From farm to table, new Morrie’s menu additions lift up local producers
May 17, 2022
This paid piece is sponsored by Morrie’s Steakhouse.
As Tim Meagher scrolls through the most recent calls and text messages in his phone, there’s a common theme.
“Look at the top 20 people on my call list, and it’s largely all farmers and ranchers,” said Meagher, chief operating officer of Vanguard Hospitality, owner of Morrie’s Steakhouse, Minervas in downtown Sioux Falls and Grille 26.
“They’re all producers. And I’ve been on the phone checking it to see how the rain helped the grass or how the animals are doing. My relationship to everything has changed. I care about what they’re going through because it now deeply impacts both of us.”
One year ago, that wouldn’t have necessarily been the case, at least not to this extent.
But in a world now recalibrating from the pandemic and subsequent supply chain disruption, Meagher and the leadership at Vanguard Hospitality have taken an entirely new perspective on how they source food for the restaurants.
“We identified an opportunity, and it’s a meaningful one,” he said. “Our team is discovering how rewarding these relationships can be. It transforms how you look at your work and what you do.”
It’s also reflected in the newest menu recently unveiled at Morrie’s Steakhouse, 2507 S. Shirley Ave., where more than two dozen local food and beverage partnerships are detailed for guests.
“Your menu should tell your story as a restaurant, and this is our story,” Meagher said. “It has been for the last five years since we became the owners, but we’ve doubled our direct relationships with producers and the overall practices and ingredients we embrace in the last year. We’re proud of it, proud to help tell their stories, and certain guests are going to taste the difference.”
In the restaurant world, there are two ways to do business: Order from a third-party supplier, or buy directly from a producer.
“In many cases, we’re now working one-on-one directly with farmers and ranchers in South Dakota and the surrounding region,” Meagher said.
“It’s an entirely different way of doing business, but this is a movement to create resiliency in our communities. The pandemic showed us how broke the food system is. These relationships aren’t going to break like that. We want to do business with people in our own backyard who are taking steps to protect the environment and take care of the animals they raise while providing a superior product.”
So what does that taste like?
For example, for the first time Morrie’s now offers a grass-fed and grass-finished New York strip from Svec Farms in Estelline.
This fifth-generation farm raises its heritage breed cattle on pastures without antibiotics or added hormones.
“The cow’s entire diet has been just grass, and people consume it for its added health benefits,” Meagher said. “It takes twice as long to raise these cattle. When our staff tested the new menu, this dish was a favorite.”
Another new partnership, with Rapid City-based Wild Idea Buffalo, brings 100 percent grass-fed and pasture-raised bison to the menu. This buffalo is humanely harvested at the Cheyenne River Ranch, with a mission to regenerate prairie grasslands while improving the environment and food supply by bringing back the buffalo.
“We’ve been absolutely blown away by the operation, the mission and the quality,” Meagher said. “We can’t wait to begin sharing the powerful story of how Wild Idea Buffalo brings its food to your table.”
On the new Morrie’s menu, you’ll find a 12-ounce ribeye from Wild Idea Buffalo as well as the signature dish Wild Idea Buffalo Shank, a 3-pound smoked and braised shank with cranberry demi sauce, root vegetable puree and heirloom Cherokee blue corn grits.
“Almost all of these producers are family businesses,” Meagher added. “That is paramount. I often get asked about profit and financial sustainability, but prices have increased everywhere. There isn’t that big of a gap between what you order off a truck to doing business with someone you can reach out and touch.”
Throughout the menu, there are additional local relationships in nearly every dish.
The new 100 Layer Lasagna features 100 percent local ingredients, including egg noodles with eggs from Fruit of the Coop and a Mornay sauce made with cheese from Stensland Family Farms. The meat is sourced from Alcester, Rapid City and Nebraska.
The Liquid Gold Burger, a returning featured favorite, is served on a Breadico garlic and rosemary potato bun with a Morgan Ranch custom-blend patty from its Wagyu Hereford and Angus beef in Nebraska.
“We drive to get our beef as much as we can,” Meagher added. “Elkton, Hudson, Omaha is largely where we’re getting our beef, and we’re maintaining flexibility with our producers, so you might see some dishes change accordingly.”
Vegetables will change seasonally, “and we’re actively looking to build a root cellar so we can maximize a fall harvest and take it further into the winter,” Meagher said.
Vanguard restaurants also now are working with Coffea Roasterie for coffee products that are sourced directly from farms or co-ops.
“With some of these dishes, I can’t even go back to eating a previous version,” Meagher said. “It’s so different to eat meat, for instance, and have it cleanse your palate because of how the animal was raised. We just can’t wait for guests to experience it.”
The relationships with local producers will “100 percent be carried through our other restaurants,” he added. “We’ve largely started with the menu update at Morrie’s, but these added partnerships will be carried through at Grille 26 and Minervas in conjunction with their current efforts.”
