The Farm on Adderley

By C. Greene

Friday, November 27, 2015 Permalink 0

The Farm at Adderley The Farm on Adderley is a cute rustic restaurant on an odd corner of an odd neighborhood in Brooklyn. In Ditmas Park Where? Here.

This Brooklyn born cafe/restaurant is a locally organic outpost serving really tasty and very healthy organic, American fare, and at more than fair prices for a lot of years by now. The pretty glass exterior could be on West Broadway or the Upper East side, or even in Greenpoint – it’s a trendy facade for sure, a stand out on a rather dull street. The white washed walls, and cleverly cloistered and serene back garden, make the restaurant feel roomier than it is. In fact, the delicate placement of a few random tables in the window, separated by a short but sweet bar and then extended by an out of the way L shaped dining area, is actually quite small and very quaint.

Some restaurants are instantly embraced by their neighborhoods, and The Farm on Adderely is certainly one of them. Knowing a few ‘born again Brooklynites,’ who agree that the NYC rent is ‘too damn high’ that recently moved to this charming Victorian part of town, and being invited to lunch at this cozy place was a welcome respite from the hurlyburly and haute side of NYC. On a rainy day, with not so many diners dining, we ran in, unannounced and were seated promptly by a really cool staff. And served even faster. Lunch is never about lingering when a break is just a break, so it is always appreciated when the food is fired quickly. And with so much flavor. And then you can fly right out the door.

I happily reminisce about my meal – mine being the key word. See I wasn’t in a sharing mode – I have to do too much of that fork play at dinner usually. So what I had and built a sort of fort around was the kale salad, with celery root, lemon, and parmesan. You need one of these salads on the table, even if you think you are over the kale craze. You will like this. And, then the sharing rears its ugly head again. Followed by a very soft smoked smoked pollock cake with a cute dollop of a sunny-side egg, some greens and harissa mayo. And sauteed brussels sprouts with parmesan – well I don’t ever NOT ORDER brussel sprouts and the DNS order was once again broken. These were exceptional, so good, I took a side home. Diet Coke, please. No. Then there goes those holier than thou rolling of the eyes of dismay at such a saccharin sacrilege in this temple of ‘holy’ water – yikes, I’ve got to bump up my water game for sure on my next visit. So seltzer sufficed, the trick is to add any fruit and it becomes a bit of soggy colored bubbly anyhow. Lastly and with the most lovingly lasting impression of my meal was the unbelievable chocolate bread w/ sea salt & butter and a great cup of coffee. I erred on the side of caution and left another to go item to stay. The chocolate was heaven, but very heavy.

“Give them a good finish and they forgive you for everything.” The Farm on Adderley need not apologize for anything. What we found was a really delicious, pretty and comfortable restaurant in a very quiet neighborhood. Though the place isn’t named for an actual farm, the kitchen cooks heavy with local and seasonal ingredients, and the food has a bit of a rustic slant. And then there are the cute, plastic miniature farm animals placed on the check presenter to take as a sort of FAA keepsake. They are cute, just like the farm that they came from. And I loved having lunch at that particular local farmhouse and I hear it is all the rage to visit the farm at brunch.

The Farm at Adderley