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farmerbrown
25 Mason (at Market)
San Francisco, California 94112
415-409-3276(FARM)
www.farmerbrownsf.com
Cuisine: Southern style organic comfort food
Loved: edgy décor, urban atmosphere, fresh ingredients
To Die For: sweet tea, Fulton Valley fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, bourbon pecan pie
Prices: $$-$$$ (Inexpensive to Moderate)
Hours: Dinner: Monday through Sunday Monday through Thursday 5:00 PM - Midnight, bar open until 2:00 AM, Happy Hour Tuesday through Friday
Noise Level: Loud
Service: Good
Romantic: No
Reservations: Must-have!
Good for Kids: No
Celebrity Sightings: 0
Good to Know: Menu rotates quite often, park at the hotel metropolis parking lot ($10 flat fee for farmerbrown patrons). Wine corkage fee $10.
Recommended / Rating: 3 1/2 Stars (0=Don’t Bother to 5=Highly Recommend)
Any restaurant that offers its patrons sweet tea as well as Pabst Blue Ribbon beer on its beverage menu is perfectly fine by me. As I’ve mentioned in a previous review, I’m a sucker for good old-fashioned Southern cooking. Offer me some juicy fried chicken, just about anything deep-fried, and a glass of sweet tea and I’m a happy man.
As I’ve also mentioned, Blue Plate in the Outer Mission is a great choice for good comfort food at affordable prices. Well, take note: farmerbrown should also be at the top of your 2007 restaurant list for good comfort/soul food with a groovy industrial atmosphere, unique contemporary art by Keba Konte, decent service, and really delicious desserts. Be warned, however, that farmerbrown’s location is not for the faint of heart, located just off Market Street on Mason at Turk in what can best be described as a truly urban area. But once you run through the front door, it’s quite a different story.
Atmosphere
Chef and owner Jay Foster, who used to work at Emmy's Spaghetti Shack and BlueJay Café, has created a marvelous industrial space that’s both comfortable and edgy. With room for 75 diners, the dining room achieves its warehouse appeal with lots of corrugated metal and copper strips, wall sconces covered in burlap, partial metal tables, subtle mood lighting and really loud music. The host and hostess were polite as I arrived to meet several friends for an early dinner. While one my friends hadn’t arrived, my other friends and I decided to wait at the crowded bar, instead of outside on the small landscaped patio.
I ordered an iced sweet tea ($2). My other friends ordered Georgia peaches (gin, white peach puree, and lemon juice, $8). In addition to a nice variety of house red and white wines ($5-$9 per glass), draft beers ($4), house beverages include ginger beer ($4), glass bottle Coca-Cola ($3), an Arnold Palmer ($3) and New Orleans iced coffee ($4).
After about fifteen minutes, our other friend finally arrived and we were seated promptly.
Despite the loud music blaring over the audio system, we managed to understand the hostess as she directed us to a nice table in the middle of the dining room with a nice view of the bar and other surrounding diners. While we waited for our server, I excused myself to the bathroom to wash my hands (always important). I think you can tell loads about a restaurant by the condition of its bathrooms. Farmerbrown’s are as industrially decorated as the rest of the place. Unfortunately, the men’s bathroom door was broken, so I had to tell the person waiting in line behind me to stand guard, which he agreed to do. They really need to get that broken door taken care of.
The Food
While my attention was momentarily focused on the bathroom door, it soon found its way to Foster’s mouth-watering southern treats. I was pleased to discover that Foster supports Bay Area farmers whenever possible using organic ingredients. His rotating menu is simple in its execution, but portions are generous and meant to be shared and sampled, which of course is what happened at our table. I wouldn’t have southern cooking any other way.
Our waitress was friendly and quite knowledgeable about the menu. As the menu is jumbled together, that is to say, starters and main courses listed together, we decided to start with a side of the macaroni and Tillamook cheddar cheese ($5), candied yams ($5), and greens with smoked bacon ($5). Each of the sides is enough for two people, so there was never a threat of anyone going hungry. The macaroni and cheese was hot when it arrived, sharp and creamy in its bite and utterly sinful as it hit our tongues. The candied yams were a sugary treat and got better with each bite. And the greens were fresh and a bit tangy, just the way they’re supposed to be. Other sides worth mentioning (each $5) include mashed sweet potatoes, roasted vegetables (brussel sprouts, parsnips, and carrots) and angel biscuits (an order of 5).
The Fulton Valley fried chicken with southern greens and macaroni and cheese ($16.50) is a must-have. While it will never be as good as my nana’s version, it comes fairly close. While I did have to send it back to the kitchen the first time it arrived due to it being slightly cold rather than piping hot, it arrived the second time just perfect: tender chicken that was hot and juicy. The seafood jambalaya with catfish, salmon and prawns ($16) was spiced just right and would be perfect for a chilly evening. A vegetarian option is also available, which was nice to know. And I can’t say enough about the chicken and dumplings with buttermilk angel biscuits ($14.50). There really isn’t anything better than a plate of doughy dumplings with tender chicken begging you to take a bit. Delicious!
And I wish I could tell you that I indulged in some of farmerbrown’s homemade desserts: lemon layer cake, bourbon pecan pie with dark chocolate sauce, and strawberry-rhubarb pie ($6 each) washed down with cognac hot chocolate ($4) or French press Blue Bottle coffee ($4-$7). But alas, that will have to wait until my next visit, as I was too stuffed full of good eats to take one more bite. But, you’ll just have to drop by and try some for yourself, as this is one of the better places in San Francisco to get some good Southern cooking.
To reach David Grabstald, please use his new e-mail address: dgrabstald@gmail.com
Bio & Past Articles
Past Articles
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Betty's List Restaurant Review
Columnist David Grabstald.
An enthusiastic freelance writer, editor and copywriter with marketing, media and daily newspaper experience, David serves as senior food critic for Betty's List. His articles have been published by Macy's Westbound, Mervyn's, The New Filmore, SF Examiner, Marina Times, North Texas Daily, And Baby Magazine and others. He is an experienced writer of grant proposals, documentation plans, feasibility reports, press releases, employee procedure manuals and other formats. David has written news scripts for NBC and produced video packages for the Irving Community Television Network. David can be reached at dgrabstald@gmail.com. His website is http://davidgrabstald.blogspot.com/ |
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