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Founding Farmers, Downtown, Potomac, and Tysons Corner


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It looks like Agraria's second location will be Founding Farmers, at the IMF building.

See links here and here.

As a Green Certified Restaurant, approved by the Green Restaurant Association, Founding Farmers will source locally and regionally whenever possible, and will follow strict guidelines for reducing energy use and waste, with management and staff learning the best earth-friendly practices such as water conservation and recycling. In the dining room, eco-friendly choices menus printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks, and house-filtered water that doesn't come in throwaway bottles. The restaurant has invested in the state-of-the-art Natura® water system to provide guests with fresh-filtered, purified, mineral-filled, chilled sparkling and still water served in glass carafes to greatly reduce fuel costs and polluting emissions without truck deliveries, and to reduce tons of plastic and glass waste.

Hmmm, I think that the "whenever possible" gives them a pretty good out when they cannot get stuff from the local area. Can a place this size easily get what they need locally without much trouble?

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Hmmm, I think that the "whenever possible" gives them a pretty good out when they cannot get stuff from the local area. Can a place this size easily get what they need locally without much trouble?
It all depends. Right now it is nearly impossible to get local carrots for cooking (ie stocks, soffrito/mirapoix) or celery and plain yellow onions. When these seasons do occur, they are short, very expensive and the quality of the products is nothing special for the most part because these are items not well suited for our local growing conditions. So if your cuisine needs these ingredients, then you have to go to non local sourcing for them

While you may see something at the local farmer's market, a farm can offer something even if all it has is a box or two. But the local farmers who deal wiith a restaurant may not offer something they can sell at retail at a farmer's market appearance to a restaurant at wholesale prices. New Morining Farms, for example, has more fruit at their Sheridan School market than they offer wholesale.

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Interesting that their menu links don't work.

They had an earlier draft of their menu up late last week, but it still included price points of "$?" for many items. I suspect they'll have a revised copy up tomorrow.

I stopped by for their final night of soft service tonight, and it seems like they've still got a ways to go before they're ready for prime time. The space is beautiful and the staff seems attentive enough, but there were quite a few glitches in our evening.

We sat down for a 7:30 reservation and were handed a limited menu with two appetizers and four entrees to choose from - not surprising, as this IS soft service. But our waiter immediately informed us that even some of the items on our limited menu might not be available. He credited this to Founding Farmers' commitment to only serving the freshest ingredients (no frozen items in storage). Acceptable - maybe even respectable - though they'll have a hard time establishing themselves as a go-to restaurant if they run out of too many dishes too often, and the length of their menu suggests that they're going to be wasting A LOT of food if everything is as fresh as they want it to be at all times.

Long story short: two of the four entree selections we were offered were sold out. So were four of their signature cocktails, though it was hard to identify a unifying ingredient whose absence would affect those four drinks.

Short story long: we waited almost forty minutes for our single appetizer - with several apologetic appearances by our server during that time - until it finally arrived piping hot. Five minutes after it arrived, a second one followed (despite the fact that we only ordered the one). Five minutes after that, our entrees arrived.

The biggest complaint - salmon that was practically raw in the middle. Sending it back to refire resulted in a wait of more than 10 minutes. Food was good if not great. I support their efforts at local sourcing and their green practices, so I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt and to deal with prices that seem a bit higher than the cuisine warrants at this point.

Bottom line: Decor is great, cocktail list is deep and the prices are right ($8-$13), and the bar snacks menu had some real treats on it (bacon 'lollipops,' anyone?). Still a few kinks to work out in terms of service, timing, communication, etc., but that's par for the course at this point. I'll look forward to checking them out again once they've had a chance to get their feet under them.

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I hope that everything in this beautiful restaurant falls into place! I went to the soft opening on Saturday also. All of our food was available, only in 45-minute increments. The ravioli that I ordered was salted to the point that it was unable to be eaten. The other 5guests at my table were happy with their entrees; we ordered all of the different entrees available. The service was friendly and attentive but this place still needs more staff adjustment.

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I've been here twice. I went the Tuesday before the public opening. My friend and I just wandered in, sat at the bar, and were handed limited menus with no prices. We did however have to pay for our drinks. We had good drinks and the food was pretty good, although food was slow to come out of the kitchen. (But again this was before the restaurant had opened and the meals were free.) I also had the problem with the undercooked salmon but what was cooked was good. The desserts were really good. We had a goat cheese cheese cake, which was tasty although not as good as the one at Cork. (I prefer the goat cheese cheesecake at Cork because it is less sweet.) The star of the show was a chocolate pecan tart which was awesome -- a rich deep chocolate flavor with just enough sweetness.

I went again tonight with some other friends. Again it was a good meal. There was some confusion between table and kitchen. I ordered the meat loaf which came out with potatoes rather than the promised mac and cheese. When I mentioned this to the waiter, he quickly brought out a side of mac and cheese. Likewise, my friend ordered pork and was served chicken. They had him keep the chicken and brought out the correct pork dish later.

On both trips, I had excellent mashed potatoes. The vegetables sides were also good. Sadly there was no sign of the chocolate pecan tart, although the waiter did recall serving it last weekend. We did have the apple pie, which was an individual style so it had a lot of crust surrounding the fruit. The pie was well executed but I would prefer a greater ratio of fruit to crust. My friends had the devils food cake which was a large serving of rich chocolate cake.

All in all, although Founding Farmers has some food-delivery issues to work on, it has a lot of promise and I plan to go back soon.

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Went to a soft opening dinner with 5 other friends. I'm sorry to say it'll be a long time, if ever, before any of us return. The concept is great and I want to support it. But the food was definitely substandard.

Understandably, our waitress was not as up to snuff on everything, but she had a really great attitude and I'm sure her service will improve with time. The food, however, was a different story. First the positives... the mussels, salad and Italian meats appetizers were good. The entrees were not. At all. From bone-dry meatloaf and overcooked halibut with huge clumsy raw vegetables served over it, to a bigger-than-your-head NY strip and inedible house-made pasta, each one of us was more than disappointed with our dishes. Dessert was fine -- but by then, we'd had enough.

Again, I'm sorry to have had this experience. I'd love to have a restaurant in a great location that's all about supporting locally grown food and draws from sustainable materials in its design. I hope things improve. A lot.

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Dropped by with friends on Saturday, and things seem to have improved somewhat. Some of the cocktails are downright lovely -- the off-menu "Bee's Knees" was awesome, the "Death in the Afternoon" was not. The bar snackery (deviled eggs, bacon lollipops) and our party's entrees (chicken pot pie, fried chicken, strip steak) met with approval as well. Not exactly Central or anything, but the prices are reasonable (entrees under $20, I think) and it has lots of space upstairs for large parties, so it does have a certain appeal.

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I went for lunch last week - hits included the deviled eggs and the grilled cheese with tomato soup (the latter was easily big enough to be lunch for two). The biggest miss was the flatbread with tomato jam and parmesan cheese - it was actually sliced baguette (not a problem, though I imagined "flatbread" would be a pizza crust or focaccia, not just bread that happened to be cut flat), spread with sugary tomato jam, olive oil, halved cherry tomatoes, and the cheese. Maybe it is a matter of individual taste, but I really reacted negatively to the sweet jam with the rest of the ingredients. The 17-veggie salad seemed uninspired - the 17 vegetables (of which some were actually fruits) just weren't that interesting, and the dressing lacked salt and acidity.

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I went here for dinner this past Saturday and the place exceeded my expectations. Of course, my expectations were fairly low given that I had not heard anything good about its sister restaurant and FF's menu, in both it's breadth and look, came across to me as mid-level chain.

First, the place is a very nice space and was already quite a popular scene in just its first weekend of full operation. The website called its look something like "modern farmhouse" and there were cute decorative touches throughout but overall it was a sleek, comfortable (and big) place. We ate upstairs and despite being full, sound levels easily allowed conversation.

We started with the deviled eggs, one of the cheese plates and cheese puffs (yes, a lot of cheese). The eggs, as other have mentioned, were basic but tasty. They also have a fancier version of the dish that involves various types of seafood. I enjoyed all the selections on the cheese plate, which were alas not labeled or identified, and I don't really remember what they were, but it was a good range. I thought the portion, for the price, was a little on the stingy side. The cheese puffs were also tasty, with a little kick of heat to them. They don't compare favorably to the gougeres at Central, but are good nonetheless.

For a main dish I had the meatloaf with the macaroni and cheese. After recovering from my self-induced shock that, on a rare night out without the kids, I had just ordered two staples of our home dinner rotation, I enjoyed the dish. The meatloaf, which, IIRC, included beef, veal and wild mushrooms, was just moist enough and had a nice flavor. The mac and cheese was definitely on the thick and gooey side of the spectrum, but I don't mind that. It did suffer a little bit from the fact that one of our party's entrees arrived well after the others and there was some cooling off while we waited to start. My wife had the skirt steak, which came topped with some sort of pesto or chimichurri, and seemed properly cooked to order. Our friends had two of the main course salads which were huge (The Biiiig Salad!) and they seemed to enjoy, but salad for dinner is not really my thing.

Service, as might be expected this early on, had some rough spots, but was overall decent. I must say that, despite all the talk on their website and menu about being green and sourcing locally, etc. (almost to the point of being off-putting), I didn't really see much evidence of this in the dishes on their menu.

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Ate here recently and was pleasantly surprized. It did have a sort of corporate feel to it, not that it bothered me. Devilled eggs were tasty, I also liked my big and very reasonably priced meatloaf. My friend ate the chicken pot pie which was good although the vegetables were slightly under cooked. My favorite thing was ordered by my wife. Chicken and Waffles!! delicious and now one of my favortie combinations of things ever. All and all it was good if not amazing food at a very reasonable price. I will go back.

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"We handcraft our pasta using only the best 'OO' flour for the most tender noodles, inspired by Thomas Jefferson."

This goes on page one of the Spare Me Book.

SPAREZ-MOI!

At an absolutely packed Founding Farmers tonight at 8:30, Southern Pan-Fried Chicken ($16) achieved a reverse synergy: The whole was much less than the sum of its parts. The "crispy fried free-range chicken" had a pleasant flavor which reminded me of KFC, and that's not an insult because I think KFC original is fairly tasty. But it didn't come - to borrow a phrase from Founding Farmers - straight "from fryer to table," and was barely above room temperature, so it came across as more of an impressive picnic rendition. The chicken sat atop some Swiss chard which was the "veggie of the day," and the best thing on the plate, approached only by a little pitcher of cream gravy which was thin but not at all bad. Mac and cheese was made with heavy, homemade macaroni and a decent cheese sauce, and if it came in a little ramekin as a small portion would have been fine had it not been cold. Two pieces of pre-syruped waffle were absolutely cool to the touch, and topped with too much sweet butter that irreversibly crept into the Belgian holes. These cold, pre-syruped waffles, especially in context to the rest of the plate, reminded me very much of what comes with a sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddle which is an ugly, ugly combination of flavors. Taken as a whole, this was a big, heavy, klutzy dish that wasn't worth the calories - and I had similar thoughts about every other plate of food I saw coming out this evening.

The "flatbreads" - at least the ones being assembled at the bar - were nothing more than sliced bread with toppings, and I'm not sure why they don't call them bruschetta.

Eight out of nine dishes off the From The Ranch section are served with Yukon Gold whipped potatoes. Eight out of nine.

I ordered two Clipper Organic Amber Ales ($5 each), and got billed for two Wolaver IPAs ($6 each), and when I mentioned it to the bartender, he shrugged his shoulders and said "that's what came up on the computer." Okay, no problem.

But the only reason I ordered the bottled beer in the first place was because none of their taps were working. Perhaps they should have called on one of their farmers, who are almost surely mechanically inclined because they're used to working with hoes.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Tell us more about the cocktails, please? I hear they make a good Sazerac.

Here is their link to info about the head bar guy: http://www.wearefoundingfarmers.com/index....tent/article/10

From what I understand, they make all their own sodas, juices, and mixers every day.

Here is the cocktail menu: http://www.wearefoundingfarmers.com/menus/FF_BarMenu.pdf

I tried the Dark & Stormy, the Farmer's Fizz, and the Constitution. The latter was one of the smoothest drinks I've ever had. They also do a flight of different types of absinthe.

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Just wanted to report that Founding Farmers was at least 90% full for the two hours I was there last night on both levels. I think the appeal has to be the varied menu and large portions of food? All of the plates I saw going by were gargantuan. Didn't try any of the cocktails, stuck with wine instead.

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Just wanted to report that Founding Farmers was at least 90% full for the two hours I was there last night on both levels. I think the appeal has to be the varied menu and large portions of food? All of the plates I saw going by were gargantuan. Didn't try any of the cocktails, stuck with wine instead.

Sounds like a new Cheesecake Factory.

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Has anyone been recently? I'm considering taking my boyfriend there for his birthday next week since we both live/eat/shop by the green/farm-to-table concepts, but I'm nervous about the mixed reviews. The more recent WP reviews do seem more positive, as if they've worked out the kinks. Also curious if a private table (the website mentions some upstairs) would be cozy enough for a birthday date? Thanks!

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Has anyone been recently? I'm considering taking my boyfriend there for his birthday next week since we both live/eat/shop by the green/farm-to-table concepts, but I'm nervous about the mixed reviews. The more recent WP reviews do seem more positive, as if they've worked out the kinks. Also curious if a private table (the website mentions some upstairs) would be cozy enough for a birthday date? Thanks!

I got no beef with Founding Farmers (except I hate their name) but I will say that I regularly run into Carol Greenwood, RJ Cooper, Nora Pouillon and a couple fo others down at the Dupont Market and -- if you want to get all locavore -- can recommend Vidalia, Nora, and Buck's (not to mention Comet) as excellent restaurants who's chefs don't phone it in.

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I got no beef with Founding Farmers (except I hate their name) but I will say that I regularly run into Carol Greenwood, RJ Cooper, Nora Pouillon and a couple fo others down at the Dupont Market and -- if you want to get all locavore -- can recommend Vidalia, Nora, and Buck's (not to mention Comet) as excellent restaurants who's chefs don't phone it in.

Hmm, Buck's is an appealing idea. I've never managed to get there, and BF and I actually considered eating there once but decided we weren't up for a full meal at the time. He was really interested in checking it out though.

The thing that appeals about FF for BF's birthday is that he's also into green materials - I know he'd appreciate the architecture (if it's as good as the site advertises) and learning about the materials used, etc. in addition to the local food.

I'll keep Buck's in mind though too - thanks for the thought!

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I say go to FF. It may not be the most delicious meal you have ever eaten, but it will be perfectly good and the surroundings are interesting. We didn't get the full spiel from our waitress but we did hear about the "reverse osmosis" water and the recycled menus written in soy ink.

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I think the phrase is "damning with faint praise."
Okay, okay, you got me. The thing is, I enjoyed my experience there and would happily return. I feel like I didn't get to try much of the menu so I don't want to pass full judgement. I did give my initial impressions but would have to try it again to really weigh in on the menu.
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I had brunch at Founding Farmers and sat at the bar. I sat there for 15 minutes before even being acknowledged by the bar staff and it took another thirty before someone took and order and when my food came, it was luke warm (and underwhelming). Is this the norm for this place? I had heard good things and was NOT thrilled. I was wondering if anyone else has had the same unfortunate experience or is this just a one time fluke???

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Just had my first chance to eat at Founding Farmers today for brunch, and I came away satisfied and wanting to go back to try lunch or dinner. My only real complaint was that our waiter disappeared towards the end of our meal, so it took a little longer than expected to get and pay the check, but everything else was good (and before and during the meal he was very attentive and helpful, so not sure what happened later).

The brunch menu isn't nearly as extensive as the dinner menu, but it had a lot of good offerings from french toast and Belgian waffles to eggs benedict and hashes. I got the hash with bacon and sausage that was topped with two poached eggs and served with grits (other choices were fruit, potatoes or a salad) and an english muffin. Really everything I had was very good. A small skillet was filled with diced hash brown potatoes, small slices of sausage and little chunks of bacon. The eggs mixed in well for a very filling breakfast. The grits were creamy and then english muffin was enormous and served with soft whipped butter and homemade strawberry preserves.

One of the most pleasant surprises was the excellent bloody mary. I only really started liking them within the last year, so I don't have a lot to compare to, but this was definitely one of my favorites I've ever had. The waiter warned it was spicy, and it was (especially at the bottom) but in a very flavorful way. And the glass was rimmed with some seasoning that had an almost smoky, BBQ flavor to it and was delicious. I believe the vodka is infused with pepper in-house and it was really a great beverage.

I'm definitely eager to return.

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The brunch menu isn't nearly as extensive as the dinner menu, but it had a lot of good offerings from french toast and Belgian waffles to eggs benedict and hashes. I got the hash with bacon and sausage that was topped with two poached eggs and served with grits (other choices were fruit, potatoes or a salad) and an english muffin. Really everything I had was very good. A small skillet was filled with diced hash brown potatoes, small slices of sausage and little chunks of bacon. The eggs mixed in well for a very filling breakfast. The grits were creamy and then english muffin was enormous and served with soft whipped butter and homemade strawberry preserves.

I love this place. Only been there twice so far, but both times have been pretty great. In particular, they have fantastic pancakes. They were also extremely friendly when I went; I ordered the seafood hash and didn't want the salad that came with it, so I asked if I could get pancakes instead. Both the salad and pancakes were offered as separate side dishes on the menu, and the pancakes were cheaper, so my waiter wound up getting me a stack that was practically an entree. Those pancakes + the butter they make over there had me forgetting about the crab hash altogether. The hash was tasty though, if a little lacking on the seafood itself.

What I've really wanted to try is their lobster mac and cheese, though I could never eat a plate of it as a meal since I imagine it's extremely rich. Next time I head over there I've got a find a way to get some of that...and their fried chicken with waffles, which looked great a few tables over.

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english muffin was enormous and served with soft whipped butter and homemade strawberry preserves.
I haven't been all that wild about the rest of brunch here (eggs tend to be way overcooked), but those english muffins are fantastic. I keep coming back just for those.
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A friend of mine went to Founding Farmers today and this was what she had to say...

Service was o.k.....but like you said, not great. The food was very very very salty and I love salt, so that is saying something. They removed the desserts based on some of our comments, and I am glad someone came by to check in. The problem is that the interior is really well done, it has a good open feel to it, so when the food is ehhhh, okay, it is a disappointment.

Please tell me that we are just experiencing flukes during the meals we have here...DR, please help!

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Cocktails and bar food were a study in contrasts last night. I had a 'nice coat', a spicy, basil-inflected gin concoction that was very good. I followed it up with a 'La Feria', which on first taste has an almost sweet red bbq-sauce flavor, but the mezcal kicks in after a few sips and it ended up as a decent drink. My other half had two blueberry juleps, which she enjoyed very much.

The bar food was so-so. The fried green tomatoes were heavily breaded and not as tasty as we'd hoped, and still quite oily even after having a few minutes to drain in the paper bag. The potato chips were very good, but the cheese crisps were anything but, coming off as too soft to dip into any of the three dips provided. The popcorn of the day (chocolate) started off disappointingly bland, then got really good a bit down into the bowl with a nice blend of butter and cocoa powder (I think), and then got disappointing again when we got to the butter-soaked bottom.

The cocktails aren't cheap but are definitely worthwhile, and it will be interesting to see how they change throughout the seasons. In contrast the bar food is fairly cheap and what we had was not particularly worthwhile.

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I'm going here tonight as part of a birthday dinner (not by choice)...after reading the terrible review in the Post, and less than stellar comments here, I need help on what I should order tonight! Apparently, I should get cocktails for sure. Thanks!

DC

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I'm going here tonight as part of a birthday dinner (not by choice)...after reading the terrible review in the Post, and less than stellar comments here, I need help on what I should order tonight! Apparently, I should get cocktails for sure. Thanks!

DC

I heard from a reliable source that the meat loaf is great (this sounds facetious but I'm being serious).

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I'm going here tonight as part of a birthday dinner (not by choice)...after reading the terrible review in the Post, and less than stellar comments here, I need help on what I should order tonight! Apparently, I should get cocktails for sure. Thanks!

DC

This is not something you can order per say, but make sure you check out the bathroom at Founding Farmers. They have a $7,000 hand dryer (crazy quick, and incredibly eco-friendly) that I found to be the most impressive part of my dining experience there.

That sounded more snarky than intended. Regardless, check it out, it's called a "blade dryer" or something like that.

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This is not something you can order per say, but make sure you check out the bathroom at Founding Farmers. They have a $7,000 hand dryer (crazy quick, and incredibly eco-friendly) that I found to be the most impressive part of my dining experience there.

That sounded more snarky than intended. Regardless, check it out, it's called a "blade dryer" or something like that.

I fear it's the Dyson Airblade. :D

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Although I am sure wahoob already knows the answer, one can indeed order the full menu from the bar, which is a very fashionable, yet uninvitingly cold slab of concrete (I think). Otherwise, the interior is indeed open and beautiful. If the water is supposed to be reverse osmosis, then it certainly didn't taste like it today, but I thought it was interesting that it was served in frosted glasses. You can order carry out, but it must be ordered at the bar -- you can't phone it in. Service for the to-go order was probably as delayed as some has experienced above -- friendly, but inefficient. The recycled menu written in soy ink makes me wonder how recycleable it will be, as it is laminated, but I don't know if this was the case before.

This place was certainly hopping for breakfast/lunch today, and most people looked like they were having a good time and enjoying their food. A Shrimp Roll ($10) with louie dressing, celery and something seemed ill-matched: a potato(?), soft roll that was overbuttered to begin with, easily fell apart with the heavily dressed shrimp that tasted slightly fishy, but otherwise bland. The accompanying fries that they kindly substituted for chips, gratis, was oversalted, but otherwise good. A friend enjoyed her Mixed Grill, which was huge at $18, comprised of ribs and chicken, but also commented that it was a bit dry.

I think this is one of those "it has a lot of potential" places, but at some point, they will probably have to step up their game. Or maybe not, due to its strategically-placed location?

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I love this place. Only been there twice so far, but both times have been pretty great. In particular, they have fantastic pancakes. They were also extremely friendly when I went; I ordered the seafood hash and didn't want the salad that came with it, so I asked if I could get pancakes instead. Both the salad and pancakes were offered as separate side dishes on the menu, and the pancakes were cheaper, so my waiter wound up getting me a stack that was practically an entree. Those pancakes + the butter they make over there had me forgetting about the crab hash altogether. The hash was tasty though, if a little lacking on the seafood itself.

What I've really wanted to try is their lobster mac and cheese, though I could never eat a plate of it as a meal since I imagine it's extremely rich. Next time I head over there I've got a find a way to get some of that...and their fried chicken with waffles, which looked great a few tables over.

The lobster mac and cheese is really rich, but good. I ended up taking a good bit of it home, and it warmed up well the next day which I was really surprised about. I think I have picked well the couple times I have gone. I got the pot roast which was great this Spring when it was so cold, the meatloaf was good and the lobster mac and cheese. And I like their corn bread. Hubby went once without me and got something not great. I love pancakes will have to go try them.

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Tonight LOML and I had Founding Farmers for dinner. I agree with others that the food is good, but not great. The big fail was the flatbread. Flatbread is usually a large fougasse like bread with toppings, not sliced bread with toppings. The bay leaves and thyme twigs in the onion topping was not appreciated. The chips that came with the sandwich were spotty with unveven seasoning and donenes. Bread pudding was good though.

Dan

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So I appreciate what Founding Farmers is trying to do, promoting family farms and LEED certification and all that. I just do not get the sense that they're going as far as they could. I can't really fault them, though: after all, they're downtown and need to appeal to everyone.

They say things like they make all their food from scratch. I don't really see how that relates to a locavore concept.

They play up things like how they don't have Coke and Pepsi, only natural sugar cane soda. Because I only drink soda if the sweetener has been shredded, boiled, crystallized, diluted, centrifuged, evaporated, recrystalized, and declumped. But NEVER processed. Okay, I'm being a little harsh. I do prefer sugar to corn syrup, but it's such a superficial item to by playing up and is clearly there to cater to the DC types who are trying to go "green" because it's the hip thing to do, and this way requires no personal sacrifice.

They have a large and relatively diverse menu, something that's hard to do if you're relying on a handful of family farms. They do mention some of the farms they use (in VA, PA, and WI {WI?!}) in the menu preface, but nothing alongside the actual dishes. If you're serious about promoting this sort of concept, it is so critical that your patrons understand where the food they're eating actually came from, rather than some kind of nebulous idea of a "family farm."

I do appreciate what they're trying to do. And even though it's a bit superficial, I think it's worth it if it leads people down the right path (the Rachael Ray effect). If I want true "farm food," I'll to go American Flatbread where I can not only see what farms the food came from on a map and on the menu, but I can go talk to those same farmers at nearby farmers' markets.

On to the food itself... it wasn't bad! Potato chips and homemade cheddar crisps with dip - $9 were flavorful lengthwise-sliced russets that had a sort of charming rustic imperfection about them. The cheddar crisp was like a giant Cheeze-It (a good thing).

Bacon-wrapped dates - $9 came with a bit of balsamic syrup and nice thick-cut bacon. The blue cheese stuffing was a little much, though - I think chevre would have been better balanced (maybe some Monocacy Ash from Cherry Glen Goat Cheese in Boyds, MD?).

My crab roll - $18 came on a fresh baked roll with top-notch crab meat and a light dressing. A bit heavy-handed on the celery, though. I substituted the potato chips with their mashed potatoes, which were chunky red potatoes that were light and well prepared.

My wife had the skirt steak with chimichurri - $18. Nice and buttery, full of flavor, bright chimichurri. Definitely a winner here!

We had the donuts for dessert. Fantastic crisp outside and light and fluffy interior. The glazes were vanilla rum and chocolate. I don't usually like chocolate glaze, but this was a quality dark chocolate that was silky and gooey (as opposed to the usual gritty and dull).

Don't miss some of the cocktails... I think they've got some good stuff going on here. I had a Death at the Farmhouse - $14 (absinthe and champagne with a twist). Also of special note was their iced tea: the best I've ever had!

One final note: watch out for massive portions.

All in all, a nice Tuesday dinner with some comfortable flavors upset only by the occasional imbalance. I'd go back. I support what they do, even if it's only on a superficial level at this point.

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I appreciate what Founding Farmers is trying to do...

I do appreciate what they're trying to do...

I support what they do....

For Brutus is an honourable man...

And Brutus is an honourable man...

And Brutus is an honourable man...

And, sure, he is an honourable man....

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Jane Black exposes Founding Farmers.

My only criticism is that the piece was too soft (probably in the name of "balance") and didn't go for the jugular. Nevertheless, thank you for having the courage to write it.

I'd lower Founding Farmers in the Dining Guide, except I can't see putting them below Washington Deli, which is their next step down.

Dan Simons, chief executive of VSAG, the management company that runs Founding Farmers and sister restaurant Farmers & Fishers (formerly Agraria) in Georgetown, said the restaurant is delivering on its goals: It is the first restaurant in Washington to receive the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. It uses organic cleaning products and biodegradable trash bags. The restaurant strives to buy from American family farms, some of them regional. But providing great service and affordable prices is as important. And, Simons said, Founding Farmers' brand is about more than just food.

"We're not Equinox," he said, referring to the Washington restaurant that has built its reputation on a decade of promoting local farmers. "Is green [only] about what people put in their mouth? Or is it about the whole experience?"

No, Dan Simons, you're certainly not Equinox, any more than Dan Quayle is John Kennedy. And no, green isn't only about what people put in their mouth, nor should it be: From everything I've read in medical journals, the American Greenback is one of the dirtiest things there is.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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I went to Founding Farmers this weekend and enjoyed myself. The servers have stopped doing the whole spiel about their LEED certified building and farm to table philosophy. The highlights from dinner were the cocktails (my dark and stormy was perfect) Potato Chip with dips (the pimento cheese was excellent as was the green goddess dip) and my friends fried chicken and waffles. (Was somewhat amazed that it came with chicken, waffles, mac and cheese and vegetables, all for 16 dollars.) The shrimp and grits was also tasty. My pasta was a bit too salty but still good overall. I'd definitely go back. Oh and the hand dryer was pretty cool.

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