Restaurant Review – Farm Bar

This week took me to a good, old fashioned Midwestern restaurant: Farm Bar. Farm Bar bills itself as a “Midwestern Craft Bar” specializing in local, good food and drink. On their website, they say, “Our goal- and Chef Eric Mansavage’s goal- at Farm bar- is to be “Honest to the Heartland” with craft beer and fare from the best purveyors in the Midwest”. We came in on a Monday evening and were seated right away. The restaurant is absolutely charming, with a large wooden bar in the center and various small tables and booths scattered around. After looking at the menu, we knew we had to start with an order of the Wisconsin Cheese Curds, served with house-made ketchup and a spicy curd sauce. These were fantastic! The curds were perfectly breaded, not too heavy, and the cheese was gooey, warm, and delicious. On Monday nights, they have a craft burger and beer special for $14, so my friend ordered that. The burger is their “Pasture-Raised Classic”, served on a butter bun, topped with lettuce, red onion, tomato, sharp cheddar; with hand-cut fries on the side. This was a very solid burger. The toppings are nothing fancy, but I love a classic burger and this fit the bill. The bun was delicious and the meat was cooked perfectly. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I absolutely love a cheese board, so I couldn’t resist ordering the Ploughman’s Board. The board came with local cheese (two different kinds), garlic mustard, pickled cranberries, cured meat (two kinds), house pickles, and bread. I couldn’t have made a better choice. I’m not sure exactly what cheeses I had. They were each thick cut slices, one was some kind of bleu cheese and the other tasted like a hearty Swiss. They were both marvelous. The meats were a thick cut peppered ham and a salami. I’m not normally a fan of ham, but this was super tasty. The pickled cranberries were such a different addition, I don’t think I’ve ever had them before! I loved everything about the board, such a delicious dinner. I will definitely be back to try more dishes here!

The bar is open Mondays through Fridays from 5 pm to 12 am and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 12 am. Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 4 pm. Dinner is served Mondays through Thursdays from 5 pm to 10 pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 5 pm to 11 pm, and Sundays from 5 pm to 9 pm. Find more information about this unique place here.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO