I love brunch. To me it’s one of the greatest creations ever conceived by man. I also love going out to eat and when I can find a place that does brunch right, I’m sold. So imagine my delight when I heard about The Farmhouse.
The Farmhouse is a restaurant in the River Market district that puts a twist on classic comfort foods with dishes like their pumpkin flapjacks and veggie B.L.T. They buy locally from farmers in Missouri and Kansas, and their sauces and juices are all homemade right in their kitchen. Even the orange juice my friend ordered was freshly squeezed in-house, and served along with the other brunch dishes on Saturdays and Sundays.
We arrived after getting lost multiple times, and even when we were told that we would need to wait about 20 minutes for a table, I was still in good spirits. I was surprised that the wait was so short considering it was mid-day Sunday, and all the churchgoers were just heading to brunch. The beautiful afternoon allowed us to explore the area a little bit. The River Market district is modest and charming, full of cute small businesses and few passersby.
After walking around for a little my stomach felt like it was participating in a boxing match and I could not wait to try some of the amazing things I had seen on the website’s menu. The Veggie Benedict, the Polenta Napoleon, everything sounded incredible and I was dying to get a taste of this atypical brunch. The space itself was something out of a Pinterest board.
With high ceilings, brick walls and a wide array of paintings and artwork strewn across them, it was definitely unique to my previous dining experiences.
After sipping water out of our mason jars and looking at our menus indecisively for a good ten minutes, we were finally ready to order. The items they had for brunch were a bit more on the lunch side with hints of breakfast foods here and there. However, most of the dishes could swing both ways, another reason why brunch is so fantastic — you get the best of both meals.
While we waited for our food to be delivered, I ogled over the French press coffee machine brought to our table. I had never seen this method, so trying it first hand was a brand new experience. And the coffee that came from it? Très bien, to say the least.
When our food arrived I was absolutely giddy. The presentation of the food alone was flawless. Each dish looked too beautiful to eat. However, at this point I was starving so I dug in.
I ordered the Polenta Napoleon, which came stacked high with herbed polenta, tomatoes, spinach, scallions, plum chutney and a red wine dressing.
While the dish was tasty, it wasn’t anything to go nuts over. The soft polenta was a bit dry and the dressing was overwhelming. I faced a constant struggle of not wanting to eat dry and grainy polenta but also not wanting to feel like I was drowning in vinegar. I did however try a bit of tofu-bacon from my friends’ veg- gie B.L.T., and for someone who is typically freaked out by mock-meats I enjoyed it. And surprisingly, it really did taste like bacon.
Above all, the artwork and atmosphere is what really sets The Farmhouse apart and makes for a superb dining experience. The artwork is enticing, the staff is friendly and you get the feeling that everyone there, whether they’re working or dining, is just really cool. It’s clean and modern with a laid- back and simple feel.
While my dish wasn’t the most amazing thing I’d ever tried, with a bit of tweaking here and there I have a feeling it could be. The ingredients were wholesome and organic and that makes me way more inclined to give the Farmhouse a second shot.
So if you’re a brunch lover like myself or just want to show off to your friends by taking them to a really hip restaurant, check out The Farmhouse.
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