Aster, new downtown farm-to-table restaurant, offers vegan, gluten-free, and pescatarian options
MIDLAND, Mich. — A new farm-to-table restaurant has flown under the radar the last six months in downtown Midland. Since November, Aster, located on Ashman has filled the void residents once remembered as the local favorite Molly’s Bistro.
Evan Sumrell, the chef and sole proprietor of Aster comes to Midland from the Chicago area with a wealth of experience and enthusiasm for what they’re doing.
“I found my niche in a farm-to-table restaurant that I took over and really enjoyed and I looked after,” said Mr. Sumrell. “I was mostly the Executive Chef at a lot of groups where I would oversee four to five restaurants at a time.”
Right now, Aster is currently operating from 4 to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, with brunch on Sunday mornings from 10 to 3 p.m.
“We did a Mother’s Day brunch and it was really successful and a lot of people were asking about it,” he said.
Mr. Sumrell told the City Paper he’s been in the food industry his whole life, working his way up from a dishwasher. He graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta with a Bachelor’s in business management in 2011 and moved to Chicago where he met his wife and worked for a couple of different restaurants.
He said he landed a ‘corporate job’ to save up some money, then COVID-19 happened, they came back to the Great Lakes Bay Region, and found the spot and decided to go for it and open up.
“Aster is our son’s birth flower, and aster also grows wildly throughout Michigan and changes color throughout the season,” he said. “Which is pretty spectacular, because that’s who we are – we change our menu seasonally. We added a few things last week and we’re adding a few more this week.”
Aster offers a variety of different options, including vegan, gluten free and pescatarian. They also have a burger on the menu that’s quite popular – a diner burger with two 4 oz. patties, Wisconsin cheddar, aioli and pickles on a sesame seed bun.
“What’s kind of cool is that when you order a burger, we call it a single but it’s actually a double, and you can make it a double but it’s actually a triple. So it’s kind of funny when we bring it out to guests and they’re like, ‘well, I have this gigantic burger now,’” Mr. Sumrell said.
They also have a half chicken on the menu that’s completely de-boned and served with grits, sioux kale, a caramelized onion puree and a nice little chicken jus that they make from the bones. It’s one of Mr. Sumrell’s favorite dishes at the moment.
“My wife was vegan 15 years ago when we met, so it’s kind of near-and-dear to me that we take care of those guests because when we’d go out to eat it was so difficult because no one quite understood it,” he said. “So that’s definitely something that we wanted to accomplish here.”
Farm to table was an important part of Aster as well, he said.
“For us it’s just a part of mother nature,” said Mr. Sumrell. “To us, eating this way and supporting these local farmers is super important to us because we’re not putting money into a large corporate business and we’re supporting these local farms that got hit really hard with the pandemic. And I think a huge thing for us was wanting to still support these businesses on a community based level and also still run a seasonal restaurant where the menu changes with what the farmers have.”
“That’s a super big appeal because eating this way practices sustainability,” he said. “We just believe in taking care of the Earth, so we want to be able to do our part on our tiny little level.”
A.J. Hoffman reports on local business and the arts for the City Paper. He also serves on the City Paper’s board of directors.