I wish I was able to give a star rating, but I didn't get a chance. Â I was really excited to try some of the reviewed dishes. We arrived around 6:00 p.m. to a half full restaurant and were told they were booked until 9:00 p.m. Â The hostess said we could dine at the bar which wasn't my idea of a relaxing evening so we walked next door to the Uptown Cafe which was quite crowded and immediately seated. Great meal and excellent service. As we walked back by the Bloomington Farm we found it the same as when we tried to dine... half full with mostly dirty tables. I believe everything happens for a good reason and this was one of those times..
Review Source:I never really saw the huge appeal for this place. I used to live in the apartments above, so I went a lot, but I always left a bit dissatisfied. A lot of the food was really good, but sometimes you just want normal ketchup for your fries... ya know? Not tarragon and candy cane infused ketchup (exaggeration).
That aside, the breakfast was pretty great all the time. For a while they had buckwheat pancakes that I could have happily eaten every morning.....a bowl of granola on my way to class was a favorite too.
I'll preface this by saying that I am a pretty patient and understanding guy. With that said, I have been to FARM three times and the service has been laughably slow. I went here with my roommate and our families and didn't expect dinner to take almost 3 hours. They kept plying us with more of their fries (which are amazing) as the minutes (hours?) passed, but ultimately, I didn't come for the fries.
Their food is supposedly somewhat "local," but if you don't care a ton about that aspect you can definitely do better for the price. My parents are obsessed with this place so they like to go when they're in town, but I personally wouldn't go out of my way to visit.
I really wanted to love FARM but it has some major shortcomings.
The Good:
- Entrees were well seasoned/cooked
- Homemade chipotle ketchup
- Decor is funky and different
The Bad:
- Â The price point is way too high for the quality and service.
The Ugly:
- Service is SLOW. Â Like 2.5 hours for a meal slow (this for two people and NO wait to get seated). Â I had to get to an IU basketball game and thought a little over two hours was plenty of time to grab dinner. Â I was wrong. Â
If this place had better service and was priced a little lower it would be a 5-star restaurant, but FARM has a lot of work to do.
This place gets stars for the space and waitstaff - it has an eclectic design that is warm and comfortable yet a step up from a basic joint, and the waiters are all nice and attentive.
I have been here for dinner and brunch. We did a group dinner and had a good time here. I had the roasted chicken and it left a lot to be desired. Most of the table (made up of fellow male classmates) got burgers. They seemed to enjoy their meat. I did enjoy the experience of it with my friends and would come back for dinner and try something else.
When I came for brunch both times were for larger groups (15+). The food the first time was not good. Many of us ordered this baked egg dish that sounded delicious on the menu but when we got it they were baked dry, gummy and not warm. Many of us left disappointed. The second time was better. We were a smaller group and the food was better prepared. There was this french toast thing that was super tasty!
I would give it another try because I want to like it. But the next time, they better make it worth it by making it all the level of the french toast I snacked on.
I received a gift certificate to FARM from a friend and decided I was going to finally take the plunge and have dinner there. Â I fully admit I was skeptical and hadn't eaten there because I anticipated another 'foo foo' place with small portions, big prices, and food that I'm not normally prone to order anyway. Â I was wrong.
Let me start by saying the prices were still on the higher side for Bloomington, which I fully expected. Â I don't mind paying the big tab but only if I'm getting food that is worth it. Â FARM pulled that one off too.
We began with the garlic fries appetizer (recommended by some other Yelper) and they were as good as advertised. Â Came in a HUGE portion, and since it was only my wife and I, we had quite a bit leftover. Â Yummy!
Ordered a bottle of wine which, admittedly, they didn't deliver. Â Got a different Malbec than ordered, but it was the same price and very good. Â I'm not a wine snob and probably wouldn't know the difference, but was a bit panicked when I noticed mid-bottle that it was something different. Â Was worried they had misinterpreted or otherwise gotten a pricier bottle, but the receipt showed the same price so I was happy there.
FARM is known for using local ingredients and the menu changes by the season. Â I had gone online to see the offerings and the decisions had been made.
Me: Â Kansas City strip with sea salt mashed potatoes, fall veggie succotash and BBQ butter. Â
Wife: Â Had planned on something else, but ended up ordering the special that night, a filet mignon with similar sides. Â (I tried to order that too but they only had one left, so being the nice husband that I am, I let her have it)
Both meals were fabulous. Â In fact, I remarked that IMHO the FARM steaks surpassed Janko's Little Zagreb and were just about the same price - so I guess that means FARM is my new go-to for good meat. Â
Steaks were cooked perfectly, and while I'm not a fan of anything called 'vegetable succotash' it was pretty good. Â The mashed potatoes were great. Â
We didn't order dessert because we had theater tickets and were running behind, but next time I'm going for the milk chocolate mud pot. Â I saw one and it looked delish. Â I have a reason to return soon!!!
The atmosphere is unique - think farm house. Â The table and chairs reminded quite a bit of my grandmother's house. Â Funky decor everywhere. Â I liked the look and feel of the place, though our table was a bit close to the one next to us - will know next time to ask for a different spot.
Service was a bit slow, but to be fair they do warn you that every dish is made to order and it might take a bit longer. Â The place was packed, so that may have made a difference too.
All in all, a great place with great food. Â Don't go if you're looking for an inexpensive night on the town, but don't fret that you'll have a $200 dinner for two either. Â I think our total bill was in the $130 range, and a bit of that was the wine. Â
I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could, but once again I'm stuck with a choice. Â Went for the 5th star.
Have heard great things about FARM for lunch and dinner too -
Just got home from Bloomington and another excellent dinner at Farm. It was only our 3rd dtimeat this place in 2 years. But in those 3 times, so far the food and service do not disappoint. The garlic fries alone for appetizers made us all happy. We tried their pizza this time and it was really good, Â thin crust just the way I like it. The putanesca is awesome but I like the big red better. We also tried a cheese plate from the special menu, both my wife and her mom really enjoyed it.
Review Source:Save your money and go elsewhere.
Service is sooooo slow. Also, our waiter kept forgetting to bring things we requested. The drinks here are ok but nothing special...if they have your drink. They didn't have any draft beer when I unfortunately dined here.
Then, the first two things I tried to order weren't available because they "ran out?" Ran out?! Or, did you ever have it?
The food, however, has taken a deep dive off the fresh pedestal it supposedly used to sit upon. The Lugar burger was so salty that it makes the Dead Sea taste like fresh water. The pizza tasted like frozen pizza that they cooked too long.
This place used to be decent and now it has awful service and inferior food.
My husband and I came here on a Saturday night and were seated immediately. The décor is interesting and the tables are a fine distance from each other. Had to wait half an hour for our entrees to come so that was not cool.
Cream of Asparagus Soup - Asparagusy, yummy, and slightly fibrous.
Bowl of Fries - Heavily seasoned, but not overly salty. Fairly decent.
Lefty's Favorite - Depressing. My pizza was like a cross between a giant tortilla chip and a flour tortilla...with overly baked cheese on top. So it was way too crispy and salty for my liking. The garlic and asparagus were okay, but there wasn't much of it.
Bison Burger - Tasty for a bison burger. Hubby says he'd prefer other meats over bison though since bison isn't very juicy. Good potato salad.
I may or may not come here again. All I know is I'd definitely not order pizza again.
I went to Farm this past weekend for kind of a brunch. Â Seemed promising though turned out to be quite upsetting. Â The service was terrible, never getting checked on and food taking quite a long time. Â When the food got there it wasn't exactly hot out of the kitchen. Â It seemed as though it had been sitting in the kitchen for a while as it didn't even feel warm to the touch. Â Could be a better experience if you go with a smaller party. Â 20% Gratuity is added to parties of 6 or more so there really is no incentive for the server to provide even decent service. Â I understand the idea behind this as nobody wants to get stiffed but has customers in larger parties getting horrible service as the servers incentive is only to cater for the smaller parties because they have a choice on what to tip. Â Our server seemed to be taking advantage of the fact that she already had 20% of the total ticket in gratuity as the service was complete garbage; and since the food came out cold I can not give this restaurant even 2 stars for having somewhat decent food. Â
Needless to say I won't be visiting this place again.
Sigh. Here we are again. I'd pretty much resigned myself to never giving Farm another shot and then I was bullied into it by a visiting friend who refused my advice. Service worse than ever. Food quality as mixed as ever. Items do not match menu descriptions and servers do not alert you if/when they are out of certain ingredients until you get your food and are all WTF?
Do yourselves a favor: Go to Finch's instead, where they meet Farm's mission better than Farm ever has. Unlike that of Farm, Finch's service is great and the food there is local, organic and delicious enough to warrant the higher price.
I heard that the dinners are supposed to be pretty good. I'll never know.
I visited for lunch-brunch yesterday. Here are the facts. Bullet points for efficiency:
- Fries were not crispy and heat-lamp just warmed. In a word: terrible.
- Poached eggs on the Poutine dish were more than a little over done - again suspected of being assaulted by a warming lamp. And neither could the Poutine be saved by the excessive salt that came with it.
- Salad (with chicken) should be named Walnut Salad with chicken, as the actual ratio implied.
- Bison Burger - It wasn't bad but imagine my surprise when I read that at sometime in the past it had won a "best" burger award.
- Lastly - and this is purely opinion, but - I don't get the decor. It felt a little like rummage sale meets country store with a bar thrown in.
I probably wouldn't be so direct with my comments above except the value proposition was, let's say, skewed - and not in my favor. Three entrees (Salad was an entree) and two glasses of wine - $70 including tip (service was not exceptional but ok and the best part of the meal).
Went here for lunch with a few friends, and was very satisfied. Even my foodie friend from NYC loved it (and that's saying something).
All three of us had the bison burger, mine with gouda and bacon. It's the second best bison burger I've ever had, and the garlic fries are excellent as well. The gouda was a bit overwhelming, but that was my choice to have it on there. The bacon is definitely required for this burger.
Not much else to say. I like the farm decor too. Very Indiana.
Man, I wish this place existed when I was a student (just kidding...I was too poor to have been able to eat there, LoL)! Â Went here with my sorority sister and boyfriend the night before a big wedding, and the food/drinks were delish (except for the guacamole that tasted too minty and some drink that tasted like medicine that my sorority sister ordered). Â We ordered a bunch of little tapas and shared between the three of us. Â Loved the "country" ambiance. Â They had great little spaces for big groups to have semi-private dinners. Â Great service. Â Will definitely be going back when I return to my alma mater!
Review Source:Lovely farm decor and great food.
I came here for dinner on a work trip and was really pleasantly surprised. I'd been to the Farm before for drinks, but didn't know what to expect in terms of food.
I got a daily special and my coworker got a black bean burger and we both were very happy with our choices. The food was fresh and flavorful, and the waiter was quick, attentive, but unobtrusive. We liked the decor too: wildflowers and candles on the tables were so cheerful and relaxing!
I won't waste time commenting on the ambiance (subjective - some love it, some hate it) or the service (varies), but I have plenty to say about the food. In short: overpriced and not good.
I know plenty of people rave about farm. I can't begin to guess why unless they think the "chic" reputation will impress their friends. And it is quite chic, if chic is defined by price alone.
The food at farm is terrible. Another review noted that they combine ingredients without regard for whether they complement one another and I agree. I have been to Farm once by choice and three more times when dragged and every time I have the same experience: I choose something that is hard to screw up because I don't want to overpay for crappy food, and somehow it is always terrible. I find myself thinking it would be so good if it were not for the utterly awful inclusion of balsalmic vinegar, the inexplicable over-use of cilantro in a dish that should not contain any at all, or some other flavor-clash that ruins an otherwise at-least-edible dish.
I do not mind paying more when it is for a worthwhile experience, but that is not the case with Farm. And for those who care about slow food: those parmesan fries come off a Sysco truck, and so does everything else that isn't explicitly listed as local.
I've been to this place probably 15 times in the past 3 years, each time spaced further away from the previous. At one point in time (2009), I was pretty impressed with the food and the atmosphere, but the food has since slipped and the service has fallen off of the precipice.
I honestly can't remember the last time I went here and had food that was worth the money. In fact, the last and final time I went there was for brunch with a group of 8. I paid $11-12 for a turkey sandwich that couldn't even compare to something from Jimmy John's. It came out a lonely limp warrior, solitary on a plate, not even so much as a pickle.
During that same brunch, my friend got a rubber band in her omelette that featured "locally foraged greens." The server didn't seem to really care that much, but at least comped my friend's meal. All in all, it took us 3 hours from the time we put our names in to the time we could leave and most of that time we sat there with empty drinks and no napkins.
Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else.
Not sure how I haven't written a review yet...
When I first moved to Bloomington I thought Farm was amazing. Â Beyond amazing. Â I thought it was the bomb digg. Â
Then I went there more than once and realized the service SUCKS. Â
Also, I feel like they combine flavors just for the hell of it and not because they're good combinations. Â I get the feeling the chefs sit there and say, "this doesn't taste good, but we won't waste it because if it tastes like shit the hipsters that eat here will feel empowered and come back for more" Â
case in point: mint and basil in my guac. Â not good. Â I'm sorry. Â
second case in point: rosemary in my rice and beans. Â no. Â stop. Â
Also, again, seriously, the service is awful. Â This is the only place where I feel like they expect ME to apologize when our gosh darn meal doesn't come out together. Â Seiously. Â This waiter took 15 minutes (not an exaggeration) to get 13 of us our meals. Â I realize this is a large group, but to bring out 1 or 2 plates AT A TIME, go around the restaurant, do other things (that we can see), then bring out another couple plates is not satisfactory!
Like many others I have deeply mixed feelings about this place. Â The cocktails are usually pretty great, but not always consistent. The "bar food" (pizzas, dips) are usually spot-on. Some of the entrees miss the mark. But the biggest issues are the same ones that seem to plague all Bloomington restaurants (except Tallent -- which I can't really afford): inconsistency and poor service.
I have had some great service experiences at Farm, so it ain't all bad. But sometimes, it's bad. The most egregious offense was being told that the kitchen had closed and that an order placed 45 minutes earlier would not be sent out. Obviously that was from something out a bad movie and has never been repeated, but it has put me on edge. Another time, some friends were given a pizza that they didn't order as compensation for the fact that the food they _did_ order was an hour late. I mean, that's weird. Unless you are 17 (and they were not), free pizza does not simply make up for all problems.
What bugs most though is when the food you get does not match its description, as when another friend who ordered a dish with ramps, a highly seasonal item, got the food and . . . there were no ramps; and no explanation. Or when you order the Puttanesca pizza and there's no chicken on it, and when you ask you are told, "OH yeah, we ran out." That is something you should be told in advance so that you can change your order if you want to. And no matter what, if the food coming out of the kitchen is not the same as the description, you should tell people about it, not wait for them to figure it out.
Servers should know what all food items are. I never, ever want to ask "what's that?" and be told "I don't know." That goes for all of Bloomington.
Luckily the garlic french fries at Farm are so good that I will always be back.
The menu is typical New American fare, so I wanted it to be delicious.
Fail.
There were a lot of issues with portion ratios: Huge bowl of fries, teeeeeny thimble of dipping sauce. Â Soup with bacon as a listed ingredient, but it's two awkward chunks on top of the soup. Â A full-plate salad with feta comes with three marble size pieces of feta. Â Their "small plates" menu items were not, by portion, small plates (and we ordered three apiece).
It basically appeared that the chef had a lot of good menu ideas, but they were poorly executed to the point of seeming amateurish.
Last, our main dishes came out so salty that we couldn't eat them. Â Most of the time I wish I had a salt-lick to gnaw on, but this was so sodium heavy that I stopped putting it in my mouth. Â We told the waitress about it and she handled it so professionally- she was amazing. Â Usually you mention that to a server and they don't care, but she had both the entrees taken off the bill. Â We tipped her hella well.
Anyways, one more thing that bothered me was that any vegetable that was served was so heavily laden with some kind of sauce that you couldn't taste the vegetable at all. Â Why do so many Midwest places think that veggies need to be covered up to be enjoyed? Â Lay off the dressing, man!!!
So, in summation, I'm a snob. Â Whatevs
Great drinks and the pizza with pesto save this place from a "meh" review. I don't suggest coming here during game weekends because they seem to make the food in bulk ahead of time and I have been served cold food before.
Also, I suggest coming here for lunch/brunch if you can. They have some delicious brunch items.
Details of why I can't decide whether FARMbloomington and I are friends or frenemies. **UPDATE** Verdict is in: we're frenemies. Too much shade in this review for me to ever pick Farm up from the airport.
First, my bottom line: I only go there for breakfast, small plates, and to drink in the Root Cellar. Or for dinner if someone else is paying and can't be talked into going somewhere else.
1.) I appreciate the use of local food, but feel somewhat misled about what is local and what is not. As a result, I don't always feel confident that I'm paying for the pleasure of a slow food experience.
2.) I would rather eat the homemade recipes than drink them. Usually! The cucumber cooler is one of my favorite cocktails EVAR (like a G&T with jalapenos and cucumbers) but the bar also boasts the worst bloody mary I've had in a long time. On paper, I should love it, but something gets lost in translation -- salt perhaps?
3.) The restaurant itself is fun to be in because of its pseudo-rustic, eclectic interior design, but the amount of surfaces devoted to promoting Chef Orr are nauseating (buy my book/ketchup/private dinner in my apartment/wine tour). You should never have a photo of the chef staring at you in your bathroom stall. The website is just as bad.
4.) The Root Cellar (bar in the basement with outside access) is a hoot and always has fun events. I'm particularly a fan of Tuesday Trivia, despite the fact that the same few teams always win and the questions can be ridiculously ambitious/complex (and, I like to argue, skewed toward a masculine gender). Still! The thrill of the chase! Plus beers with your friends and the process of naming your team makes it all worthwhile.
5.) THE BISCUITS. The veggie biscuits and gravy are to die for (as are the meaty biscuits and gravy, I'm sure). Breakfast at FARM is totally affordable and I would go there over Runcible Spoon any day. Unless that day is Saturday and there are 6,000 people tryna get their hands on those biscuits.
6.) Service has usually been pretty favorable, though the bar in the restaurant hasn't always been the friendliest place to get a drink. Or the most knowledgeable about cocktails off the menu (but still standard, say, a scotch and soda).
I hate to review based on visiting once for brunch, but apparently that's not stopping me. Â Went for Saturday brunch. Â The decor is pretty countrified, but it's certainly bright and somewhat charming. Â Contrary to some of the other reviews here, we had very prompt and friendly service.
The brunch menu seemed kind of limited to me -- some pizzas, a couple of salads, a burger, then your somewhat typical breakfast dishes (which also included a pizza). Â Everyone in the place seemed to have one of those whopper cinnamon buns, so we shared one, too. Â It's huge, and although I can't say it was the best cinnamon bun I have ever tasted, it was irresistable -- we couldn't stop picking at it.
As a previous reviewer mentioned, I could not even imagine getting Eggs Benedict covered in sausage gravy, so I opted for the pretty safe classic breakfast. Â The bacon was quite good, as was the roasted tomato. Â Everything seems to come with French fries, which just seems . . . weird, for some reason. Â They were good, and of course different types of potatoes are often served with breakfast, but still . . . they were French fries.
And then the eggs. Â Restaurants can never prepare scrambled eggs very well. Â Instead of taking the time to slowly form them into pillowy little curds, they tend to throw them onto the griddle and cook them dry. Â I figured the pedigree of FARMBloomington made it a shoo-in for really well-prepared scrambled eggs. Â Well, they certainly were well-cooked -- thrown onto the griddle and cooked dry -- so another place fails the scrambled egg test.
It's fine, it's cheerful, it's a little bit expensive.
5 stars for the "World's Greatest BLT" which was infact the best BLT I've ever had. I would've never thought of marrying my 2 favorite things - a simple BLT and goat cheese. The peppered bacon was a perfect enhancement. I did opt for regular mayo in place of the wasabi mayo however.
A little pricey yes, but I personally prefer to pay more for local, fresh, wholesome ingredients.
I would dock a star for the soy chai latte I ordered because it was undrinkably gross. But the BLT and the cute decor (I know, so trivial right?) more than made up for it.
"Meh.. I've experieced better times of Farm Bloomington". Seriously, what happened to the FARMbloomington I had two years ago? The servers are friendly, tables are clean,food is fresh and awesome...
So, my bf and I was there for brunch, thinking I haven't been here for quite a while and I'd like to have some of the awesome garlic fries... turned out to be the garlic fries are soft and limpy, and a slightly flavor of overfried... and I ordered Hoosier Benedict and I think was OK. I have never had egg benedicts with gravy over biscuits but I think I won't be ordering them there anymore.
The service was awful. The table that the girl directed us to wasn't clean, and I had to remind my server to refill my coffee, to bring me milk with coffee... feeling like you're telling me what you need all the time rather than him asking or being attentive... And it took us almost 30 to 40 minutes till our food arrives. Â
Conclusion: Not coming back here anymore.
I had a hard time picking my stars for this rating, because to be honest I have a really hard time making decisions, and especially when the choices are between "A-OK" and "Yay! I'm a fan."... Really, I'm a fan, but the experience was A-Ok. So, three and a half stars?
I loved the atmosphere walking into FARMbloomington. It was the kind of restaurant I picture one of my best friends opening, featuring amazing dishes and pies (though I don't know if FARM has pies, because I didn't have dessert). They have a bunch of really interesting things to look at and a farmhouse feeling, while still maintaining a cleanliness and freshness necessary for a restaurant to remain above 'diner' status.
I tried FARMbloomington with a few friends, one of whom is a grad student in Bloomington and another from outside the state. We didn't order any entrees, being on the just-barely-not-college budget, and picked small plates instead. My salad was flavorful and fresh, the sweet potato fries were great and the food came quickly. Our server was attentive without being intrusive. All pluses.
Unfortunately, as previous reviews have pointed out, the prices are generally high for A) Indiana and B) Bloomington. I get that a high end restaurant with unique and gourmet dishes is going to be more expensive, but if the cost of ingredients is that high, it cuts out a major portion of the market. I guess it's nice to have a restaurant that parents take their IU children to when visiting for family weekend, but it doesn't quite fit that fancy-level... it's close quarters and a laid back, high end hipster attitude that leaves it hard for me to pick a target market for, at least a target market who can afford to eat there often enough to keep them in business.
Overall though, I enjoyed my meal quite a lot. It was enjoyable and tasty, and left me full without feeling that I'd eaten too much or too heavily. If you're looking for a nice place to eat in Bloomington, FARMbloomington in the best I can think of. Just be prepared for the price.
I was a bit worried, moving from the foodie-capital of America (the Bay Area), about where I would get my bourgie bite on in Bloomington. FARMbloomington has reassured me.
The Upsides: Getting a 7 pm reservation for a Saturday night was no problem, even though I'd only called a couple of days in advance, which was really nice. The waitstaff was knowledgeable and friendly. My rabbit pot pie was DELISH, as was every other part of the meal. Great place for a date night.
The Downsides: You're elbow-to-elbow with other diners throughout your meal, the food is expensive (even by San Fran standards), and the beer selection's a little slim. Also, it seems that in the three years that I've been away from IN that the Root Cellar has turned from a low-key, fun speakeasy with a great mix of hipsters, grad students, and cool professors to an all-out undergrad party den that's not that different from Kilroy's. That was just from the look of it, though--I didn't stick around long enough to experience the "dance party."
I went here for breakfast, and honestly I've had better, and I'm not sure it's worth the money.
The good:
-The Biscuit was delicious and was great with the strawberry jam
-The coffee was solid (I guess its just a good thing when coffee doesn't suck)
-The eggs were cooked perfectly, light and fluffy
-We got free house fries, which came with an awesome aoili sauce
The Bad:
-The service was really slow, and our waitress seemed flustered and rushed (hence the free fries)
-They didn't have pancakes....
-They were out of the Baked stone oven egg dish I wanted to order
-There omelets were really lacking ingredients, it was basically just eggs (even though the eggs were good)
If you're looking for a good breakfast place in Bloomington, I think you can find better than Farm, although I might be back to try out their dinner.
I hadn't gone in because it's been crowded and looked a bit pretentious. I was mostly right about my guess.
It's going to be difficult to find a neutral opinion because there are so many strange statements being made in the place. It used to be a hardware store, long ago. Some of the "art" objects are interesting. Some will raise eyebrows, like the bed pan gallery between the restrooms.
The menu is in a Farm-ish font. It gets stranger from there. There are unusual entres, often with local ingredients where that's possible. The discrete ingredients are pretty good, but sometimes the combos aren't successful.
There are meat, fish, and veggy entres. We started on the low-end of the food chain with veggie burgers (actually black bean) and fries. We got doctored fries, sprinkled with lemon zest, pepper, parmesan parsley, and not a small amount of garlic. The portion, at $5.50 (they quote the chic method on the menu of "5.5") is huge, and aren't especially memorable. They came with mayonnaise of some kind, and house-ketchup.
The veggie burger was a fail, served on thick white bread, that stuck to the teeth like peanut butter on white bread. A side of veggies were served with some kind of green-ish sauce. A small pickle on top of a piece of lettuce, along with avocado, tomato, and what appeared to be thousand island dressing in a small metal cup accompanied the burger. The burger patty was flavorful, but fell apart almost immediately into several chunks on the plate.
Service was reasonable, but I hate it when waiters come by, wait for you to take a bite, then ask "is everything ok?" I want to make them wait until my mouth is no longer full, then, after that long pause, say: something like: yeah. Or maybe I should flag them down with a fierce look in my eyes. Then I'll say: yeah, fine.
A purportedly famous chef runs the joint, but I could hear some woman from the kitchen yelling "Chili Fries!" about once a minute to someone else in the kitchen, which is in nominally open view, located gruesomely near the restrooms where the bed pan collection is.
Downstairs there's a bar, and it's pretty big, and is said to be fun, though I've never been there when people are down there.
I have no compelling reason to return. There are a lot of good basic ingredients in the place otherwise, but someone needs to come in and clean clock and insert even 10c worth of discipline into this act. It might work at some point. If you've done eclectic dining before, you'll be scratching your head. Jeez, you'll think: this place needs *something*.
It's official: FARM and I have tried and failed.
I will say: If you love great food at the expense of ALL else, you'll love FARM. For me, experience counts for something and FARM all but ruins it.
Every time I'm in, we're squished at some tiny, close corners table where we feel as though we're in the middle of everybody else's conversation -- and they in ours. AND, the service is really what does them in -- perpetually and consistently slow.
We waited over 12 minutes for a table greet and another 5+ for a drink and a beer.
I will say, we had a 6:00 reservation and they seated us promptly. Though, I'm unsure whether it's noteworthy to actually do what you say you're going to do. Maybe in this day and age...
I'll say again, Chef Daniel Orr does an absolutely exquisite job in the kitchen -- some of the best food I've ever tasted. Uunfortunately, it's just not enough anymore; I'd rather just take it to-go and eat in my car. Now, if he had a food truck...
Farm fails . . . . again. Â This was the 2nd attempt at this restaurant and it pretty much was the same experience as the first but we cut our losses and left. Â Â While we were seated immediately, it took about 15 minutes for waitstaff to greet us, bring water or take a drink order. Â Another 10 before we got our drinks. Â Â We're 25 minutes into arriving and we're just getting drinks????? Â
At this point we are seated in a cramped corner with a table too close to the one next to it. Â Perhaps it's very American of me to want a little space but I couldn't hear my boyfriend as the conversation at the table of 4 next to us was pretty loud. Â Sure it's interesting to hear about your kids college experience but that wasn't really what I had envisioned for my night. Â Â Â
At this point it's Peace Out. Â I will say that the server was very apologetic once we let her know we were leaving. She even brought the garlic fries on the house while we finished our drinks. Â The dark and stormy was quiet the delicious cocktail. Â But, it was a little too late on what was round 2.
I mainly come here for breakfast. And that too only for brunch.
With these in mind, you have to come in! The breakfast pizza is the greatest creation for the morning ever. The biscuits are also to die for. Coffee is fresh and local, but a little expensive.
Tip: If you do get the pizza, make the eggs scrambled. And bring some tabasco. Top notch!
I loved this place! The locally sourced food, the amazing "Lugar" burger, and the mixologist made drinks made me feel like I was in a big city rather than an amazing heartland state U town. They really did a great job with this place. The layout has a front that looks and feels like a simple cafe/deli, then it opens into a dining room that feels like a collection of old world rummage sale finds. On the other side of a small partition is the bar where I ate. People here were nice. We met cool people at the bar from out of town, talked to the bartenders, and ate some great food.
I had the Lugar burger and it was an amazing experience. Perfectly prepared and seasoned, this was and is what a burger should be: local, gourmet, simple, and just plain awesome!
The mixed drinks were as good as those found at Chicago mixology bars. Yummy stuff!
Do yourself a favor - go to here! Â In my recent visit to IU, I went here two nights!
I'll couch my three by stating I'll return in the next few months but...
Stopped by last night for a late dinner. Â We were seated quickly with our reservation. Â Our server, an interesting looking fellow (is he judging or breathing?), provided some of the specials, and the whole list with prompting. Â Now, given that I had come wearing my finest t-shirt and yoga shorts (long short...first week in Bloomington and southern Indiana), I expect that I might not have appeared to be the judgemental foodie that I am. Â I just had an odd sense that the staff was perhaps coasting, disinterested, waiting for the doors to lock, who knows. Â
The food was diverse. Â I returned from the bathroom to find a delicious looking heirloom tomato and mozerella salad in my space. Â Unfortunately, I had ordered the goat cheese casear and it was just OK. Â My tomatoes were not tomatoes I would expect on a plate the first week of August (more like the first week of March). Â Oh well.
The hummus was good and the pita chips were epic. Â Really. Â I'd go back for those pita chips.
Main cource was a bison burger (Lurger) with a German potato salad. Â Meh. Â It was decent, but not that much better than the bison burger at Scotty's up the block. Â The bun was fantastic though.
Overall, A-OK sums it up. Â I'm not giving up though. Â I'll be back and I expect to update my rating to a four or five. Â Let's hope...
Went here on a Friday, July 4th weekend, and took a seat at the bar with two wonderful people. Sometimes the company you're with makes a big difference on whether or not you enjoy your eating experience somewhere. This may have been the case at FARM, so read this with that in mind.
The Wizard of Oz was playing on a big flatscreen behind the bar - while we couldn't hear it (and should not have), it made for a nice backdrop during our hour of snacking and chatting. It was fairly late when we got there, so we decided on a lighter fare. I spotted a bottle of Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier behind the bar and it paired perfectly with the FARMfamous garlic fries. We also picked the Bankie's Melon and Feta Salad (watermelon, mint, olives, vinaigrette) and Jerk My Chicken Pie pizza (mango chutney, avocado, black beans...) from the summer menu. These may sound like odd combinations of ingredients, but they're delicious!
I didn't get enough of the full dining experience there to give it five stars, but I should also mention that Chef Orr came by to say hi. Oh, and they strive to use sustainable foods and goods. This was my first visit to Bloomington - I hope to return to FARM next time I'm in town.
FARMgood FARMbar FARMfood.
FARMmediocre FARMdinner FARMmenu, FARMvery FARMoverpriced.
FARMinteresting FARMcocktails.
FARMdecor that FARMlooks like your FARMgrandmother's FARMkitchen had FARMsex with a FARMdada FARMartist.
FARMnomenclature FARMconcept of FARMbranding FARMapparently FARMinvented by the FARMsmurfs.
Somewhere inside this restaurant is a pretty good restaurant, dying to get out. Â But the whole place is in desperate need of an editor-- visual and conceptual.
As for visual: Â FARM is a visually crowded space, with books, objects, and produce for sale, and tables, a bar, a sort of coffee bar, and lots of different rooms with an unclear relationship to one another. Â The effect is more of being in your grandmother's very-cluttered old house than of being in a good restaurant. Â And the menu has so much stuff on it (with such indecipherable organization) that it is almost unintelligible until you really begin to study it. Â Is it a small-plates restaurant, a Caribbean restaurant, a high-end restaurant for locavores, a pizza place, or what?
As for conceptual: Â We got two salads and a pizza. Â The salads-- despite containing fresh and good ingredients-- were bad. Â One had the unhappy marriage of strawberries, lettuce, and green goddess dressing. Â Strawberries and green goddess dressing do not pair well together. Â My salad, or lettuce, asparagus, and wild garlic dressing, had more promise. Â But the dressing was thin, grainy, and mysteriously only poured on a small portion of the salad. Â The lettuce was still covered in so much water that the dressing wouldn't stick.
The pizza, though, was pretty good. Â Why roast chicken and roast vegetables were on a pizza, and why the resulting pizza called itself "puttanesca," I cannot say. Â But the crust was pretty tasty. Â They obviously have a real oven, and somewhere behind things, a real chef.
This confusing set of food is served with amazingly ironic detachment. Â It's not that our server was incompetent. Â It's just that she didn't do anything like refill water or bring plates. Â Whenever we would ask, she would say "sure," and immediately give us what we asked for. Â But the tone (and the fact that we had to ask) made us feel like we were begging, and lose confidence in the whole operation.
You can find very good things to eat here. Â But Bloomington is not such a culinary wasteland that you should have to expend so much effort doing so.
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