Miccosukee Root Cellar - Review

A new 'localtarian' restaurant opened in town which led to discussion Thanksgiving week on Twitter - have you been? what have you heard? Which led to a plan to visit the place en masse. Miccosukee Root Cellar was flying under the radar a bit - to the point where they didn't have a phone number listed on their website! Paula's detective skills triumphed and we became their first reservation ever!

We credit the word 'localtarian' to the Canadians; it means the ingredients are all sourced locally. In this case, pretty much everything they serve comes from nearby organic farms. The meat is sustainably raised, also locally, and they highlight interesting things native to our area (like satsuma oranges and Tupelo honey).

Because we had a large group, the owner prepared a multi-course dinner for us. For the first course, we had a whole bunch of goodies - house-baked bread with 2 different butters; fresh veggies (carrots, (including purple ones!), radishes (my first experience with watermelon radishes, which are red on the outside, fading to green inside), and broccoli; cheeses from Sweetgrass Dairy, each served with a special and delicious relish; nuts (Louisiana roasted Georgia Peanuts  and Cane sweetened roasted Pecans with sea salt); and meats which I think they cured in the restaurant (including wild boar).

Along with our first courses (shared around the table) we enjoyed local or organic beers and wines. Next we had salads - love those local greens.

seasonal salad

We had two choices for our first course - meatloaf or pulled chicken (like pulled pork but with chicken).I had the meatloaf; Some had the chicken, which was served in a Mason jar (cute) and came with kale chips.

Mini Meat Loaf, spicy citrus (satsuma!) BBQ, savory bread pudding with squash and kale

all of us enjoying a nice meal together
clockwise from lower left (Paula, Abe, Sara, me, John, Bill, Marc & Jenn)
(thanks Abe & Sara for the group photo!)

While technically, dinner was a tweet-up, it felt more like a dinner with old friends - perhaps since we've all been chatting so long, we are old friends. Nevertheless, it was great to meet John (and Bill) in person and have a chance to talk at length about life in general! And it was great to see everyone else and share a meal and a new experience together!

This is a great little place - cozy, comfortable and inexpensive. A great place to learn about what produce etc. is in season and available locally while enjoying a creatively prepared meal. 

[Update 12/22/11: Please also check out Sara's post about our evening at http://twointally.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/twitter-wins-again-or-the-root-cellar/ - lots more photos; an excellent complement to what I've said above as she hits on different details!]

Miccosukee Root Cellar

1311 Miccosukee Road (near Magnolia)

Tallahassee