'Shrooms!

Oh, Farm Café, how I’ve missed you! For days, no, weeks on end, I have been thinking about your inexplicably delicious Farmhouse Veggie Burger with its heavenly blend of eggplant (seriously!), bread crumbs, cheese and spices, served with caramelized onions (drool) on Ken’s Artisan rustic buns. Oh, those buns.
But now you have thrown me a curve ball. How can I pass up this evening’s special—saffron polenta with wild mushrooms? My partner-in-gluttony (or pig) has already decided on the honey-glazed half chicken which, by the way, may be the most succulent, moist, flavorful fowl I have ever put in my mouth.
Before making any hasty decisions, we start with the zucchini fritters and the sautéed mushrooms with herbs. These fritters are not your standard Carl’s Jr. greasy sticks o’ lard with wrinkly old zucchini skin, oh no. These are fresh, hot, plump balls bursting with fried goodness and served with a light chive crème fraiche.
The sautéed Crimini mushrooms are so good that we devour them without even looking at the crusty bread that accompanied them. But don’t worry, the bread is not neglected. We use it to sop up the oil, wine, butter and herbs left over on the plate.
One might think that, after the shroomy love fest we just enjoyed, I would be glad to bypass the polenta for the infamous faux burger. One would be wrong. I simply can’t resist, and I opt for the polenta.
I am not disappointed.
The saffron polenta is crispy on the outside and pure savory decadence on the inside. It is pan-fried and topped with sautéed chanterelle and lobster mushrooms with pecans and red wine. Are you kidding me? Farmhouse Veggie What?
After this extravaganza, we are pretty full; but, as my p.i.g. always says “Full doesn’t mean done.”
Tonight’s special dessert is a gorgeous pear poached in spices served with sugar cookies and vanilla ice cream (or soy cream if one prefers). This pear is the perfect finale to our meal, especially when accompanied by the trademark mascarpone cheesecake with toasted pecans and dulce de leche sauce.
Once again, The Farm Café has succeeded in bringing us to epicurean nirvana. They turn out consistently good food in a cozy little house right off E. Burnside. Every time I come here, I feel like I am visiting Grandma (the nice, sweet, dotty grandma that always has fresh-baked cookies; not crazy, screaming grandma with the bulging neck veins). They provide organic, locally sourced food, and everything is fresh and bursting with flavor. You can tell they take pride in what they do, and their level of service equals the quality of the fare.
Even their wine offerings are a delight. Tonight, we started with the 2008 Jovino pinot gris which was a crisp, citrusy liquid appetizer. With dinner, we enjoyed the Farmhouse Red, a pastiche of, well, just about everything, which was soft and fruity and would probably complement, well, just about everything.
One of the things that drew me to Portland just over a year ago was the availability of fresh, local organic food and the culinary explosion that is happening here. We are fortunate to live in a city of such abundance; and restaurants like The Farm Café illustrate beautifully just how good we have it.
You can visit The Farm any day of the week (thank God!) after 5 pm, and you can view their menu and other information on their website at www.thefarmcafe.com. Reservations are taken for groups of 6 or more.