Selective Palate

This post has been a long time coming. A while back a new kind of restaurant opened in our little town. A restaurant that preaches sustainability and eating locally. The Farmers Diner opened back in June and has slowly been becoming a regular haunt. What makes them so special is that they have relationships with several area farmers and get 85% of their food supplies locally. You can actually find the owner or one of the chefs roaming around the local farmers market looking for ingredients to use. I think this concept is great. I think more restaurants and people could use a little of this attitude. Mind you I am not saying this because I am some green hippie or something (not that there is anything wrong with that!), I say it because the food just plain tastes better! Not to mention it helps to fortify the local economy and the environment; which as they say are just perks.

Now on to the food. Their menu is typical diner fare. Stick to your ribs goodness with a few unexpected twists. There is something for everyone from vegan and vegetarian dishes to hardy meat and potatoes. Breakfast is always available and you can pick which local farm your eggs come from. Now I know that doesn’t sound like too much but I am a poached egg fan and there is nothing better than a farm fresh yolk! And that brings me to the poached eggs. I am not going to lie, early on I ordered poached eggs and they came out awful! I mean they were hard boiled! I sent them back and they came back RAW! I was going to let it go and just not order them here but then the owner came over to my table. I told him my issues and he made it a point to make sure that I got what I wanted, and that I got it consistently! And guess what I have not had that issue since! The attention to detail and costumer service here is bar none but then again Tod Murphy (the owner) is no stranger to this concept, he opened the first diner on the same principles some years back and he is constantly growing and improving. I have eaten here several times so I have had more than just poached eggs, I have enjoyed a huge Farmers Breakfast that includes eggs, homefries, meat and the best blueberry pancakes; except for mine of course!

And I cannot forget my biggest guilty pleasure of a dish called Hog Heaven. This is just pure unadulterated pig on pig action! They take a hot dog, wrap it in thick cut bacon deep fry it then stuff it in a bun along side fresh creamy coleslaw! Yes I know its devilish, but man is it good. By the way their burgers are pretty tasty too.

So, yes you may have guessed that the food it not exactly diet fare, though you can get salads and soups - the portions are huge! (with a price that is reasonable for the amount on your plate) Though the food is all diner, the prices do tend to be a little more than your typical diner, but there is good reason for that; they don’t haggle the prices with the farmers. I know in these tough times its hard to justify a $8 burger and fresh cut fries, but I really believe you get what you pay for. I rather eat that burger less often and know where my meat comes from, not to mention knowing it is fresh and actually can go bad if you left it in your pocket for a month!

So, over all, I really enjoy this place. I may not get to visit every day or even every week, but when I want some good comfort food it is definitely worth it.