For the Love of...: ...Farm (Calgary)

Overall - 7.5/10
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Food - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 7/10

As a born and raised Calgarian you sometimes lose sight of the fact that we're surrounded by amazing farms that produce some of the best fruits, veggies and meat available anywhere in the world. Farm located on 17th AVE sets out to remind us all of how good we've got it. Their menu has been focusing on showcasing local ingredients even before the idea became hip and trendy.

The restaurant is located just next door to Janice Beaton Cheese and as such have access to a huge list of amazing cheeses. Whats nice about the cheese and charcuterie board is that each cheese and meat is pared with its own special accompaniment. Although I can't remember everything that we ordered, I do recall the bacon jam was sweet, savoury and great spread on the toasted bread.

Our favourite main course had to have been the Broek Acres pork duet which included a crusted pork medallion served over a sweet potato mash and a crispy pork belly served over an apple and carrot slaw. The pork medallion was tender and juicy while the pork belly melted in our mouth. The apple and sweet potato were familiar and satisfying flavour parings with the pork.

The Silver Sage strip steak served with chimichurri sauce was another great dish with classic flavours. You really can't go wrong with a tender, perfectly cooked steak and the herbaceous argentinian sauce made from parsley, garlic, oregano, olive oil and vinegar.

When it comes to duck at restaurants, you often only see the breast being served. When it's cooked medium rare as it often is at fancy restaurants, the meat can be a bit chewy and tough. The duck dish here at Farm though was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Instead of the breast, we were served the dark meat which was slowly cooked, making for super tender meat and a really crispy skin.  The asian slaw and Thai peanut sauce were both sweet and just a little bit tart.

For fish lovers out there, the arctic char served with a warm citrus Broxburn tomato and kale salad is the way to go. The dish was light but satisfying at the same time. 

We also had the mac n' cheese, which we forgot to photograph.  This dish was bland and lacking flavour but very creamy and cheesy. Perhaps a sharper cheese could have improved the flavour?  

For dessert, we had the blueberry cheesecake and the carrot cake which were both excellent, but what really left a lasting impression were the fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies. The cookies were soft and just the right amount of chewiness. 

Farm isn't one of our top choices to dine in Calgary, but overall we were impressed by the quality of the ingredients and the flavours were familiar and comfortable.