Food Porn

The Herb Farm – January 24, 2015

The Herb Farm

My first serious dining experience was at the Herb Farm around 2011. It changed my life and is still one of my all-time favorite meals. Chef Chris Weber presented a perfect menu that opened my soul to artistic possibilities of food. And I’ve been hooked ever since. The cozy ambience, the single seating and group experience, the amazing wine cellar, and charming details like feeding the pigs between courses. These all contribute to a magical experience.

This was my second visit years later. Chris had just returned from a tour abroad and was excited to retool the menu with his recent inspirations. My expectations were unreasonably high. And again, the ambience and meal created a special night to remember. There were a couple of notes that I think Chris missed on this attempt. Which I hate to admit given the great respect I have for his food. But the crab course was visually uninspiring and the mushrooms in the Earth Salad course were a bit fibrous. But I definitely plan on returning for a different season.

 

Truffledom: Confit sturgeon with grilled sturgeon cordata-gelee and Oregon black truffle. Water buffalo tartar, white truffle mayo, yeasted cracker. Black truffle soup, red beet cream. Treveri Cellars sparkling brut rose.

 

Whiteness of the Veil: Celery root agnolotti, oyster cream, pea shoots, shaved white truffle. 2005 L’ecole barrel-fermented semillon, Columbia Valley.

 

Fresh King Crab: Alaskan King Crab, grilled leeks, caramelized sunchokes, with Oregon black truffles. 2012 Ashan Cellars chardonnay, Celilo Vinyard

 

An Earth Salad: Ember-roasted pumpkin, black trumpet mushrooms, truffled kale chips, black pudding. 2009 Facelli Winery sangiovese, Sagemoor Vineyard.

 

Guinea Hen: Rotisserie Guinea hen, black truffle ragout, guinea hen hunter’s-style sausage, potato butter. 2011 designee cabernet franc, Conner-Lee Vineyard,

 

Trio of muscat

 

Tree Under Glass: Douglas fir buttermilk sorbet, sweet woodruff dust, gin glass.

 

Terrine: Terrine of Puyallup Valley foie gras, preserved apricot, oxidized wine and white truffle syrup, farm greens.

 

Oh Sweet Truffle: Oregon black truffle ice cream, caramelized apple, pie dough, lemon thyme. 2005 Thurston-Wolfe 8 year cask-aged tawny port.

 

 

Daniel Callicoat

Recent Posts

1000 Days – Initial thoughts on 3 years as a nomad.

   Today we have been traveling for 1000 days. I just wanted to mark the occasion. So much to reflect…

2 years ago

Day 936 – Lecce, Italy – The heel of the boot.

   To round out our Italy adventure we decided our last stop should be Lecce, all the way down into…

2 years ago

Day 924 – Matera, Italy – (Part 2) – Historic City Center, Puglian Food, and the rest.

   If your only experience of Matera is from photos or travel shows it's easy to think that the ancient…

3 years ago

Day 924 – Matera, Italy – (Part 1) – Sassi di Matera – An ancient city of troglodytes

   Here lies the foundations of human civilizations. A warren of hand carved underground dwellings and structures. These were the…

3 years ago

Bros – May 4, 2022 (Lecce, Italy)

   Bros is self-described as avant-garde and attempts to push the boundaries of gastronomy through inventing new flavors using experimental…

3 years ago

Day 919 – The Amalfi Coast, Italy – Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello

   The Amalfi Coast has long been one of my travel goals and I was elated to finally get to…

3 years ago

Get updates for new posts.

Where am I now?

Eugene, OR

(We’ve reached the end of our trip.  Time to settle down for a bit and recharge our batteries and our bank accounts.  It’s been a good run.  Eugene had the right kind of vibe we were looking for.  Good people.  A good size.  Affordable.  We’re going to give it a go here.  But we’re open to what comes.)

 

Next up:

Nowhere for the moment

(For the first time in three years we don’t have the next adventure planned out.  That’s going to be a strange reality to adjust to.)