Fa r m , Fo r k , F l av o r
Local and farm fresh at Watershed Cafe
D
on’t we love to discover
those unassuming little
gems of an eatery that take
us by surprise? If a country-cozy
setting with farm-fresh authen-
ticity and great coffee is up your
alley, then drop in on Watershed
Café in the town of Poolesville.
It’s gem worthy! Opened in 2017,
the café’s tag line is “MOCO’s best
food from MOCO’s best farms” and
owner-chef Ben Ritter is passion-
ate about sourcing veggies, meats
and dairy from the Ag Reserve.
“Nobody else in town is doing
as much cooking from scratch
with quality local ingredients as
we are. That’s what sets us apart,”
assures Ben who, as a farmer,
headed up a local farm operation
and food education program for
kids ten years ago, and soon after
cut his culinary teeth in four dif-
ferent restaurants locally.
Ben’s commitment to
local and fresh comes
from his network of
nearby Ag Reserve farm
produce suppliers—all
small operations includ-
ing Plow and Stars Farm,
One Acre Farm, Eat the
Rainbow Farm, eggs from
Kenzi Kovach (a senior/entre-
preneur at Poolesville High) and
meats from Savage & Sons Farm in
Dickerson. Ben believes strongly
in supporting local businesses in
the Ag Reserve, so much so that 20
percent of his overall food costs, or
$60,000, have been recycled back
into the local farm economies.
“Made fresh from scratch daily
and locally sourced” is the café’s
mantra and eagerly expressed by
the delightful and fun Watershed
crew. Stop by for a fresh baked
muffin and a cold brew coffee
before work. Or try their popu-
lar array of breakfast options.
Six bucks will get you two eggs,
cheese, and bacon on a homemade
bun and a cup of coffee! Or sit a
bit and order the breakfast tacos
with savory sage sausage, red
salsa and sour cream. Biscuits in
sausage gravy, the succulent Sal-
vadoran tamales, “The Shane,” an
egg/pancake combo, all rock!
The Watershed burgers are
getting famous locally and the
smoked pork tacos are delicious.
There’s lots of well-crafted sand-
wiches and salads on the menu,
reasonably priced and just-right
portions, available at the order
counter or online for
pick-up. Table service
happens on weekends.
Watershed breakfasts and
lunches get raves on Google and
the dinner menu is very satisfying
fare in the comfort of the easygo-
ing café. Chef Ben loves the fusion
of Southern influences—from the
Carolinas and southern Virginia—
and smoked Texas BBQ. “With
the BBQ approach, which is my
comfort zone, it’s easy to source
excellent meats to smoke, like pork
and brisket, and pair them with
local greens like collards or kale
as a side.” Order up the smoked
brisket platter with collard greens,
mac and cheese and a homemade
biscuit, add a local beer or a house
wine, and you’ll have bragging rites
for having discovered Watershed!
Tuesday evenings beer and wine
are half priced and kids’ dinners
are free on Wednesday. Saturday
night you’ll even catch live music.
240-489-3544 • cafewatershed.com
19639 Fisher Ave, Poolesville, MD
Serving breakfast & lunch: Mon-Fri,
7-5pm; Sat & Sun, 8-5pm. Dinner:
Tues-Sat, 5-9pm.
Owner/chef Ben Ritter of Watershed Cafe and his popular pork tacos.
plenty I autumn harvest 2019
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