By Lisa Futterman

Photos by Brian Wiles

“Farm to table,” a phrase we hear so often lately, assumes that the ideal distance that a vegetable or pork chop should travel between those two points is a short ride in a truck (or even better, a wheelbarrow). I recently took a trip to Wisconsin led by Cleetus Friedman of City Provisions, a Chicago catering company, that explored the origins of the contents of our refrigerators and took us to the source of what we eat— the farm.

The day began at Friedman’s home base, his catering kitchen (and soon, thanks to a sustainability grant from the State of Illinois, a specialty food store) in Ravenswood.We were promised beer, food, and fun, and it all began once the intrepid travelers piled on the biodiesel fueled bus. Doug Hurst, brewmaster/owner of Metropolitan Brewing, a new craft beer company located right up the street from City Provisions, came along on the trip, bringing plenty of suds, including bottles of Flywheel Bright Lager, a Czech style pilsner we enjoyed with our roadie “one bite,” a togarashi spiced beef skewer, served still warmfrom the grill as we toodled across Touhy Avenue towards I-94.

The lectures also began on the bus.Cleetus loves amicrophone, and we heard his reasons for leading these elaborate day long dinners which combine “our love for beer, our love for local, and our love for food that is good before we touch it.” Hurst then took the stage to tell us the tale of his fledgling microbrewery business, launched in December 2008 with his wife, Tracy. Before long, we had arrived at our dining destination, Dietzler Farms in Elkhorn,WI, where we were welcomed in turn byMichelleDietzler (the company’s sales andmarketing rep and sole delivery driver), her fiancé David Dermenjian (who oversees the company’s finances in addition to working his day job at Mesirow Financial), and a 2 week old calf named Norman.

Dietzler Farms, an all natural cattle farm, supplies beef to several Chicagoland restaurants, and for the next hour or two of this sunshiny but cool May afternoon, we toured the pastures, approached the wary livestock, and learned the short history and inner workings of this very new and very small operation, while Cleetus and his crew set up shop in the farmhouse kitchen, preparing to churn out a six coursemeal for 30. Farm manager David Pinnow taught us how the cattle are bred, fed, (Dietzler animals eat only grass, hay, and non-genetically modified corn and soybeans grown right on site), raised and processed. The animals sure looked healthy and happy, and we urban dwellers particularly enjoyed seeing the young calves tottering along after their mothers.

Thus enlightened, we were ready to dine. The City Provisions crew set a long, elegant table on the farmhouse lawn, dressed with lilacs from the farm and handmade plates and cups by Chicago potter Melissa Monroe. Our urban group seemed in part delighted by the al fresco experience and in part put off by the chilly spring breezes and impending sunset, but we bravely bundled up and were joined by Pat and Dan Dietzler,Michelle’s parents and charming owners of the farm.

Naturally, three of the six courses featured Dietzler Farms beef, including lager braised short ribs and an outstanding “old school” patty melt on rye. It truly gave pause to consume the meatwhilewatching the cattlewe had interacted with earlier nibbling in their pasture just 200 yards away. I stopped towonderwhy such clearly non-local ingredients as cactus paddles and Marcona almonds were sprinkled in with the luscious local asparagus andWisconsin cheeses, but the bounty of Metropolitan Brewing supplemented by pairings with the great beers of New Glarus helped wash away any need to inquire.

What next for the urban adventurers? A bonfire! Cleetus threw the keg of Metropolitan Dynamo Copper on the back of the tractor as we pulled up hay bales and warmed up around a big, blazing fire pit.We city-folk rarely get to see so many stars…but it was time to load the keg onto the bus and head home. As we traveled through the dark, I had time to think about the enormous task of coordinating this farmvisit, fromenlisting the experts to planning, transporting, and executing the menu items, service, and beer pairings. Friedman’s enthusiasm and passion added a sparkle to our adult field trip and helped us all remember where our meat ought to be coming from.

Lisa Futterman is a chef/writer and urban adventurer who loves a good field trip, especially when it involves seasonal cuisine. It's an exceptional day for her when the assignment includes artisan cheeses and a local brew.

City Provisions is a Chicago-based catering company that focuses on local, sustainable and organic foods, with a heavy emphasis on sustainable practices, including an organic “composting” program, in which organic waste is preserved and given to farmers to use as feed for their livestock.

Dietzler Farms is a family owned and operated farm inWalworthCounty,WI, which raises all-natural grass fed hereford and black angus cattle free from antibiotics and steroids.