Farmhouse Kitchen--San Francisco, CA (Thai cuisine)

Located at 710 Florida Street, Farmhouse Kitchen is an eclectic and interesting exploration into the culture, the people and the food of Thailand. This is a very busy restaurant with their regular dining service as well as scheduled cultural events; reservations are encouraged. The street food vibe is very present with off-menu items carried around the tables via bamboo sticks with hanging straw baskets serving street treats like meatballs, fried taro and even grasshoppers. The menu also offers other items than the usual Thai dishes one might see at conventional Thai restaurants. All this makes for an interesting and very pleasurable dining experience.

Here are some of the things I've enjoyed.

http://farmhousesf.com/



Fried Taro and Banana (off-menu street food). These had a dense batter that made a crunchy exterior shell, while maintaining a soft interior. The taro was nutty and the banana (closer to a Plantain) was soft and sweet. The fried onions, black sesame seeds in the batter and sweet glaze over the top added to the complexity of this snack.

Fried Grasshoppers (off-menu street food). My first time eating grasshoppers and it was a great experience. Marinated in soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and maybe a few other ingredients, these were fried until shatteringly crisp on the outside with a mushroom-like flavor on the inside. The texture was similar to eating fried shrimp with the shell on. A whole bag of these would be great with some beer and a movie. Great finger food.

Herbal Rice Salad. A Bangkok-style salad was composed of their blue rice, toasted coconut, peanuts, shredded green mango, crispy shallots, lemongrass, sliced long beans, chili, kaffir lime, dried shrimp and tamarind dressing. This had all the multi-dimensional flavor and texture components of a well-rounded dish. One my new favorites.

Panang Neua. This enormous piece of succulent, tender, bone-in short rib was smothered in a thick, rich panang curry sauce and served with broccolini, blue rice, bell peppers, onions and fried basil. This was big enough to be a meal for two and brought out the primal, meat-tearing hunger out of me. The panang curry was reduced until the flavors were concentrated but not overpowering. Full of umami and phenomenal.

Vacation. An exceptional dessert. All of my favorite foods were encased in a hollowed out coconut. It was filled until spilling over with coconut ice cream, coconut meat, toasted coconut, toasted macadamia nut and sesame seeds. Not overly sweet and definitely satisfied my need for coconut.

This was a fun, lively and delicious place to eat and hang out. I look forward to my next visit.