All fresco: Taking farm-to-table literally

"Our carbon footprint," says our waiter at a recent dinner at Zinc, "is pretty low from there to there."

He's pointing out the bed of herbs, peas, and other edibles growing around the perimeter of the outdoor dining area at the West Main Street restaurant. This by-the-seats garden was actually installed three years ago, but this was our first experience seeing the restaurant's resident farmer in action.

The farmer is Laura McGurn, who sports her title with as much pride as she sports an orange shirt advertising The Spice Diva, the new food flavoring station in the nearby Main Street Market. During our recent meal, McGurn was carefully harvesting but stopped by the table to see if we had any questions (and ask why we were snapping photos.)