Friend Of A Farmer

Ruined our Thanksgiving. We took a friend from England to this restaurant for Thanksgiving. She was excited... more

Ruined our Thanksgiving. We took a friend from England to this restaurant for Thanksgiving. She was excited to experience the holiday American style. I was hugely embarrassed. Worst meal I've ever had. It was like pig slop. How you can mess up simple, Thanksgiving recipes is still mind boggling to us. NEVER and I mean NEVER eat here. Besides that it was dangerously overcrowded and I feared a fire would mean our certain demise. more

Ruined our Thanksgiving. We took a friend from England to this restaurant for Thanksgiving. She was excited to experience the holiday American st... more

I go to Beth Israel twice a month so I'm always looking for good food in the neighborhood. I tried this place yesterday and was delightfully surprised. The food was very good and the portions were huge. (I got the cheddar-topped vegetable pie as an appetizer and it was so big, I couldn't eat my main--which was an excellent angel hair pasta with fresh vegetables). I had a terrific sauvignon blanc (can’t remember the name). And I loved their corn bread, which they top with a savory apple jam. It’s a bit crowded but well-noise-proofed so the it’s not too noisy. I’ll definitely go back. more

I wish i had read all these reviews before going... My nyc guide said it would be great, so my friend and i went there in order to have a really good meal and night. I had the terry alan chicken, and it was... Like some lunatic's mad recipe!? Absolutely bland, loaded with useless calories, no taste whatsoever -and greasy. Seriously, this thing could be used either in tiny capsules to feed a whole small town, or, better, as some sort of cement to build a school in some needy place. My friend had the chicken pot pie, and that would be better used as asphalt near the ""terry alan"" school, say. Or is it some space food invented to kill astronauts? Well, the only good thing in this night was the wine, and that was a good wine, not an ""excellent"" wine. Too expensive a bag of cement and a basin of asphalt i must say. more

So we came here about a week or so ago and the place was packed. We didn't have a reservation for a table and incredibly we were seated at a fabulous table by the fireplace within less than two minutes by a super friendly hostess. I could ramble on and on about the awesome country Southern style hospitality this place oozes the second you walk into it, from the Old World trappings on the walls to the aroma of pure home style cooking permeating the air from the kitchen, but I'll get straight to the service and the food. Yes FOOD. And by that I mean REAL GOOD FOOD. And their menu has so many choices you could get lost in the sea of incredible mouth watering choices each page has to offer. We ordered the Cheese Platter, the Mac and Cheese, and the Crab Cake ( no bread filler here, simply pure jumbo lump crabmeat) For our main courses we had the Grilled Rib Eye Black Angus Steak, the Pan Seared Arctic Char and the Oven Roasted Pork Chop. We each ordered a Bloody Mary but eventually got a bottle of The Show Cabernet for our main courses, which I was shocked to learn was priced at only $49 bucks compared elsewhere at over $115. I know this wine, it's such a drinkable full flavored beauty, that if you ever hear of any restaurant carrying it, leave your troubles behind and head in yonder direction mate! And at less than $50 bucks, you're makin' out sweet! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's cut for a moment to the service. Our waitress was super sweet, reciting the laundry list of mouth watering specials one by one from memory as if there was a tele-prompter in front of her (how does anyone remember all that detail beats me) and when she was done she listed a few of her favorites. Seems that the Rib Eye Black Angus, the Oven Roasted Pork Chop and the Pan Seared Arctic char were big hits here. And that's exactly what we ordered. Service was super quick and constantly on an upbeat friendly level. Our drinks arrived within minutes and I gotta be honest: best Bloody Marys ever. Like for real. They don't forget the details either, like olives, lemon wedges and a celery stick. I've been to so many other places and every annoying time the drink is missing condiments. Not here. Our main dishes were so delicious. Flavorful, nice portions, fresh pepper offered WITHOUT HAVING TO ASK FOR IT, and to top it all, the Maitre'd, a pleasant woman, actually stopped by at our tables to ask how everything was. She looked like the manager, could have been one for all I knew, but she actually stopped to see if we were doing fine. Now that's service with the 'i's dotted and 't's crossed. We finished with the Cookie Skillet desert which was a pure heaven. On the way out another customer told us about their incredible brunch experience. Brunch???? They have a brunch menu too? I can hardly wait! In conclusion I'll say this. Make this your favorite go-to spot. You will not regret it. more

GO ELSEWHERE! This place is not what it used to be. I have been here on several occasions since 2007 and let me tell you a lot has changed! This place went from an elegant gem in NYC to the likes of a dive bar. Two stars because SOME of the food is actually good. And when I say SOME I mean some dishes are a complete miss and could have just as easily been cooked by your teenage son. I took friend from New Orleans here and they told me it was the worst salmon they had ever had! How EMBARRASSING!The brunch still seems to be a hit here my broccoli was rotten! The service is HORRIBLE. I have to commend the manager for trying so hard in what seems like a dysfunctional group of staffers. You know when you get the feeling that a bar usually has to deal with a lot of belligerent drunks because the waiting/bar staff has become so cold and defensive? Well that's how I felt at the seemingly nice dine in restaurant. The bartender actually claimed I drank an extra glass of wine and tried to charge me for it! then changed his story three times when trying to explain why I had to pay for it and somehow I still was the guilty one. Then he charged me 17 dollars EXTRA for my meal, ringing up my steak and lobster mashed potatoes as Lobster! When I question him twice about why the waiter had told me my meal would only be 28 bucks and why he was charging me 45 he defensively brushed me off saying ""you have to take that up with the waiter"". When leaving the restaurant feeling deceived and cheated I decided to call and secretly find out the true price of my meal...only to find out that he had cheated me out of 17 bucks. The manager did compensate me for my troubles and apologize but this was just nonstop MESS! AND...After I confided in the bartender about how my broccoli tasted rotten and how he should just suggest something to whoever buys the broccoli and how I did not want to complain or tell the manager bc he seemed to be stressed out, the bartender used that against me and told the manger I complained in order to back up his lie about how I drunk an extra glass of wine! more

Here's something for the waitstaff at Friend of a Farmer: If a patron finds a long hair in his or her food, don't charge them for that dish. The customer isn't always right, but they're seldom wrong. Aside from this oversight, the food was alright. more

I wrote to the email address on the restaurant's website, but it bounced back. So I am pasting my complaint here: Hello. I invited my sister, brother, and his wife and two kids to brunch at your restaurant yesterday, March 6, 2011. Three of this party of six has been to Friend of a Farmer for brunch, lunch and dinner on multiple occasions for the last 10 years. The food has always been excellent and until our last visit, the service was good too. Our waiter was slow in coming to take our orders, the food took a very long time to arrive, and if it was all expedited by the runners around us because our waiter kept disappearing, we never would have eaten. I didn't want to complain when I was there. I was too busy trying to have a good time with my family. We were there at 10 a.m. and were seated upstairs, to the immediate right, on a round and square table ensemble with 7 chairs. The drink orders were slow in coming in spite of being ordered quickly. The lemon, banana, zucchini & honey whole wheat breads took 35 minutes to arrive and our waiter said the bread is baked to order. It was barely room temperature. My brother's and my pumpkin pancakes were the same size and the children's order for my little nephew. And this was fine, except that the kid-sized order came with fresh fruit and ours did not. But enough about the details. I will be back, but cautious about my service expectations. I do not remember our waiter's name, but I have decided to blame him for our not-so-perfect meal. The included gratuity is not something he deserved. more

I have to confess that my first experience here left me with mixed feelings. While I loved the soup, my pasta was just average. It was kind of a bummer because I absolutely loved the atmosphere and staff. So, I gave it another shot and it won me over! The cornbread is a great take on the traditional table bread. The wine list leaves a lot to be desired, but wine doesn't really fit the feel anyway. I would suggest ordering something where they have the opportunity to impress you. For example, on my first visit they wowed me with the chilled pumpkin soup with a kick, but the pasta with vegetables was just that--pasta with vegetables (could have been made in any college dorm room). On the second try I again had a soup (which they nailed again), but gave them some room to impress by ordering one of their exciting salads. Success! more

Both food and service are mediocre at best. My husband ordered outside the menu: two eggs, canadian bacon and toasts; I got the eggs benedict with smoked salmon instead of canadian bacon. We waited for 40 minutes and when our food finally arrived it was cold. The waitress never came back to check on us. We finally opted to eat our food which was ruined. The bill was a hefty $46!! They lost a client. We will never go back. more

the site is friendofafarmerny more

My wife insists we go there every year for her birthday and I grin and bear it... case in point. We brought a party of 10 and sat upstairs on the old rickety chairs... The initial bread and water was good. Half of us ordered the ""Boomers Special"" because we were hungry. What did we get ??? Two pancakes the size of Silver dollars, a scoop of eggs. potatoes and a size of bacon or fruit. $15 for a kids meal. Nobody was happy. I asked for a slice of fudge cake for dessert with a birthday candle. Seemed simple enough, but took 25 minutes to finally get served. And they added a nearly 20% gratuity to the bill for slow lousy service. Ya see, she remembers a time when the food portions were bigger, the prices were lower, and they seemed to care about customers. The food was better then as well....but that was years ago. more

My most recent experience at FOAF finally convinced me never to return. I once loved the place especially the blueberry pancakes served on the griddle. The location is so so charming. This Tuesday I ordered the blueberry buttermilk pancakes after waiting 30 minutes I was served yellow generic pancakes that were 1/2 inch thick, dry and tasteless. The waiter had vanished. After about 15 minutes he surfaced but did not approach me. I had to call him over to ask him about my pancakes. By then I had used up 45 minutes trying to get something edible and I did not have any more time to wait for the corrected order that he reluctantly offered. I left hungry and discouraged. The bill was over $16 not including tip. That was for coffee and pancakes. I'd be crazy to give FOAF another chance. Don't go there. more

I went to FOAF with a group of seven people on a Friday night. We were seated upstairs. It was not very busy. Pros: Decor Cons: Service, food more

We stumbled upon this restaurant while looking for a place for dinner on Friday. We picked it because we were intrigued by the name and like the menu. We were seated upstairs immediately and served by Louis. He was very attentive and charming. I ordered a mojito and it was one of the best I ever had! The menu was mostly comfort food and I had fried chicken. It was very good - most but not greasy - and the sweet potato fries were excellent. The people with me had other chicken dishes and were very pleased. We will definitely go back. Pros: Great food. Best Mojito more

food is great and you feel like you have been transported to a vermont cabin for breakfast Pros: great home made food in a cabin like feel. Cons: long lines more

The FOAF owner needs to be schooled in how to deal with customers interested in booking a private party. I feel as though I was scammed with the old ""bait and switch""-- the manager I was dealing with to book a private dinner for 50 people quoted me a certain amount per person and three options for the guests to choose from, as well as the ability to bring in my own wine for a corkage fee. After expressing my interest in signing a contract, the manager did not produce one but instead left town for an extended period of time, and when I tried to explain the options I was previously given to the owner by one of her managers, she was incredibly rude, spitefully hiking the price per person and taking away some options. Not only was she unapologetic, but she seemed to not believe me when I described everything that her manager had promised. I will badmouth this rotten place to everyone I know. And the food is nothing to write home about. AQnd the interior is shabby, and I dont' mean shabby chic, just plain old shabby. Cons: Horrible management and no customer service skills more

Went at a slow time (late afternoon) and had to ask to have our order taken, our order checked on, and still waited about an hour to be served. Food is overpriced, based on portion size and quality of food. Definitely do not recommend this place. Cons: very slow wait service; overpriced mediocre quality food more

I've never seen such terrible customer service. I live and work in the neighborhood and have frequented often. However, my lunch today was TERRIBLE. The serivce was AWFUL! It took 20 minutes to take our order and 45 minutes to get the food (we only ordered salads). In the middle of lunch, they began sawing downstairs. When I complained to the owner she denied that they were sawing and said they just started. Absurd! This regular customer will not return! Pros: home cooking Cons: Terrible Service! more