Local Food Served Fresh at Valley Kitchen

For the forseeable future, Valley will be closed for lunch so they can allocate all of their resources towards creating the best dinner experience in Valpo. They are now open 7 nights a week, 4 pm to late!

There is a movement gaining popularity in these challenging economic times: shopping local. Many have realized that they can directly affect the economic status of their community, by investing their hard-earned dollars in local businesses, helping small business owners succeed which betters the city overall. Valley Kitchen & Bar is embracing this idea, bringing the Farm-to-Table movement to Valpo.

The story of Valley Kitchen & Bar begins when a girl meets a boy. Blair (Gorski) Muro, a farm girl from La Crosse, IN, married a Florida chef, Cory Muro and began traveling the country, gaining knowledge and experience by working in various restaurants and management positions. During one of their drives to Florida, the couple passed through the farmlands of Indiana. “Cory was really excited about the farmland,” smiled Blair. The pair decided to make Indiana home for a bit and settled into a farmer’s lifestyle. “Cory offered to help my dad with the harvest season,” she remembered, “But we knew [a farming lifestyle] wasn’t forever.

While working as an executive chef at an Asian restaurant back in Colorado, Cory realized he could manage a restaurant. “He asked ‘Why am I doing this for someone else, when I can do it myself’,” stated Blair. After spending so much time on the farm in Indiana, the idea for the farm-to-table restaurant bloomed, an eatery that serves produce from local farmers, and its location was a no-brainer: Valparaiso. “It only made sense to be here, when my family are farmers, my dad has produce buddies…we already have connections,” she shared.

In April 2011, the couple made a more permanent move to Indiana and began renovations on what used to be the Scuba Tank, on Franklin Street. After beginning demolition, the Muro family discovered hidden treasures, including the original brick wall and the original maple wood floor, covered by carpet and tile.

All of the décor in Valley Kitchen & Bar has a story behind it, from the pendant lights and bar lights, made from flipped French flower pots and automotive funnels, to the drink bar and the kitchen bar, built with wood from an old barn in La Crosse, to the metal partitions surrounding the drink bar, formed from recycled metal. There’s even a sign next to the kitchen bar, Rainbow Farm News, a gift to the family from Orville Redenbacher himself, who was a friend of Blair’s grandfather.

Valley Kitchen & Bar is open for lunch from 11-3 and dinner from 5 pm until late. The bar stays open during the hours between meals. For lunch, customers order at the hostess stand from a menu of sandwiches, salads, and soup. During dinner, customers can order from the kitchen bar or at the tables, from a menu of 5 items. “We created a limited dinner menu on purpose,” Blair said, “We want to make sure everything is perfect, every time.”

The concept of farm-to-table is “a movement that’s growing, the customer knowing where the product is coming from,” stated Cory. For dinner, diners can choose from bone-in steak from Josilyn, IL, 1 ¾ inches cut pork from Logansport, IN, bone-in grilled chicken breast or braised chicken leg, fried in tempura batter, from Angola, IN, bluegill fish from Lake Ontario, and a vegetarian dish, usually pasta, made in house.

We try to do our best and get as much as we can local,” Cory said, noting that some items are seasonal, creating the need to shop out of the region; however, the menu will often revolve around what is in season. Currently Valley Kitchen has been receiving apples from County Line Orchard so menu has featured soups with apples, apples as a garnish and even apple martinis. Pumpkins and squashes have also been heavily featured as of late, another food in season.

We do an incredible amount of research to share with our customers where items come from,” stated Cory. The restaurant uses hormone-free foods as much as possible, in an effort to offer healthier choices to their diners. “Miller Amish Country Poultry is the only chicken processor that Whole Foods will buy from. They met and exceeded their high standards. That’s where we order our chicken from,” Cory shared.

For an evening out on the town, Valley Kitchen & Bar offers a full bar and a range of specialty drinks, including an extensive martini list, with 2 different martinis featured each month. For the beer drinker, a variety of gems are on tap, including Magic Hat, Scrimshaw, Red Seal Ale, and Figure 8. And for those seeking a some fun with their beer, Valley Kitchen will set up their cornhole boards!

Be sure to “like” Valley Kitchen & Bar on Facebook, to keep up with specials and events! Currently, Mondays feature top-shelf margaritas for $5, $5 martinis on Tuesdays, and $5 specialty wine on Wednesdays. Live music is available on Thursdays!