Dinner at Farmer Brown

I have this love of soul food...primarily things that are fried and with loads of flavor. Particularly, I am an absolute fool for fried chicken...in our search for soul food in the city, Forrest and I found Hard Knox Cage off the 3rd St rail in Dogpatch. It's a great place for post hangover food but can oftentimes be a gut bomb.

This past date night, we finally went to Farmer Brown. It's located on the corner of Mason and Turk about a block from the Nordstrom downtown. Super cool place...very hip - I of course felt totally out of place in my post work clothes....somehow checkered slacks and a trench coat are not so cool in place like this. This place had a very speakeasy vibe.

But let's get to the food...holy shit, the food - was fucking amazing.
Farmer Brown's schtick is that they are "farm fresh soul food" meaning that they shop at the farmers market and all their stuff is made from organic, sustainable ingredients. One could argue that chi-chi farmers market is in direct contradiction to what down home soul food cooking represents...but I disagree. With it's roots in African farming and American plantations, it has much more to do with what farming historically was than the mono culture abomination that it is today. It was about making the best food with what the land provided to share with family and friends.

Back to the food. I had the fried chicken with greens and mac and cheese - holy moly, it was a damned near spiritual experience. Forrest had the short ribs with sweet potatoes and onion rings. Everything was wonderfully seasoned and fresh tasting....definitely going back.