December Dinner at Farm Spirit

On December 16, we decided to celebrate our dating anniversary (hey, fair to celebrate both the dating and wedding anniversary right, especially if you dated a while before you got married, right…) at one of our favorite restaurants in Portland, and definitely the best vegan restaurant we’ve ever been to Farm Spirit. We opted for the later 7:45 seating instead of the earlier Friday seating which was a more convenient time for us to get there after work and because for the slightly higher price there may be additional courses at this grand tasting dinner.

Farm Spirit, besides being completely vegan, also is almost completely local in serving Cascadian cuisine. Almost all their ingredients are sourced from within 105 miles except for those that would be extremely difficult, such as enough all natural wine for the wine list, and spices. They are very conscientious and thoughtful in creating an experience via the food and the environment to support and celebrate local vendors. This is down to the counter that you are eating upon, the shelves you see before you, and the ceramic dishes you eat from – many were crafted with local materials by local vendors.
 

They pick up ingredients directly from the farm several times a week and know the stories of the people and ingredients that appear before you on every plate as a guest. The multiple checks a week into what is fresh also means the menu is continually changing and evolving. They also strive towards zero waste, and look for ways to use every part of an ingredient, so during the meal you can hear how different parts were utilized across your dishes.
 
Farm Spirit is reservations only, paid online with a set date and time before ahead so they know exactly how many guests will arrive at the set group seating time, and they serve everything simultaneously, cooking and plating before you as you sit at a counter watching them. They have dinner service only, Wednesday through Saturday with two seatings available: 5:15 PM/5:30 PM or 7:45 PM. The ticket price varies depending on day and seating and already includes gratuity.

When making the reservation you can pre-purchase a regular or reserve wine pairing or housemade non-alcoholic pairing, or purchase the flights when you arrive or order the beverages as la carte. I highly recommend a pairing –  all the wines are all natural, and the non-alcoholic beverages have never disappointed on their tastyness (hello melon thyme shrub!) .

Here is a look at what our dinner in December offered.

1. Each setting started off with a Seeded Rye bread accompanied by a vegan butter made from fresh pressed heritage seed canola oil with aquaphaba (chickpea juice)
   
2. Cured Carrot with Aleppo Pepper Emulsion, a vegan sausage that had the perfect texture imitating charcuterie, created with purple carrots cured in sugar salt solution, then dehydrated, chopped up and then compressed and sliced into these. The Aleppo Pepper Emulsion offered creaminess while the spiciness was a nice extra bite.
   
3. Cabbage Taco with wild shimeji mushrooms and cauliflower puree, I could have eaten half a dozen of these they were soooo good and felt so decadant.
   
4. This snack is a Fried Kalette with Hazelnut Yogurt with allium. A kalette is a cross between brussel sprouts and kale.
   
5. Red Beet Braised Radicchio, bitter radicchio braised with warm spices and beet juice
   
6. Shredded brussels sprouts with celeriac puree, Meyer Lemon and Oregon Black Truffles
   
7. Carrots and Apricot. Peeled and carefully rolled, cooked sous vide and seared Carrots, preserved in bay leaf and rosemary Apricot, finished with Meyer Lemon leaf oil and frilly mustard
   
8. Sprouted Farro, Leeks, Smoke dish, the farro is cooked with sage and smoked leek and presented with sexy smoke
   

   A video posted by Pechluck Laskey (@pechluck) on Dec 16, 2016 at 9:02pm PST

9. Kohlrabi Fritter with sunflower yogurt, they use Greenwillow Grains, wild fermented broth is utilized to make the sunflower milk used to make the yogurt
   
10. Sunchoke Veloute with caramelized sunchoke dumpling, garnished with chrysanthemum and with ash made with the pits of the Meyer Lemon used in other dishes previously
    
    I was just loving these bowls, which have these great indentations on both sides that make it easy to carry it in one hand
    
11. Pan roasted Abalone mushroom with potato puree, red onion sauce, and watercress. This final savory dish was almost like steak and potatoes, vegan style, surprisingly meaty thanks to the thickness and texture of that mushroom and other flavors on the plate.
    
12. Palate cleansing course of Raspberry Kefir in the signature Drink Me bottles. I’ve known about this presentation for a while since I’m a social media fan, and I love how it incorporates Rico’s gifts in making homemade beverags into the meal even for those who don’t know to opt into the non-alcoholic pairings.
    
13. Dessert 1`of 2, Cultured hazelnut that is vegan but goes through the same process like cheesemaking, here with leek ash, and served with smoked beet juice, hazelnut crumble, and flax cracker
    
14. Parsnip cake with pepita ice cream and huckleberry powder, chestnut, preserved blackberry
    
15. The end of the meal is really the last course, but in case you wanted more in a few hours, or for breakfast the next morning, they package up a little vegan bread – here it was Beet Fennel bread that I enjoyed with green tea at home the next morning
    

I would recommend Farm Spirit to anyone and everyone, vegan or not. It’s an amazing atmosphere of supporting and celebrating local, food that would be at home in a white tablecloth fancy restaurant and plated like art, but with a casual cool grooves playlist on the stereo and the chefs amiably chatting up and sharing stories and asking about you like everyone here are new friends at a low key dinner party. They already have seating reservations up for Valentine’s if you’re looking for an excellent date night or check out their calendar for other convenient dinner seatings in January and February for you.

What caught your eye from this December Dinner at Farm Spirit I shared? Have you heard of or been to Farm Spirit? What vegan restaurants do you know of and recommend?