Sunday, August 23, 2009

The Farmer's Kitchen

The Farmer's Kitchen spent more time opening then most restaurants stay afloat. Rumors of its impending arrival began years ago (I recall a large "Coming Sprint 2007" sign on the door for a long while), but now it is finally open for breakfast and lunch. The Kitchen is located at the corner of Selma and Morning Side Court, at the edge of the Sunday Hollywood Farmer's Market and makes its food from the wares of the market vendors. A testament to slow food, the Kitchen is a project of Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEE-LA), the nonprofit organization that runs the Hollywood market. The Farmer's Kitchen has limited hours; it's only open from 11am to 3pm, Tuesday through Friday, but on Sunday, market day, it's open from 7:30am to 2:00pm.

The Market menu varies, presumably based on what they find at the market. The day I was there, I had a nice version of Chilaquiles, though it was more of a scramble (or a migas) than a traditional Mexican chilaquiles. Along with chips from the Market's excellent chip vendor, the plate was loaded with eggs, chicken, juicy, fresh bell peppers and onions and topped with a very nice guacamole. My only complaint, which was true of much of the food, was that it was a bit underseasoned, but a few shakes of salt made up for that. The accompanying beans, a medley of black beans and black eyed peas were both underseasoned and a bit undercooked. The serving was huge for a mere $7.

Strawberry waffles consisted of a huge serving of four waffle squares with strawberry sauce and whipped cream. A nice enough if unexciting dish, and the waffles were a bit soggy.

I like the idea of the Farmer's Kitchen, but I'd like to see a little better execution. Using farm-fresh produce is a wonderful thing, but it's not the only element of a great dish. If they tweak their seasoning a bit and put a bit more effort into preparation, they could have a real winner. I know I'll be rooting for them.

The Farmer's Kitchen
1555 N. Vine Street #19 (While the address is Vine, the Kitchen entrance is at the corner of Selma and Morning Side Court).
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 467-7600

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is a tortilla chip vendor at the market? Where? I want some.

sku said...

She has chips, salsa and tamales. I love the chips and salsa; the tamales are nice but pretty standard.

She's up on the little Cosmo Street spur of the market, (walk north on Ivar from Sunset, take a left on Selma and then a right on Cosmo), past the Thai food and next to the chili guys.