Food

More and more Americans are patronizing restaurants differently these days, opting to make a meal of shareable appetizers, small plates, inventive bar food or coffee and a snack. According to Chicago-based market research company Technomic, only 5 percent of consumers are now eating three square meals a day.

Chili has always been a mainstay for the 12-unit Braintree, Massachusetts-based Joe’s American Bar & Grill, but it didn’t bowl over Steve Byrne, VP of culinary operations. So last February, he took it off the menu. “That was the biggest mistake I’ve made in my career,” he claims.

Tucked amid the horse farms of Kentucky is Josh Moore’s modest 10-acre spread that he cultivates for his Louisville restaurant, Volare. “Everyone tries to be farm-to-table today, but for me, it’s my farm to my table,” says the chef-owner. “We go from seed or seedling to plate.”