BY HEATHER DUBIN | A rainy Tuesday night was no deterrent to diners last week at Blenheim, a new farm-to-table restaurant in the West Village. Located at W. 12th and Fourth Sts., it’s named after the owners’ 150-acre farm in the Catskills.
Morten Sohlberg and Min Ye, the proprietors of Smorgas Chef, a Scandinavian restaurant chain, have turned one of their three restaurants into a pastoral oasis in the West Village.
“We chose this location for farm-to-table because here the neighborhood was the most receptive,” Sohlberg said.
The couple, both urbanites, owned a small farm for 10 years, and purchased Blenheim Hill Farm in 2010 to expand production. They have added an innovative twist to the farm-to-table movement by personally overseeing the growing process of some of the food they serve at their restaurant.
“We know what we’re producing, and we can do it with good conscience,” Sohlberg said.
With a focus on fresh seasonal ingredients and meats, the owners are able to concentrate on an ever-shifting selection for what their restaurants and chefs need. And since they are not a commercial farm, they can research and try out more obscure crops. Currently, the farm is sprouting red feis, a green, from a small wheat farmer in Ohio, who is a Blenheim sous chef’s uncle.
About half of the produce and meat for the restaurant comes from the farm, where they also raise sheep, cattle, poultry, lamb and pigs. Forest foraging yields mushrooms, edible flowers, herbs and maple syrup, while local farmers markets in Manhattan round out the menu.
At their farm, with its hydroponic greenhouse of 30 to 40 crops, there is ample room for experimentation year-round.
“Usually a hydroponic is dedicated to one, two, or three crops, and is computer controlled,” Sohlberg said. “But for us, it’s not important just to have a large crop of one thing.”
Currently, the greenhouse has four different types of heirloom tomatoes, 15 kinds of lettuce, mustard greens, lemon balm, flowers and more. Their berries are from 10 acres of Hudson Valley land that they lease for its river soil.
“One of the things that differentiates us from other farm-to-table is that we’re much more modern in our approach,” Sohlberg said. “We can do this because the restaurant is the farm, the chef talks to the farmers, and we can explore things. Generally, farms are often restricted because they have to know they have to sell the crops that they produce.”
This pioneering spirit is also reflected in Blenheim’s décor. Sohlberg, who is from Oslo, Norway, was previously a designer, and conceptualized a space as transparent as the food.
He made the restaurant tables with cement and copper edges, which can interlock, fostering a feeling of community.
“Since I was doing it from the ground up, I could make them unique,” he said, though adding, “I wouldn’t do it again, it was brutal.”
The private dining room, dubbed “The Toolshed,” was somewhat easier to put together. Sohlberg lined the walls with 18th-century tools — a double-row cherry picker, a pulley and a hammer — all found in his own farm’s toolshed. While the rationale was ambiance, it is also convenient for Sohlberg, who uses tools from the walls to fix things in the restaurant.
A long wooden beam runs the length of the place, creating a streamlined effect that ends near the open kitchen, which is dominated by an enormous wooden counter. Sohlberg bought the beam from a farmer in Saratoga Springs, and carried it home in four sections, wearing snow boots. Three rusted-out 18th-century milk jugs, riddled with bullet holes from target practice, were discovered in the forest near the farm, and have been transformed into chandeliers.
Because the building is landmarked, the owners had to comply with preservation guidelines for exterior renovations.
“We completely changed the storefront facade,” Sohlberg said. “We had to research and find original photos from as far back as the 1930s and ’40s. Our architects had to recreate as much as possible the features and woodworking. What you see now is the actual original design of the building at that time, which is much nicer than when we took over the restaurant eight years ago.”
Ye is from Shanghai, and has a background in economics. She worked on Wall St. before transitioning to the restaurant world. She attended culinary school, and has been a restaurateur with Sohlberg for the past 10 years.
Blenheim first opened in May, but closed its doors a month later following a parting with chef Justin Hilbert. The owners sought out executive chef Ryan Tate who came in July 6, and started the next day.
Originally from Buchannan, Michigan, Tate started early in restaurants. From high school on, he worked his way through kitchens, and learned the nuances of seasonal cuisine with a chef he described as “Alice Water-ish” — referring to the American chef and organic food proponent — at a Kalamazoo restaurant.
Tate’s restaurant tutelage continued in Chicago, and then Manhattan, with stints at RM, Lure FishBar, Cookshop and Savoy. He opened Le Restaurant in Tribeca, earning one Michelin star.
At Blenheim, Tate and the owners have merged their talents to craft a groundbreaking and extraordinary culinary seasonal adventure.
“I’m very in tune with the seasons, maybe because of the climate,” the chef said. “The farm is a week behind what’s happening at the farmers market — it’s a little bit of a microclimate, there’s elevation, a bit, and it’s three hours Upstate.”
He is in contact with the farmers and gave them a recent wish list, which includes purple cabbage for garnish.
“I try to incorporate as many unique ingredients as possible,” he noted. “I have a guy who ships things down from the coast from Maine — including lots of sea plants.”
The care in securing the highest-quality ingredients clearly translates to the plate. The $95 tasting menu was an absolute delight. It began with “farm egg” with sea urchin Béarnaise and brioche, evoking ocean longing and crisp richness.
Other highlights included black trumpet mushroom (a balance of wildness and tang with sorrel and red walnuts), sprouted wheat “risotto style” zucchini (which contained an earthiness and surprising spicy kick) and beef short loin (with wheat grass, potato, bone marrow and meadow herbs) an entree inspired by Lily, a cow that was slaughtered on the farm.
Tate spent time on the farm before he started at Blenheim, and Lily was the topic of discussion.
“I came up with the idea to create a beef dish based on what the cow eats,” he explained. “It’s the first dish I thought of when I was there, ‘Lily and her diet.’ ” The dish has evolved, and Hereford beefsteak ($34) now has the added intensity of farmer’s cheese.
The foie gras ($19) was complemented with tender dehydrated heirloom tomatoes and pickled okra. And the striped bass ($28) was cooked to perfection with coffee-roasted baby carrots, blueberries and sea urchin sabayon.
The bread plate featured a wheat roll in the shape of a pig, with fresh butter from the farm.
The service was excellent.
Dessert was preceded by a palate cleanser that was an amazing combination of basil, peppermint and citrus, covered with fresh herbs, resembling a mound of green moss, followed by chocolate ganache tamed with sour cherry, pistachio and wild mint.
Stop by for a perfect summer meal, and be sure to go again for the farm’s change of season.
Blenheim, 283 W. 12th St., 212-243-7073.
