Scott Taylor
Chef, Co-owner Pedal Pushers Cafe Lanesboro, MN pedalpusherscafe.com
Culinary Background? None before Pedal Pushers. I was working as a business consultant. My wife, Angie, had managed restaurants. Together, we thought it could work. We hired chefs for the first few years, but as the challenges of a start-up became evident, I moved into that role and have managed the menu since. Have you always sourced locally? That wasn’t a consideration when we opened 18 years ago. While we have always had an emphasis on scratch cooking, we started out using traditional suppliers. Then, one day our chef sourced eggs from the local farmers’ market. When we saw the color and quality, we began to realize there were other options. Around that time, I noticed the ingredient label on the chicken nuggets we were using. Almost daily, my daughter was eating a product that took the entire side of the box to list the ingredients. This combination challenged me to reevaluate what I was serving my customers.
Delivery challenges, locker space, and inconsistent availability make it difficult to keep as many yearround local menu items as we would like, but we strive to present a unique and flavorful menu in a comfortable atmosphere with as much local sourcing as possible. Most popular item? The blackened chicken grain bowl. We serve a lot of burgers, but grilled salmon with quinoa tabbouleh and steak fries with gorgonzola sauce are getting a lot of attention.
Food tales Regional suppliers make for a more interesting menu and much better stories. Currently, we’re featuring WW Homestead cheese curds, Fizzeology Kim Chi, local beers from Decorah, Mankato, Stillwater, and Minneapolis, lettuce from Owatonna, seasonal produce from a local Amish grower, Lanesboro honey, and hot sauce from Cry Baby Craig’s. Challenges of restaurant local sourcing have been part of the story as well. local-feast.org
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