Restaurant Review: The Herbfarm

Joshua Jones

The Herbfarm is not your typical restaurant experience; you will have a unique experience that you will never forget. The Herbfarm' uses ingredients found only within100 miles radius of its restaurant. The Herbfarm is a big supporter of local farmers, foragers, cheese makers, wineries, and fishermen to preserve local foods. 
The first few seconds after my boyfriend Jeffry and I arrived at The Herbfarm, we joined the group of people that was guided by the co-owner, Carrie, to their garden. Carrie explained about their herbs and what kind of dishes they work best with. She gave all of us some of the herbs to taste and smell. At the end of the tour, she introduced us to their pigs, Basil and Borage, who will be eating our leftover food.

We entered The Herbfarm restaurant and the first impression of the interior is of an old French country home with a lot of charm. They have an open kitchen, and the tables were set up with wine glasses and plenty of silverware for nine courses. Each seat had a cute tiny framed picture with the guests’ name on it. Ron and Carrie told us about the history of The Herbfarm and what will we expect for our 9 courses. Ron spoke way too fast for us to understand what he was saying. At that time, he also introduced us to all of the chefs. The theme: Spring Forager.

We received the first course: Sea Forage - Shigoku oyster poached in oyster veloute, elderberry capers, flowering chervil. Spot prawn wrapped in feuille de brik, wasabi-bull kelp remoulade, and mint. celeriac soup with manila clams, wild ginger leaf, and lovage. I was a little disappointed with their oyster because it was not cooked fully. Otherwise, I was pleased with the prawn; it had a good balance. I loved the soup as had it had the perfect seasoning.

Second Course: Field and Stream - Alder-smoked Columbia River spring-run Chinook salmon, a wild tangle of foraged greens, mustard mousse, and with sheep sorrel purée. I was blown away by the flavor. This was one of the best dishes I've had in a while. The greens worked very well with both the salmon and the mustard mousse. It helped balance the flavors. I liked how they placed the food a little off from center of the dish. While we were eating the second course, we were served baked rolls with homemade butter, which was unique.

Third Course: Fungi Cake & Foie. Seared local foie gras & morel- mushroom gateau with tree mushrooms. The dish had Yakima asparagus, spring carrots, tarragon, and a warm buttermilk vinaigrette. I don’t recall ever having a fungi cake before, and it was delicious and moist. I like the way they plated the dish. It stood out and gave you an opportunity to explore the dish before you take a bite of it.

 Fourth Course: Licorice Fern Old Spot Belly. Licorice fern-crusted Gloucestershire old spot belly with caramelized cauliflower, farro, savory granola, and pickled onion. Jeffry and I both agreed that the pork belly was the best we've ever had. It was very well seasoned and seared. I also love how they caramelized the cauliflower. The only downside was that we were unable to taste the licorice fern. We were a little disappointed about that but we didn't allow that to ruin our enjoyment of the delicious pork belly.

Fifth Course: Trinity of Milk - milk-fed lamb, crispy croquette of braised shoulder with apple and savory, wood-grilled leg with oregano, spit-roasted loin, fern fiddleheads, wild watercress, comfit potatoes, stinging nettle and green garlic shoot sauce, lamb jus. I was disappointed that our lamb was cold and wasn't very impressed with this dish. I am sure if it had been served hot it would have been much more edible.

 

Sixth Course: All Spruced Up. Rogue creamery caveman blue cheese with Sitkaspruce syrup, spring beets three different ways, and lemon thyme. I liked how this was very colorful and a welcoming dish. I didn't like the bleu cheese, but I liked the spring beets. I think it would have tasted great if they put different types of cheese so I could have enjoyed this dish much more.

 
Seventh Course: Fir'n'Barb. Poached rhubarb gelee, Douglas fir sorbet, and rhubarb tulle. I had never heard of a Douglas fir flavored sorbet before; it was my first time to try this flavor and I was blown away by how good it is. I also like the way they included rhubarb tulle to help the flavors and, I like how the Douglas fir needles added on the rhubarb. That helped balance the dish well.

Eighth Course: Mount Mazama. Buttermilk pancake enrobed in wild candy cap mushroom Bavarian, white chocolate, barlett pear, bacon-hazelnut praline, spring pickled black currant buds, and hot salted Vancouver Island big leaf maple syrup. I love how our waitress poured hot salted Vancouver Islandbig leaf maple syrup to melt the white chocolate at top to create a "crater”. This was an unusual dessert which gave me an opportunity to explore different flavors. Overall, it was a very creative dish.

Ninth and final course: Coffees, Native Beverages, Teas, and Wild Treats. The treats were house churned butter; nori epi, country rye, and spelt roll cylinders. I ordered hot green tea. Each dish had 4 wild treats. As we leaving the restaurant, Carrie handed us scones to take out – very thoughtful.

Overall, I love The Herbfarm's concept of having local grown ingredients and keeping everything organic and fresh. This restaurant is ideal for anyone who wants to experience something very different, a romantic dinner, or for a special occasion. The Herbfarm restaurant does have its own private dining room for private parties. I would rate this restaurant four stars out of five stars.

Please keep in mind that they change their menu often as the season changes and I recommend making reservation at least a month or more in advance. You may need to request an interpreter for the garden tour/open speech because lot of information presented can easily be missed due to the way the co-owner Ron talked during his presentation.

You can learn more about this restaurant by checking out their website, The Herbfarm.