Eatery seeks ways to go green

Published: Sunday, June 28, 2009, The Saratogian
BY WENDY HOBDAY HAUGH
For Ballston Spa Life

BALLSTON SPA — Have you been to a restaurant that feeds people, pigs, and chickens? Fifty South, located at the north end of the village, does that.

Pigs and chickens don't visit the restaurant, of course. But daily, animal-loving employees deliver buckets of tasty table scrapes to the pen of Olive and Olivia: two 750-pound pet pigs that live nearby.

Although the pigs can't eat meat or fish, scraps of mashed potatoes, rice, and pancakes apparently make them very happy. And every day, farming families stop by the restaurant to pick up leftover bread to take home to feed their chickens.

Waste not
Chef Kim Klopstock, owner of Fifty South, hates to waste anything. Firmly committed to composting, she hauls nutrient-rich vegetable scraps from her restaurant's kitchen back home and works them into her land. After noticing how much food a day's worth of customers were leaving behind on their plates, Klopstock started looking for local pigs who might enjoy it.

"When my children were young, we had a pet pig named Snorky," Klopstock said. "Also, I know exactly what foods pigs like and just how much they can eat! Pigs are natural rototillers. They're always digging in the ground, turning it over. When they defecate, that gets worked into the earth also, enriching it. Snorky's rototilled soil made great fertilizer for my vegetable gardens."

Greening home, work
At work and at home, Klopstock tries to live green and conserve natural resources. In New York, restaurants are not required to recycle, but that doesn't stop Klopstock from doing it. She knows exactly how much glass, metal, and paper waste a restaurant can generate.

"My family has been recycling for thirty years now, so it's important to me that my restaurant recycles as well," Klopstock said. "We strain our fry oil daily and replace it regularly. Then, a local man takes it home, processes it further, and uses it as fuel to power his car. We also use biodegradable take-out containers made from bamboo plants." Unlike their Styrofoam counterpart, bamboo containers break down easily.

"I purchase milk and foods from local farmers and businesses," Klopstock said. "And all of my greens are grown within a 100-mile radius."

Fair Trade practitioner
Klopstock serves only fair-trade coffee, too, which guarantees that the people who picked and processed the coffee beans were paid fairly and treated humanely. "It may cost more, but it's the right thing to do."

"And if you're going to do fair trade," Klopstock said, "you better do fair trade for your guests as well. I try to keep the margin as close as possible, so that Fifty South is affordable to everybody, or as many people as possible... people of all ages, from tiny children to the elderly."

It takes commitment, planning, and work to run an environmentally-friendly restaurant.

"But how you treat everything effects everything," Klopstock said. "We've got to take care of the earth."

A bit of a renegade, Klopstock admitted, she came into the restaurant business "backward."

"I had a successful catering business first," said Klopstock, referring to The Lily & The Rose, which she started in 1994. "And, then, I opened a restaurant. Most people have a restaurant first and then open a catering business for extra cash. ... I've got a substantial catering company that, then, allows me the privilege of having a restaurant and keeping my prices affordable."

Her play kitchen
For Klopstock, catering is work; running Fifty South is fun. She enjoys getting to know her customers in a casual dining atmosphere, and she loves experimenting with the menu and the restaurant's layout.

There's the bright and spacious main dining hall, with its warm wood floors and funky green walls showcasing framed vintage New York City Ballet posters. The bar area offers a rotating display of local artwork and an upright piano, played periodically throughout the week by local musicians. Then there's the Gold Room: a cozy spot for parties and special events.

Fifty South's detailed menu makes a great read. Many popular menu items, including traditional favorites, organic, vegetarian, and vegan dishes, are named for the recipe's creator: Robin's wrap, Sierra's poached pear salad, Gi Gi's pulled pork, and KK's Favorite, to name just a few.

Cooking practices
The menu's items, from soups and salad dressings to chicken fingers and mac 'n cheese, are Klopstock's take and made in her kitchen using the region's produce. No trans fats, MSG or other chemical additives are used, and the establishment doesn't have a microwave.

Prior to Fifty South's opening in August 2007, Klopstock spent several years searching for a place to open her first restaurant. When an older establishment known for decades as Leo's Diner and, later, Sharp's Pub became available, Klopstock pounced. Equipped with three separate kitchens, not to mention tons of parking, Klopstock knew she'd found the perfect base camp from which to run a restaurant and her growing catering business.

Klopstock admitted to being inexperienced about operating a restaurant.

"Catering is catering and a restaurant is a restaurant, and they're completely different animals," Klopstock said. "I had to learn a lot, and learn quickly. But I had, and I still have, the best team. I work with my family — my mother, Holly, and my two daughters, Talara and Sierra — and a bunch of other great people. And from the start, I've had Gail — Leo's daughter — working here also. Gail was our shining star, the one who helped us figure out how to run a restaurant."

Klopstock said she believes Fifty South will evolve, offering cooking classes, wine-tasting, dance lessons, festive holiday events as well as a changing menu. Given Klopstock's creativity and her love of entertaining, patrons are likely to have a great time, and a great meal, at Fifty South.

"I want my restaurant to be a community gathering place where people of all ages feel like family," Klopstock said. "Because to me, Fifty South is home."

Whet your Appetite

What: 50 South

Where: 2128 Doubleday Ave. (Route 50), Ballston Spa.

Hours: daily 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; frequent diner & "winer" cards available.