i’ll admit, i was kind of skeptical to try this for restaurant week. it was quite the pre-judgement since i’d never even stepped foot in the place, but i wasn’t really sure how the food would be. they’re known citywide for their drinks (beer & specialty cocktails) but i never heard anything about their food. i basically pictured a larger franklin mortgage with small portions and a less than thrilling menu.

well, i couldn’t have been more wrong!

first off, the decor and ambience of the place is so unique. it’s dimly lit, but from the wooden signs and tables to the lights and bottles lining the wall it had a great “speakeasy” feel. which if you seen my posts in the past is a huge plus for me. [plus look at those bartenders!]

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they sat us at a long table made of wood and poured us water into small mason jars. more points for creativity!

even after studying the menu for 2 weeks, i still had no idea what to order. not to mention their drink menu was pages long! 

i went with a drink that had way too many ingredients, but came in a tiny tea cup! it was wonderful. it was properly named a cyclone punch a la wondrich and was made with cognac, rye whiskey, apple brandy, yellow chartresue, maraschino liqueur, orange curacao, bedenictine, fresh lemon and sugar. whew.

once we had drinks, it was time to order. i started off with the roasted butternut squash soup with pistachio oil & cracked black pepper. 

while i did find it kind of odd that it came in such a shallow bowl (not easy to eat), i have no complaints about the soup. it was definitely one of the best butternut squash soups i’ve had (and i’ve had a lot). between my other 5 friends we also ordered the bavarian pretzel with house made ranch & whole grain mustard, and the field greens that came with shallots, chives, cabot cheddar croutons & a broken lemon vinaigrette. both items received no complaints!

for the second course, i went with the hanger steak that came with the roasted fingerling potatoes & baby carrots in a beer and veal jus. (sorry for the poor quality. it was dark!)

i got my steak medium, and it came out just the way i like it (pink!). although, i think my favorite part were the carrots. my other friends ordered the roasted chicken (caramelized pearl onions, turnips, fresh beans & a roasted lemon chicken jus), new york duck breast (sweet potatoe puree, baby carrotts, chocolate coffee salt, crispy duck prosciutto & a natural jus) & the nj fluke (pan roasted sunchokes, scallions & truffle emulsion). some restaurants during RW tend to really skimp on the portions, but everyone honestly left very full (& happy).

& lastly, dessert!

there were a few options to choose from, and thanks to a fellow philly foodie, i went with the chocolate cake! it was amazing. 

overall, i had a really positive experience at farmer’s cabinet. one downside was that we were seated at 730 and didn’t order until close to 8. however, after that our food came out fairly quickly. i would highly recommend trying this restaurant, if not for the food then definitely for their drinks!

[next up: zahav & sampan]