I wasn’t expecting to be greeted by a two-week-old, chocolate brown calf upon debussing. And yet, right in front of me, with Bambi wobbly legs and large puppy-dog brown eyes with long black lashes, I meet Norman, one of a pair of surviving twins rejected by the mother cow for some reason or another.

These are the experiences Cleetus Friedman wants city slickers to have when they enjoy one of his City Provisions farm tours this summer.

Friedman is founder and owner of City Provisions, an organic catering company based in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. In addition to its catering services, Friedman hosts their monthly supper clubs, which take participants to local farms he buys from during the summer months and attracts a diverse group of food and beer lovers.

For those of us who have never set foot on a live, working family farm, these interactive tours offer a glimpse into how our food arrives on our plates and why we should care. The farm tours take place rain or shine because, as Friedman points out, being a farmer is a 24/7 job. “It’s not unusual for me to call one of the farmers I’m working with and she’s in the middle of birthing a pig or picking eggs.”

Having the opportunity to see a working farm firsthand is what attracted Chicagoan Beth Arthur. “Seeing is believing,” Arthur said. “I wanted to personally meet the people who grow (my) food in Elkhorn, Wisc. I also knew that seeing the lay of the land, the animals, the farmhouse, tractors and equipment would satisfy my desire to get out of the city.”

Norman the calf lives on Dietzler Farms located in Elkhorn, about 80 miles from Chicago’s bustling traffic. The farms occupy 750 acres—cattle and bulls roam freely on 200 of those acres while another 250 acres are used to grow non-GMO corn and soybeans. The remaining land is covered by hay fields. The hay is rolled into large round bales and is used as feed during the winter months when the pasture greens are dormant.

David Pinnow, the farm manager for Dietzler Farms, noted that 75 percent of the cost of meat is due to the feed and care they provide to their animals. “The land is a very expensive part of our farm,” said Michelle Dietzler, who handles the sales, marketing and distribution of the meat for her family’s farm. “We not only feed our animals well, but they have lots of land to graze. They aren’t confined. And you get cheap meat when you give animals cheap feed and keep them in small, confined spaces.”

Chefs from all over the city have visited Dietzler Farms to see for themselves why the end product tastes so good, according to Dietzler. You can tell she is proud of her family’s farm just by the way she talks about it.

By allowing the animals to feed naturally and to roam freely, the farm raises healthier beef cattle which will yield a more tender, flavorful meat, and that is exactly what attracts chefs like Friedman.

“We take pride in the entire process, from the time we breed our animals, to the dry aging, to taking it to the butcher, and to me personally delivering the cuts to the restaurants,” Dietzler said. “We’re involved from birth to harvest, and we’re proud of that.”

“It’s good before we touch it,” Friedman admits.

“Food innately tastes better when it hasn’t been on a train for 17 hours or in a freezer for six weeks. The food we eat during the farm tours usually comes straight from the butcher, so it’s as fresh as it can be when we prepare it that evening.”

Friedman and his chefs wowed the 26 guests that evening as they sat family-style to enjoy a four-course meal just feet away from roaming cows and their calves. 

Each meal included meat from Dietzler Farms and bounty from nearby local farms and was carefully prepared and served on gorgeous hand-thrown pottery by local artist Melissa Monroe. In keeping with the theme of sourcing local products and creating less of a carbon footprint, the bus that transported us to and from the farm uses biodiesel, and the beer served on the road trip up, during the meal, and the road trip back to Chicago was by local brewers Metropolitan Brewing Company.

There was certainly plenty of beer flowing throughout the day and into the evening, something Beth Arthur very much enjoyed, too. “I really liked the pairing of the Metropolitan and New Glarus Fat Squirrel beers with the food,” she remarked.

Our dining experience began with Dotsie’s chopped liver, which consisted of beef liver, hardboiled eggs and caramelized cippolini onions served in a beautiful blue bowl. Challah from a local bakery was plentiful, and the drink of choice was Metropolitan’s Flywheel Bright Lager. Soon after that, we moved on to Freewheel Lager, braised short ribs, grilled asparagus, toasted marcona almonds, buttermilk bleu cheese and roasted tomato. Another serving of Flywheel Bright Lager filled our cups.

Tortilla-crusted hanger steaks, amazing black bean and cactus quinoa with Portobello habanera salsa, paired nicely with New Glarus Fat Squirrel beer, was our next course. I coveted a second helping of the black bean and cactus quinoa.

Another feast for the eyes followed: lamb lollipops that practically fell off the bone, celery root mash, toasted sunflower Dynamo gravy paired with Dynamo Copper Lager. 

As the sun began to set behind a large willow tree, our final course was served, consisting of a delectable, perfectly cooked Old School Patty Melt with Red Spruce 5-year cheddar from Monroe, Wisc., grilled onion, classic rye and zucchini fries.

And, just when we didn’t think we’d have room for more, the decadent dessert was served. Scrumptious banana latkes, organic peanut butter with chocolate ganache served with New Glarus Spotted Cow. I was full. And yet I wanted another helping of the dessert.

At the end of the evening, our bellies stuffed full with great food and beer, we were invited to sit on bales of hay circling a toasty bonfire. “Our bonfire at the end of the dinner is really an opportunity for everyone to connect and talk about what brought them here,” Friedman said. “Everyone comes on a farm tour with different interests. Maybe it’s because they like beer or food or living sustainably. But they all leave having a slightly different relationship with food—whether it is how animals are raised, a glimpse into the life of a farmer, or to learn to appreciate where their food comes from.”

Regardless of the reason, it will be hard to leave and not to think about where your food comes from after this experience. Arthur already has plans to attend another farm tour later this season. It can be addictive.

Later this summer, with the help of a financial award from Sustain Illinois—a local competition launched by Chicago Community Ventures—a deli will open at City Provisions which will feature raw meat, deli meat, cheese, prepared foods, soups, sandwiches, locally brewed beers, coffee from Crop to Cup, a kid-friendly menu, and monthly hosted events with farmers. 

“We want to serve our community through food,” Friedman said.
We can all eat to that.

Farm Tours
City Provisions will host the next farm tour and supper club at River Valley Farm in Burlington, Wisc., on July 11. For a full list of farm tours and dinners, please visit
CityProvisions.com.

Culinary Farm Tours
Learn great foods offers culinary farm tours in three main areas of the Midwest, including Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. Participants get an up-close look at the operations of a sustainable and organic farm, followed by a hands-on cooking class.

Farm Tours are booked throughout July Call 866.240.1650 or visit learngreatfoods.com for more information or to register for a tour.

Learn Great Foods also offers Farmers’ Market Tours in Michigan and Iowa.

Iowa Farmers’ Market Tour, July 4.
Visit a Fairfield Iowa Farmers’ Market for a guided shopping tour, cooking demo with a gourmet meal made with fresh products purchased at the market that day.

Leland Warf & Wine Farmers’ Market Tour, Mich., July 16, 10am–2pm.
Tour the Leland Farmers’ Market with Megan Gregory, visit Carlson’s Fisheries and the Cheese Shack to gather ingredients, and enjoy a four-course feast with Chef Perry Harmon at Sweeter Song Farm in Cedar.