Blackhawk Creek Grill
Whitehouse, TX
Eastern Texas is, as LeeAnn Skinner describes it, a chain restaurant haven.With Texas being Texas, there is no shortage of roadside BBQ or the never-hard-to-find taco trucks.As the town of nine thousand residents slowly grows its population with transplants coming from Dallas and Austin, fine dining is creepingly becoming the expectation.In a chain restaurant haven with little to offer in the way of fine dining, how about a right turn towards fine farming?
华体会安全吗In 2020, Lee Ann and her husband, Aaron, enrolled in The Aquaponic Source'sOnline Aquaponic Farming Courseto learn the next steps towards aquaponic farming.Their goal?Start small, expand later.They started with a smallHTH华体会 system and treated it like a laboratory: Experimenting to discover which crops grow best in which substrate, under what environmental conditions, and to what end could they supplement a professional menu's ingredients using their own in-house grown aquaponic produce.
The result was a relocation of their aquaponic system to the inside of their restaurant,Blackhawk Creek Grill.They modified their AquaBundance system by replacing their clay media beds with all deep water culture beds.They also added an elevatedhth官网登录 for increased lettuce production.And yes, diners are treated to a glimpse of the system through an aptly placed viewing window that humbly flaunts the exactly zero food miles their farm to table food traveled.
The Aquaponic System
"We've never seen a restaurant growing their own food this way."
The Plants
The main grow-out spaces for the plants are exclusively deep water culture.Being a grill oriented restaurant, most of their demand is for leafy green production.TheGrowasis 4-tier Nursery and Microgreen Systemis home to their germinating seedlings and microgreens.Most weeks, they plant one hundred and twenty eight seeds of lettuce varieties.The long length of the Growasis system allows for a consistent conveyer belt rotation of differently aged lettuce heads.
The AquaBundance DWC beds are where they primarily grow their herbs: rosemary, dill, basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, (some) mint, and red vein sorrel.The static grow beds allow for longer cultivation of cut and come agains, crops that continuously supply fresh produce without needing to be fully harvested.
The Fish
Swimming close to the window anticipating their next meal are seventy adult-sized fish, a mixed cohort of koi, tilapia, and catfish.Dominating the majority are aquaponics favorite fish, the tilapia.For mostly regulatory and insurance reasons, these fish are not grown to be harvested.Instead, their purpose is to live and produce the nutrients to fertilize the plants.
As Lee Ann says, "I've never put anything in my aquaponic system except for fish food."
The Menu
Lee Ann and Aaron's restaurant might have one of the shortest farm-to-table distances in the entire state of Texas.Because of the immediate proximity of their aquaponic system, they are able to hand make every one of their sauces and dressings in house.Why grow your own food if you're not going to make your own condiments?Here is a quick sampling of some of the condiments they're able to create in house using ingredients straight from their aquaponic system.
Cesar Salad:Romaine lettuce
Chimichurri Sauce:Parsley, oregano, thyme
Chimichurri Pesto & Soups:Basil
Ranch Dressing:Dill
Compound Herb Butter:Rosemary & thyme
Wagu Garnish:Red vein sorrel
Burger Garnish:Tropicana Big Leaf Lettuce
This does not account for the variety of lettuce species grown for mixed salads or the microgreens used as either garnishes or mixing ingredients.
The Wind Down
Blackhawk Creek Grill isn't just extraordinary because of their in house aquaponics system.The restaurant doubles as home to a back porch grass amphitheater where music, comedy, and so much more are hosted in a warm, lively environment.
If you find yourself in eastern Texas and are looking for a new kind of food haven, stop byBlackhawk Creek Grilland discover how delicious farm to table can really taste.
