Our goodness grows close to home

Think of the best tomato you've ever had. How its intensity, subtlety, and sudden surge of pleasure redefined your sense of possibility. That's the intersection of truly good and truly fresh. That's Square One.

And it's where we start at Square One Bistro... with ingredients as good, fresh, natural and sustainable as can be. About 90% of our produce is organic during the growing season, and 60% in the winter. Virtually nothing is frozen, canned, pre-cut, pre-cooked - pre-anything. We begin with food in its native state and do only that which improves it.

"Native state" applies in another sense, because we stock our larder from our locale, state, and region. We take the "50-150-regional" approach, getting our produce from within 50 miles, our "small protein items" from within 150 miles, and our "big protein items" from within our region.

For our produce, for example, we network with organic farmers in Henderson and surrounding counties, including Chef Joseph's parents in Polk County. Our trout comes from Sunburst Trout Farm in Canton, and our other seafood largely from our rivers and the southern Atlantic coast. Our eggs come from cage-free chickens in Alexander, NC, our chicken and lamb are free-range hormone-free, and our beef is raised on a 100% vegetarian diet of range grass when young and then on barley, corn, and alfalfa hay.

Beginning with such ingredients, we prepare and present them with the thought, care, and pride that they - and you - deserve.

J. Joseph Lewis
chef/owner

Immersed in all things culinary since his teens, Joseph Lewis started cooking out of simple self-interest. "If I wanted adventurous food, it was up to me to make it. So I spent my school years experimenting in the kitchen, and liking the results."

As a 16-year-old country-club dishwasher, Joseph discovered that he had the grit and self-discipline to survive in a commercial kitchen, and a far greater interest in sauces than in suds.

Rising from the sink, Joseph served as a line cook, tossed pizzas, and spent a summer living with a Dutch family through an exchange program before enrolling in the renowned culinary program at A-B Tech in Asheville. "In Holland, I was suddenly eating a lot of real, fresh food in the company of people who made eating together a priority. Every day began with seeing what was best in the markets that day. The refrigerator for the whole family was the size of a dorm room refrigerator here." That summer set a standard Joseph still pursues with passion: fresh and honest food, enjoyed in warm communion.

Between his years at A-B Tech, Joseph interned at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island, Florida, under Lawrence McFadden, one of the very few Certified Master Chefs in the U.S. Impressed by Joseph's talent and industry, McFadden hired him after his schooling, during a year in which McFadden helped the Naples, Florida Ritz-Carlton win recognition as America's finest hotel, and number three in the world. "Working in a place with such high and highly-recognized standards was a great education," Joseph says.

At Richmond Hill Inn in Asheville, at the peak of its reputation, Joseph worked as sous chef (assistant) to his now-missed mentor, the late Francis Lacatena. "Francis had cooked at La Cote Basque and Bistro Desamis in New York, and for several years in France. He taught me the secrets of cooking... the balance of flavors in sauces, how to make good stocks, how to perfect my butchering and reduce waste. And he forced me to do a full kitchen rotation - six months in the bakery, six months of breakfasts, six months at the cold station - all while remaining sous chef. The hours and duties were demanding, but the lessons have been invaluable."

In 2002, at the Glacier Bay Country Inn in Gustavus, Alaska, Joseph took his first post as Executive Chef. The Inn nestled into the evergreens at the mouth of Glacier Bay National Park, a half-mile from the Inside Passage, looking out on the Fairweather and Bear Track mountain ranges. Here, planes and boats were the only links with the outside world, and fog cut off the Inn for days at a time. "We got much of our produce from our own garden, and seafood from just down the trail, but when fog closed us in I might find myself figuring out how to stretch 15 potatoes and 25 zucchini into a three-course meal for 65 people." Joseph did this so well that locals lined up to get in, guests came back year after year, and when Joseph returned for his third and last season after a year's hiatus, the dining room rose in applause.

On April 4, 2008, Joseph and his wife Lindsay opened Square One Bistro, where they are realizing their dream of turning their energies to a menu and ambience of their own making. They look forward to welcoming you.

Lindsay Lewis
manager/owner

"I grew up as a foodie," says Lindsay Lewis. "Our family ate well, ate healthful things, and ate dinner together every night." At age 18, Lindsay smoothly segued into food as a livelihood, first serving as a restaurant hostess, and then as a server in a pankcake house and a steak house.

"In many ways, fine dining is more laid-back than the restaurants I began in," Lindsay observes, "but in another sense, there's more at stake. I feel very strongly about Joe's talent, and it's our challenge to represent it and match Joe's high standards in the front of the house. We strive to combine a friendly, casual atmosphere with impeccable service, and do so almost unnoticeably. We're not the entertainment - we're here to help people enjoy their experience, and we're proud to be doing so.

"Looking around the room, you can just feel when it's all working. Our guests are happy and energized... networking around great food, enjoying each other's company and the pleasures of relaxing in the moment. We all feed off those feelings and they inspire us. The great nights make all of our effort worthwhile."