'People Are Eating from the Roots'

Donning his trademark Boston Red Sox cap and a white apron, Jason Hall de-bearded oysters over a sink in the kitchen of his restaurant, while cook, Tom McGill, dressed a burger with caramelized onions.

The hungry, Friday afternoon lunch crowd had left Stepney Kitchen's dining room moments earlier and staffers at the 440 Main Street restaurant were already preparing food for dinner.

Hall would soon be on his way to the Monroe Farmers Market to stock up on fresh vegetables. Much of the ingredients Stepney Kitchen uses comes from local farms.

"We live in New England," Hall said. "We should use New England fare."

Aside from shopping at the weekly farmers market, the restaurant owner takes trips to area farms.

"At Sport Hill Farm in Easton a woman pulled carrots right out of the ground in front of me," he said.

Close to 65 percent of the produce Stepney Kitchen uses is locally grown, according to Hall.

The restaurant's logo is a green tree with roots in the shape of a fork.

"People are eating from the roots," Hall said, "with fresh food in and around their community."

Hall has been a cook for 12 years and Stepney Kitchen is his first restaurant. It opened this past January, but the business is already doing well enough to make calling ahead for dinner reservations a good idea.

"We're totally booked for dinner tonight and tomorrow," Hall said. "We do pretty much reservations-only on the weekends. We attract customers outside of town, so we don't want them to come all the way here and not get a table."

"We'll take walk-ins when we can," he added.

Stepney Kitchen serves lunch and dinner and is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. then 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The restaurant does not have a liquor license, but patrons can bring their own spirits.

"People usually bring a bottle of wine," Hall said.

Though there is no corking fee, he said the restaurant charges for the glass.

American cuisine

Hall classifies Stepney Kitchen as New American.

"We generally do American food with modern representations of American dishes," he said.

Hall used to be a cook at a restaurant specializing in Southern Italian fare. "It was hard to get the quality ingredients and be authentic," he recalled.

That is what Hall said inspired him to open a restaurant specializing in dishes made with food locally grown and raised.

The meat is also fresh. Stepney Kitchen buys its lamb from Sepe Farm in Newtown and gets its beef from Butcher's Best, also in Newtown.

"I trust him to buy good beef," Hall said of the butcher there.

What are Stepney Kitchen's most popular dishes?

"We change the menu on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of farm ingredients," Hall said. "Mainstays are hamburgers and people definitely come down for the lamb. I'll do a shank. I'll do a leg. I'll do all kinds of cuts. We try to use the whole animal, so not just one lamb chop is used."

Friday's menu included a lamb pita.

"We dress it with yogurt, lemon, cucumber, garlic and cayenne," Hall said, "pretty simple. We play with the idea of tzatziki sauce, but make it a coleslaw."

Fish tacos are also a favorite.

Because everything is made on the premises, Hall said Stepney Kitchen can cater to individuals tastes and diets, especially to people with food allergies. For instance, he had baked a gluten free cake for a girl's birthday party.

Meet the farmers

Customers coming to Stepney Kitchen first walk through an enclosed patio with tables and wicker furniture before entering the dining room, where the walls are adorned with framed artwork featuring farms. Carved wooden roosters are displayed throughout the room.

"They're all over the place," said Brian Hall, Jason's brother.

Brian seats patrons, waits on tables and works the cash register, while Jason keeps busy in the kitchen.

Jason was hurrying to get things done before running out the door to the farmers market.

"That's where my passion lies," he said. "I like the community idea. I get out and meet the farmers."