While not every ingredient is from the farm yet, he’s making progress. “This year we have 80 chickens, 40 turkeys, green beans like crazy, tomatoes, summer squash, radishes, snow peas, arugula,” enumerated Wolf. “It’s a lot of work. Lettuces, rainbow chard; we have about a bazillion heirloom tomatoes about to come in.” It’s a dizzying prospect having to not only cook and serve your restaurant’s food, but produce it as well. On a steamy Friday evening before the dinner service, Eric explained his optimism for this farm-to-table project that
is otherwise a financially difficult undertaking. “We’re not doing this the easy way. We’re combining two historically low-margin businesses: farming and food service.” And while it may make little sense financially, his goals are loftier. “It’s not enough for me to go to Whole Foods and get organic beef. I need to know. I want to see,” he said. ”There’s a philosophical desire to do it. It’s psychological, too. You can buy a dozen eggs for ninety-nine cents. Or, you can raise the chicks, feed them and harvest the eggs yourself.”
As if facing the daunting challenge of providing its own ingredients isn’t enough, Loie Fuller’s also faces the expectations of the New England dining public—particularly those in Providence. Known so well for its Italian-American standbys, such as fried calamari and eggplant parm, Providence might have expectations that Loie Fuller’s just can’t fulfill. But, what it can deliver is unexpected. “It’s all about creating an experience,” Wolf said. “I think the dining public projects the experience they want to have. And we don’t do a lot of expected things, like no calamari, no reservations.” So what do they have? The menu is mainly French-inspired in execution while the ingredients are commonplace: pan-seared scallops, striped bass and mussels are mainstays but exist next to skirt steak and rendered duck breast. Plus, it’s not complicated and that is also by design. Loie Fuller’s upsets the stuffy European café stereotype with straightforward dishes like steak frites and grilled chicken thighs. Still, the care that goes into the seasonings and garnishes represents Wolf’s desire to elevate the traditional, much of which comes from his own culinary history. “I’m rebelling against the processed food of my childhood,” he shuddered recalling the overcooked pork chops of the 80s and 90s. Wolf readily admitted that his brand of French-influenced home cooking is a tough sell in one of the bastions of red sauce Italian food. “I mean, we’re doing advanced, cutting edge food to an audience that’s not used to it,” Wolf says. “But, you have to respect your clientele.”
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Foodies of New England