We went to this newish restaurant on Saturday night, called The Founding Farmers. The menu is quite extensive and we had a hard time making decisions about what to select. The reverse of this menu showed their cocktail selections, but my favorite wasn't included. I ordered it anyway - a frozen margarita. The Asian wait person, who apparently didn't have a good working knowledge of English, looked askance at me, but agreed to find out if they could provide it. I figured if they had tequila, lime, ice and a blender, they could do a passable job of making a frozen margarita - but no - it was beyond their ken. So I had to make do with a margarita on the rocks. It was pretty good. My brother-in-law ordered an appletini and guess what? They couldn't make that either. It's odd as hell, isn't it?
So mr. kenju and his brother ended up with sarsaparilla, and I had a taste of that. It was pleasant, but not worth $3 per bottle, I'll wager.
The restaurant decor is nice, although sparse, and they have many of these shelf units with canned veggies as room-dividers. It definitely follows the garden theme.
Here is my (partially eaten, sorry) plate of shrimp, fries and coleslaw. What they bill as hush puppies are just dollops of bland cornbread which has more than a little sugar in it. Definitely not the southern version of real hush puppies, which are melt-in-your-mouth goodness, spicy and rich. The shrimp were excellent, however, and the slaw creamy. I forgot to photograph our appetizers: southern fried green tomatoes (fantastic) and bacon-wrapped dates with blue cheese, which were good, but not fabulous.
The others ordered skirt steak, meat loaf and pot roast, (we didn't share) and we eschewed dessert in favor of the eclairs we had bought at a local bakery that morning. Should you find yourself in DC, I can recommend this place, but reservations are necessary, and even lunchtime is extremely busy; I am told the line for lunch frequently runs out the door and around the corner. Since it was jammed the night we were there, I can also tell you that the acoustics are not great, but the meal will probably be worth the trip.
The others ordered skirt steak, meat loaf and pot roast, (we didn't share) and we eschewed dessert in favor of the eclairs we had bought at a local bakery that morning. Should you find yourself in DC, I can recommend this place, but reservations are necessary, and even lunchtime is extremely busy; I am told the line for lunch frequently runs out the door and around the corner. Since it was jammed the night we were there, I can also tell you that the acoustics are not great, but the meal will probably be worth the trip.
13 comments:
well that is kind of odd, yes, but sure made for a good blog post!
Nice review, Judy. I doubt I'll be going there but I might have liked their pseudo hushpuppies. While I like the genuine article a lot, what you describe reminds me of some Greek pastries though those are served in honey. So sweet they can give you cavities in 5 seconds flat!
Sounds yummy but not like anything we get in this part of England!!!
I drank sarsparella aa a child. Can it be the same? Food looks yummy.
though we share a border, i find it fascinating we can have such differences in menus, though i am a fan of frozen margarita's and can make them. :)
or maybe i don't get out enough...is an appletini some sort of martini? Sarsaparilla is a drink i've heard of but you'd be hard pressed to find one in the Great White North....
and hush puppies? We wear those on our feet. :)
I know about fried green tomatoes thanks to Fannie Flagg, though have never eaten them. I think I would like them though.
and what the heck is a skirt steak??
I enjoyed reading this Judy. And if I was there, I would've ordered a bloody caesar to drink. Know what they are??
Hush puppies (or cornbread) with sugar should be outlawed! LOL. The rest sounded delish!
I can see your posts now!
I'm a big fan of shrimp cooked any way or shrimp cocktail style. Yum Yum YUMMY!
I prefer hushpuppies the nonsweet way, but I'd probably have enjoyed them anyway.
I like the look of those jarred veggies on the shelves.
I haven't had a sarsparilla in years, and I don't know how to spell it either. I remember it tastes like root beer.
Some of it sounds real tasty! It is odd indeed they couldn't mix the drinks however. I mean, I thought mixing liquor was international no matter what country, lol!
I think they need a new bartender. Any bartender worth his salt should know how to mix any drink no matter the country of origin.
I love shrimp and you have made me hungry.
There is a reason I drink my liquor straight... Good reivew!
Many years ago, when the kids were small, we were in Va. on vacation. We couldn't agree on where to have dinner so finally we agreed to pull into the very next place we saw. It was not a 5 star restaraunt. Not even a 2 star. We ordered bourbon and coke. After a lengthy wait, the waiter came back and asked what was in it.
Looks like a fun, different place...I haven't had a sarsaparilla in decades. My word verification is
CARIANO
I have a very hard time with Very Crowded Noisy Restaurants. In fact, I would rather stay home...OR, find some place else that one can hear the other people at your table....
How weird that they seem rather out of it where drinks are concerned.....And it obviously doesn't hurt their business...lol!
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