She tugs at the wrists of her wool cardigan, the same color as the couch. But on this cool winter afternoon, the only source of warmth in the room is in Galler's hazel eyes when she speaks of her home in Healdsburg and her experiments in community. She lives on some property outside of town with her boyfriend and business partner, Steve DeCosse, and some chickens. Her best friend and other business partner, Marci Ellison, lives next door. While the garden there doesn't supply all or even most of the produce for the seasonally inspired menus at Acre, just getting out to the farmers' market and talking to the local farmers is more than enough.
Restaurants are integral to community.
You're supporting the community and feeding it at the same time. THE ROOT of Galler's obsession with community and good food is fairly close to the surface. Raised an only child by her divorced mother, she was encouraged to choose her own food at an early age. I invited my girlfriend over and I served that soup. After ditching the rigid academia at Reed, Galler proceeded to eat her way around Asia, went to cooking school in Portland, and landed a few prime cafe gigs in San Francisco.