Each chair proffers a fleece blanket for comfort against the chill. The table celebrates the abundance of harvest as it tumbles into winter, with lanterns and magnolia leaf garland at an ideal height to still talk across the table. In boots and jeans, we stomp into a party barn set for fine dining. The energy of the Montgomerys seems Herculean, but maybe it’s simply a couple deep in their stride. There’s also 30-plus chickens, two Nubian goats, two Nigerian dwarf goats, four Kune Kune pigs, three horses, five dogs, twelve Valais Blacknose sheep, and three alpacas. She’s never met an animal that didn’t love her, and this little goat was dumped in a box at the farm on a frozen night. He pulls a purple kohlrabi from its row and proudly shows us how robust it is, animating when a flash flood washed this field out in season one.įran meets us at the barn as we pull up, a black-and-white spotted kid named Sprout in her arms. Montgomery talks to his produce in the same manner he interacts with the cows: adoring, protective, and bossy. We head back to the farm at twilight and stop to visit the fields. It’s surreal and delightful to be so close to these agrarian beasts, bundled in jackets and feeding them treats. They wander around us as we sip cocktails and nibble apps, including the smoky parmesan Wren Witching Sticks that Montgomery produces for the restaurant’s charcuterie boards. The sky seems to widen with the added elevation and mellows into evening gold, and we ooh and ahh over the furry cows. ![]() It’s here they take us as a group, in Gators and trucks, winding up a dirt road to higher ground. He and his wife, Fran, bought the century-old dairy farm in 2017 and began renovating the farmhouse, tilling neglected fields, building an adjacent barn for their wedding reception, and planning for pastureland to raise Scottish Highland cattle and Valais Blacknose sheep. The 50-acre farm is a place Montgomery calls restorative and a constant challenge. Urban Wren has found a rapt audience in The West End for date night, dinner with friends, and happy hour. He makes the commute daily between Western North Carolina and the Upstate and finds the drive home meditative after the intensity of dinner service in a restaurant that seats 175 and turns tables several times on a busy night. ![]() He grows much of what’s served at his own farm, Montgomery Sky Ranch, just north of Asheville and says he strives for Urban Wren to be a seed-to-plate experience. His obsession to be involved in the lifecycle of what makes it to the menu is evident. There are chefs that are grower-centric and then there’s chef Taylor Montgomery. The menu at Urban Wren is a bit of a love letter to soil. Chef Taylor Montgomery invites us over for six courses in his barn and cocktails with the cows
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