces. Thestall will also offer from-scratch Koreandumplings (mandu) and drinks like greentea and cinnamon punch. Owners HeatherChung and Unmi “Mimi” Kim operate twoBrownRice locations inCharlesVillageandMountVernon.

Other vendors at R.House, located at thecorner of 29th Street and RemingtonAvenue, include Arba, a Mediterraneanstreet food stand; Stall 11, a vegan andvegetarian concept; and the breakfast spotGround&Griddled.

DiningdatesMark your calendar for these foodie

events.■ June 1: “Chefs Behind Bars” bartendingcompetition tobenefit ShareOurStrength’sNoKidHungry initiative; 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. atWit &Wisdom (200 International Drive);$50.

June 12: “Tour de Farms” bike tour ofBaltimore’s urban farms; 11:30 a.m. startingatArtifactCoffee (1500UnionAve.); $60.bbritto@baltsun.comsmeehan@baltsun.comtwitter.com/brittanybrittotwitter.com/sarahvmeehan

Brewers Hill is getting a Spanish-Italian hybrid restaurantDINER, From page 1

microgreens that decorate diners’ plates,and saving themmoney along theway.

“The quality of these microgreens ismuch better than what we can get from aproduce company or even from localfarms,” said Ben Lefenfeld, chef andco-owner of La Cuchara. “It means fresherflavor,morenutrient-dense food—but also,yeah, the economics are certainly a hugefactor.”

Alma Cocina Latina in Canton recentlybegan growing its own microgreens usingCity-Hydro’s process, too, though not at therestaurant.

“We really want to teach people to growon-site,” LarryHountz said during a tour ofhis vertical farm.

City-Hydro’s growing style seems almosttoo simple. It takes 10 to 12 days to grow amicrogreen from a seed to the point whereit’s ready to sell. Seeds germinate infood-safe containers on coconut husk pads,elevated by bamboo sticks above water inthe base of the tray. It’s a sustainable systemHountz refers to as “pure,” using only LEDlights, filtered water and some TLC — nofertilizers, pesticides or soil.

While the concept of growing herbs andgreens on-site is not novel to restaurants,City-Hydro’s bare-necessities system pro-vides an alternativemethod.

City-Hydro offers free workshops toteach people how to grow microgreensusing its method, usually training two orthree people per week. They also sell theirsystem — one rack of shelves, seven traysandLED lights— for $999.

After La Cuchara purchased a growingrack, sous chef Sarah Murray and serverJuliette Dottle attended training at City-Hydro to learn the technique. The Basquerestaurant began growing its own micro-greensmore thanamonthago,and ituses10to 12 trays of microgreens during the week,plus six or sevenmore onweekends.

“At theendofaweekend,we’llbecleanedout,”Dottle said.

Most restaurants City-Hydroworkswithbuy four to six trays per week at $30 pertray. The farm’s clients include Ten Ten,Boathouse Canton, Cinghiale, Felici Cafe,Fleet Street Kitchen, Myth & Moonshine,Magdalena,Pazo,Puerto511andWaterfrontKitchen.

Alma Cocina Latina began growing itsown microgreens after exceeding City-Hydro’s capacity. The Canton restaurantwas buying about 12 trays per week andneededmore.

“We were burning through trays,” gen-eralmangerChris Rivera said.

Alma Cocina Latina just harvested itsfirst batch of microgreens last week, grownat a sous chef’s house. The restaurant uses14 varieties of microgreens, with a heavyemphasisonbabycilantro, radishes,wasabi,cumin, black fennel, leeks and carrots,executive chef EnriqueLimardo said.

Microgreens have traditionally beenused as garnishes, but more chefs likeLimardo are featuring themprominently indishes.

“They are so powerful in flavor, so whenwe make a salad, for example, we use abunch of them, mix them with the greens,with the vegetables, so you can get moreflavor from the salad,” Limardo said. “So it’snot just two tiny leaves on a plate.We use alot.”

Murray said La Cuchara will sometimespair a full vegetable with its microgreencounterpart. “We’ve started using micro-greens as a component on the plate in thedish. Instead of cutting up an actual radish,we put on the greens, and it’s moreeye-catching and it just looks a lot nicer.”

In addition to the aesthetic and nutri-tional aspects — by weight, microgreenspack up to 40 times the nutrients of theirmature forms, according to research fromthe U.S. Department of Agriculture —

growing microgreens on-site is a way forrestaurants to save on food costs. Making atray costs $5 to $8,Hountz said, as opposedto purchasing one for $30. Other growerscharge several times that amount for cutmicrogreens,Murray said.

“It’s great to be able to get it for muchcheaperandtobeable todomore funthingsin the kitchen besides that, kind of sourcingthatmoney elsewhere,”Murray said.

Back in its grow room, City-Hydro isalways testing out new varieties of micro-

greens; babyBrussels sprouts are the farm’slatest experiment.

Anyvegetable that grows fromaseedcanbe used as a microgreen, but some don’ttaste great in their infantile form, andothers, like peppers and pumpkins, arepoisonous.

The Hountzes perfected their indoorgrowing system through trial and error asLarry Hountz was recovering from a caraccident thatpreventedhimfromreturningto his information technology job.

They originally tried to grow and selltomatoes, but they foundmicrogreenswerequicker and easier to grow than full-sizeveggies.

“Any kind of big vegetables, it’s just notefficient,” he said.

Some of the most popular microgreensCity-Hydro sells now are pea shoots, babyparsley and baby nasturtium, Hountz said.Chefs choose what varieties they want intheir trays, and their selectionsaregrowntoorder. City-Hydro has a constant supply forits clients: one tray in germination, onegrowing under lights and one with therestaurant.

“It’s one thing togrow,”Hountz said. “It’sanother thing to supply every time the chefneeds it.”

As a former chef, Hountz understandsthe process of creating intriguing flavorprofiles andoftenconsultswithhis custom-ersabouthowtobestuse theirmicrogreens.

He hopes to see more restaurantsgrowing theirown, asLaCucharaandAlmaCocinaLatina have done.

“I honestly don’t knowwhymore peopledon’t do this in restaurants,” Dottle said.“It’s so easy.”smeehan@baltsun.comtwitter.com/sarahvmeehan

Farm-to-table microgreens — grown indoorsMICROGREENS, From page 1

Larry Hountz waters some of his microgreens in a second-floor room devoted to the City-Hydro operation.KENNETH K. LAM/BALTIMORE SUN PHOTOS

Sarah Murray of La Cuchara waters some of the microgreens she grows in the restaurant.

A garden salad toppedwith fresh cut micro-greens.

Murray cuts microgreens tomake a salad. She pur-chased LEED grow lights andother equipment from City-Hydro to start the growingprogram.

With their tangy dressing and brightflavors, Asian-accented salads appealwhen youwant something light fordinner.Here, a sesame oil, ginger andfish sauce vinaigrette dresses amix ofchicken,mango and red pepper. Bring itall togetherwith aworthywine thatpicks up the notes of tart and sweet.

HOW TO PAIR WINE

Bright, tropicalchicken saladwith mango

THE FOOD

Tropical chicken-mango salad: In asmall bowl,whisktogether 5 tablespoonsrice vinegar, 2 table-spoons fish sauce, 2tablespoons sesameoil, 1 tablespoonhoney,1 teaspoon gratedginger and 1⁄4 teaspooneach crushed red pep-per andminced garlic. Toss 8 cups torn romaine lettuce leaveswith1cup choppedmint, basil or cilantro, or a combination.Topwith1pound cooked chicken, chopped;1red bell pepper,thinly sliced; 1 largemango, peeled, pitted, diced; and 1⁄2 cuproasted salted peanuts. Tosswith the dressing; servewith alimewedge for squeezing.Makes:4 servings

THE WINEBy sommelier AaronMcManus, as told toMichael Austin:

2012 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve, Alsace, France:Flavors ofapricots, sweet citrus, smallwhite flowers, baked apple, almondsandhoneysuckle. The fruit is a little dried and candied, so itwillmatch nicelywith the tropical notes in the dish, and the nutty quali-tieswillmatchwellwith the roasted peanuts and the sesame oil.

2014 Pierre Gaillard Les Gendrines Cotes du Rhone Blanc,Rhone Valley, France:Thiswine is100 percent viognier and veryaromatic,with tropical flavors ofmango andpassion fruit givingway to peach, orange blossom, baking spices and a rockyminerality.Its tropical flavorswill complement themango, and its tartnesswillmatchwellwith the rice vinegar and fish sauce.

2013 Shea Wine Cellars Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, Oregon:Abit of newoak aging gives thewine vanilla undertones thatwillcomplement themango. Thewine’s green qualitywillmatch nicelywith the lettuce and cilantro,mint or basil in any combination youuse.

TRIBUNE NEWSPAPERS PHOTO;RECIPE BY RENEE ENNA

ByMichael AustinTribune Newspapers