Lenny Russo

By Kara Buckner

Credit: James Oseland

At Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market in St. Paul, Minnesota, chef-owner Lenny Russo showcases the bounty of the upper Midwest: in the fall, sugar pumpkin tartlets and fried goose wing with cranberry compote; in spring, wild leek vichyssoise and grilled Duroc pork chops with fiddlehead ferns. The market, adjacent to the restaurant, overflows with housemade heritage-breed charcuterie; wild turkeys and ducks; Lake Superior whitefish and trout; fresh berries in summer, preserved ones in fall; mustard ground from local seeds. So much abundance! For Russo, an Italian-American east Coast transplant, the traditional flavors and ingredients of Minnesota and its surrounding states provide an invigorating palette.

Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market
289 East 5th Street

St. Paul, Minnesota
651/699-3536