Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Restaurants Farm Burger packs ’em in
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 11:27 PM
No, it's not an over-dyed Easter egg. It's the pickled egg available as a snack at the new Farm Burger in Decatur. A light dousing of vinegar gives the egg its flavor and a layer of beets imparts the color.
We dined at the popular new burger joint next to Watershed Monday night. We had tried to eat there Sunday night but found the line to the counter so long and slow that we left. But Monday night, we had no wait at all. That's not to say the restaurant wasn't busy. Most tables were filled, so we apparently hit it at just the right time.
The gimmick here is ethical eating. The ingredients, including grass-fed beef, are from local farms. As the restaurant's website says:
Farm Burger is sustainable, local, humane, and helping to reroute our food system to function more like an ecosystem than a corporation. Our goal is to connect soil, animal, plant, rancher, butcher, chef & you…all in a simple wire basket.
How's the food in that wire basket taste? The beef itself is extraordinary. You'd have to have a ruined palate not to pick up the difference in this and the typical burger patty around town. However, toppings can rapidly overwhelm the natural flavor. I ordered the signature "farm burger" with white cheddar, caramelized onions and a heavy sauce. I added bacon. My first bites of the burger were way oily. It wasn't until I scraped away some of the toppings that I got the full flavor.
Wayne's burger -- a special with salami and pimento cheese -- was likewise excessive for my taste, but he had no complaint. He did whine about the fries, which were unduly limp.
I urge you to go easy on the toppings. There are some interesting ones available -- or not available, as in the case of roasted bone marrow. There are also snacks and side dishes, like fried chicken livers, braised local greens, pork and beans, chicken croquettes and the pickled eggs.
I'll have more to say in a few weeks in "Grazing."
(Photo by Cliff Bostock)
Comments (4)
Showing 1-4 of 4
Too bad the marrow wasn't available. I was there opening day and had it and it was an almost shamefully carnal experience. It was roasted very hot, so instead of putting pieces of marrow on the burger I just poured it onto the bun. Not the ideal way to eat marrow by itself, but now the only way I ever want a hamburger bun is drenched in hot, dripping marrow. The swiss cheese was also probably the best swiss I've had on a burger.
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Went today for lunch. Had a pretty good burger, though I would not put it in the top three in the city. One interesting note: saw a lot of food coming back to the kitchen (was at the counter) because it wasn't right, wasn't hot, etc. I'll go back in a few weeks and give it another whirl.
Good enough burger, but I was suprised and frustrated that they will not cook a burger less than medium. I'd have expected that a restaurant in such tight control of thier food chain would have confidence enough in their product to serve a medium rare burger... or dare I ask "rare!". Is Richard Blais getting that much higher quality beef in order to offer Flip's tartare burger?
Extraordinary? Are you a douche bag AND a moron? The beef wasn't moist (also known as dry), even when cooked medium rare. The place is "just ok", but given the lack of any other place quite like it in Decatur (Ted's doesn't count), it will do well. Nothing to get your panties wet over, Cliff. Best burgers: Holman & Finch, Muss & Turners
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