DAYTON EATS: Meadowlark restaurant celebrates 20 years: Here are 20 reasons to love it

But then, we’re talking about Meadowlark. One of the best restaurants in our region in my humble opinion. A destination that always brings big beautiful flavor to dishes that are a seasonal symphony based on the harvest at hand.

There are an unending number of reasons to love this special spot. Here are the top 20 that come to mind for me.

1) Chef Elizabeth Wiley

She may have sold Wheat Penny and Meadowlark to her beloved business partners, Chefs Dave Rawson and Liz Valenti, but Meadowlark’s roots began with this beloved culinary icon who blazed new trails in Dayton when she opened her sweet delightful Meadowlark restaurant on Miamisburg-Centerville Road in Washington Twp. in 2004. Having enjoyed hundreds of her meals over the years, you could taste that there was real joy in crafting and creating dishes for others. How lucky are we that her delicious vision continues on?

2) Dave Rawson

“Dave and I worked together at The Winds, and he came on board as kitchen manager at Little Meadowlark in early 2006, and has been here ever since. He is solid, feet-on-the-ground, creative and hard-working, a good communicator and fantastic cook who started his career as a baker at Meijer, and studied culinary at Sinclair. To watch him make risotto, or ratatouille is poetic. His wife Robin, another Winds alumna, has been cooking at Meadowlark since opening day in September, 2004. I could not have done any of it without them,” said Wiley in an interview last year.

3) Liz Valenti

Wiley’s best friend from college who was working as an accountant in Chicago when the chef at one of her clients, a big catering firm in Chicago, abruptly walked out. She happened to be in the office there, and got up from the desk and went to help the owner in the kitchen. She never went back to accounting. She stayed at the caterer, Amazing Edibles, and landed the family meal contract for Harpo Studios’ Oprah Winfrey Show, meaning she catered a fairly lavish meal for 125 of Ms. Winfrey’s employees every day ... Oprah. Winfrey. She and Wiley opened Wheat Penny in August of 2013 several years after she moved to Dayton after Oprah ended her show. She is at Wheat Penny, but don’t think that as Wiley and Rawson’s business partner she’s not an important part of the Meadowlark story.

4) The menu descriptions

Reading through the menu is like a beautiful prose telling the story behind the dish and why it is so very special. The menu is not just something to glance through, but something to relish in. There is a delightful joy, respect and devotion for the dishes that radiates through every word.

5) The flavor

Each detail of the meal, right down to the condiments is executed with the idea of making the perfect bite for that particular dish. It would be so much easier to buy Heinz and serve it, but it doesn’t light a candle to the homemade ketchup they have been serving up for two decades.

6) Garlic frites

And speaking of ketchup, if you know you know, and everyone who has been knows about Meadowlark’s fantastic flavorful frites that come in a cone.

7) The consistency

There’s something rare and wonderful walking through the door of a restaurant assured in the knowledge that not only will the execution be consistent, but whatever you get will be absolutely delicious. It’s something that can easily be taken for granted, but I can tell you what they have continued to accomplish with a steady execution of composition and flavors that take into account everything your taste buds will communicate to your brain about the meal is no easy feat. Especially when those communications to the brain are consistently good.

8) Fried Green Tomatoes

Coated in bread crumbs and fried till crisp and golden brown, green tomatoes soften and sweeten with cooking and are many people’s favorite this time of year. As the summer begins to wind down in Ohio, it means it’s the best time of year for tomatoes. Whether you enjoy a deep fried green tomato or a local ripe beauty, they have you covered. The fried green tomato sandwich with Nueske’s Applewood smoked bacon is like a high five for your mouth. I love the chow-chow they serve them with — a chopped, mustardy relish full of cabbage, peppers, onions and chopped green tomato that is a perfect pairing for just about anything you can think of, but especially fried green tomatoes.

9) The events

This kitchen team is so creative with everything that they do. My favorite one in recent memory was a Restaurant Week menu that was a tribute to my mentor and friend Ann Heller. They took Ann’s favorite dishes and recipes and created a fantastic meal to honor her. Whether it’s a wine dinner, a holiday meal or a special dinner Meadowlark always knocks it out of the park. The team also generously gives back to help support events and worthy causes throughout the year investing and caring for our community.

10) The service

There’s always a smile that greets you. The servers are almost always knowledgeable and responsive. A good meal is always better when it is delivered with great service.

11) The veggies

If you are vegetarian, this is a spot for you. Start with the portabello patty melt ($15.95) for lunch featuring a big, meaty portabello mushroom roasted with garlic, coarse salt and olive oil served on a Dorothy Lane Market New York Rye, with gruyere cheese, grilled onions and house-made mustard-mayo. It’s delicious.

12) The children’s gallery

Did you know that the Meadowlark boasts its own children’s art gallery? It’s hard to miss when you walk into the restaurant. For years, they have been delighted to showcase the incredible talents of their youngest customers. If you’ve missed it be sure to take it in on your next visit.

13) Their salads

I absolutely love a Meadowlark salad. There’s the tried and true Caesar that is a staple favorite, but there’s also the Vietnamese noodle salad featuring chilled rice noodles, thinly-sliced vegetables, hot grilled chicken, steak or tofu and a showering of mint, basil, cilantro and cashews. Served with nuoc cham, a sauce made with chile, lime juice and fish sauce. Right now they also have a late summer panzanella, an Italian salad of vegetables at their peak tossed with cheese, herbs and toasted hunks of good bread. Cubes of DLM bread are lightly toasted to order, then tossed while still warm with local tomatoes, roasted zucchini and peppers, shaved fennel and punchy capers with a scattering of white beans, Buf brand mozzarella balls and a big handful of mixed greens and fresh herbs. Dressed with a lively vinaigrette and strewn with a little Parmigiano Reggiano it’s a healthy flavorful way to celebrate the best flavors that are being harvested this time of year.

14) The creativity

The kitchen team wants to brainstorm fresh, new concepts and dishes. It’s an innovative crew that wants to flex their creative muscles and you can see it over the course of the year with the menus they put out to tempt us.

15) The local produce

It’s a rainbow of ingredients that they work with and there is no vegetable that they will say no to. Over the summer they featured corn smut from Patchwork Gardens. Huitlacoche, also known as corn smut or the “Mexican truffle” is a fungus that grows on corn and is considered a delicacy in Mexico. People have been eating it there for centuries and use it in various dishes like soups, enchiladas, tortillas, quesadillas, tacos, tamales, and omlettes. You can enjoy huitlacoche raw or cooked, and it has a soft, chewy texture with a flavor that’s sweet, savory, earthy, smoky, and mushroom-like. Some say it’s similar to black truffles and morels. Of course Meadowlark featured it on their menu and I just love that. They love fresh flavors from our local farms and it’s so wonderful how they incorporate what’s in season into their dishes and recipes over the course of the four seasons.

16) The soups

It’s never too hot out for a good cup of soup, right? From a steamy creamy fennel leek soup made with locally farmed fennel and leeks from Patchwork Gardens to a refreshing and delicious cold Borscht or as they also call it in several Eastern European countries, Holodnik, served with a dollop of rich, tart sour cream and plenty of fresh chopped herbs to a warm bowl of their famous tomato soup, they do a tremendous job with soups.

17) The bar

Sometimes a good meal needs a good drink and this is a great bar to find what you’re looking for. The bar is also a great spot to grab a seat to eat if you’re feeling like bellying up and getting to know your bartender.

18) The bar nuts

Sipping on a cocktail is an invitation to slow down, relax, and appreciate the present moment. Sipping on a cocktail with a bowl of Meadowlark’s house made rosemary-infused bar nuts is the way to go.

19) The specials

With a menu that flows with the seasons, the specials at Meadowlark are very special indeed. Right now they have a Tuna Niçoise sandwich ($15.95) on the menu that I am obsessed with. All of the elements from the classic salad from Marseilles on the southern coast of France are brought to a sandwich. Superior-quality canned tuna mixed with olives, capers, olive oil and a dab of mayonnaise is layered on grilled bread with slices of Dale Filbrun’s Organic hard-boiled egg, homegrown tomato and house-pickled green beans. A staff favorite, it’s a fresh, meaty, briny tuna sandwich bursting with flavor.

20) The classic dishes

You don’t make it to 20 without being known for some favorite dishes. It depends on who you ask - some would say the shrimp and grits, others would say the hoppin’ John. The mushroom migas might be the one, while the classic fried green tomatoes that are being featured now might be it. I feel like most can agree on the crab spaghetti. Whatever it is, everyone has a favorite and that is the mark of a great dining destination.

Thank you for feeding us for the last 20 years, hoping for plenty more to come!

Dayton Eats looks at the regional food stories and restaurant news that make mouths water. Share info about your menu updates, special dinners and events, new chefs, interesting new dishes and culinary adventures. Do you know of new exciting format changes, specials, happy hours, restaurant updates or any other tasty news you think is worth a closer look at? E-mail Alexis Larsen at alexis.e.larsen@hotmail.com with the information and we will work to include it in future coverage.

HOW TO GO

What: Meadowlark Restaurant

Where: 5531 Far Hills Ave., Dayton

More info: 937-434-4750 or meadowlarkrestaurant.com