Mario Batali eateries take farm-to-table dining up a notch

If you like your meat and produce super fresh, this is one dining experience you do not want to miss.

By Sarah Feldberg

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011 | 6:17 p.m.

Imagine expert chefs crafting a casual Italian meal on a working ranch using produce and proteins from the farm and its neighbors. If it sounds like the kind of daydream reserved for residents of California, the Hudson Valley or the Pacific Northwest, it’s time to put Alamo, Nevada into your GPS. On August 20, Buckhorn Ranch will host the second annual Cuisine in the Country, a celebration of Lincoln County bounty and Strip culinary skill that merges the two for a one-night-only dinner down on the farm. Chefs from Mario Batali’s Venetian/Palazzo eateries—Carnevino, B&B and Otto Pizzeria—will do the cooking, serving dishes like spit-roasted ribeye, Sardinian-style goat and summer salads, with courses paired by Batali sommeliers. Buckhorn Ranch and Batali already take farm-to-table dining seriously, with the restaurants using local produce from the ranch, then shipping vegetable trimmings back to Alamo to be turned into rich fertilizer. On Saturday, the farm and the table just get a little closer together.