Root Food + Wine is a memorable dining destination in Augusta

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Photography by Jennifer Silverberg

Buttonwood Chicken Terrine

It’s worth it just for the trip through the gentle, almost impossibly beautiful hills, many flanked with tidy lines of tended grapevines. Or for the visit to the vintage movie set that is Augusta. It’s worth it just to sit in that early 20th-century home, much of it still original, cozy, and nestled under giant trees, surrounded by gardens that practically demand a stroll. It’s worth it for those cocktails, weird and wonderful, conjured up with giant bubbles that burst into fragrant smoke or that reflect the barkeep’s self-professed search for the perfect Negroni. It’s worth the drive just to enjoy the luminous artwork, à la Thomas Hart Benton, like the mural outside and the magnificent portrait of a sycamore inside. It’s worth it, you realize, even before you have a single plate set before you at Root Food + Wine, the best new restaurant we visited this year.

Does it seem like we’re making a fuss for an eatery that has only three—duck, meatloaf, trout—main courses? Then you haven’t been. You can also go the prix fixe route, from three to seven courses. Or the chef’s tasting. In any event, prepare yourself. You’re in for a culinary roller-coaster ride.

Ours began with a spin through the starters, specifically a chicken liver pâté the consistency of ice cream, accompanied with chunks of sourdough bread. Topped with an aspic of peach and a flurry of sea salt, the dish is a perfect combination of sweet and savory. Another starter, with that same bread (from a six-year-old starter) is slathered with miso butter and salt. Then you’re on to a generous dollop of house-made ricotta, the texture satisfyingly grainy and pudding-like, topped with sea salt, black pepper, and tiny tomatoes; it’s heaped on slabs of crackers pressed from sunflower and black and white sesame seeds. The broth is a trifle too salty; otherwise a pool of dashi stock fortified with savory shiitake mushrooms is exquisite, a splendid puddle filled with steamed dumplings stuffed with local beef, another starter that’s startlingly tasty.

The diner is rapidly running short on superlatives—bruschetta smeared with ground Spanish chorizo, fermented chiles, and that ricotta might send him over the edge entirely—and yet he still faces the main courses.

You know by now that the meatloaf will be far from ordinary. It’s from the restaurant’s own purchased cow, the beef mixed with pork for fat and luscious texture, with a schmear of pesto. Fresh cherry tomatoes are balanced on top, the skins of some roasted to add a crispy crackle. A side of cucumber salad, flecked with dill, complements the tender brick of meat.

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Photography by Jennifer Silverberg

Charcoal Grilled Duck

Duck breast gets a sous-vide treatment. It’s finished on a konro, a tiny ceramic grill glowing on the restaurant’s back porch, which adds a caramelized crust. The flavor of the fowl is on full display, with a small scoop of sweet squash and grated peaches to offset the duck’s richness.

Cold-smoking a fillet of trout imparts a woodsy fragrance; the fish is finished on the grill, so it’s moist. A side salad of cucumbers, dill, onion, and dribbles of bright-orange pearls of trout roe is good enough to stand on its own.

With every course, there are lag-niappes. Fragile sprigs of holy basil are plopped on that ricotta starter. A sliver of dried shiitake complements a cocktail. A crumbled topping of roasted-crisp honeycomb, tasting like a delicate brittle, polishes a peach dessert.

Photography by Jennifer Silverberg

Smoked Tomato Soup

A wine list is expertly organized, with lots of French and Italian options. But come on: This is Augusta. Local wines are well-represented. It would be a waste not to match the terroir of this grand, historic region with the locally produced foods. Year after year, the Norton from Bethlehem Vineyards has been an excellent example of Missouri’s state grape. It’s on the list here. On the lighter side is Noboleis’ Baril De Blanc, made from vidal blanc grapes sourced from little-known Honey Bee Vineyards in Augusta.And the cocktails are a must. There’s a whole catalog—it’s terrific fun to ask for suggestions. You won’t be disappointed.

Shunmono is the Japanese word for the attention to seasons in dining. Root embodies the concept. After our first visit, this summer, we drove back to St. Louis through the forested hilltops at dusk, as the western sky was streaked with glowing pink. We thought ahead to October, with that foliage on fire and the promise of autumnal offerings. While we might not top that initial visit, we’re certainly going to give it a try.