Main Street Farmer Eatery

Reviews 4

CH

Chad Engman

Disappointing, Unexpected, and Poor practices. Wish I could say we had a great experience, but we didnt make it to a table. 1. Hours for Friday, 11am - 10pm. 2. At 2pm, I tried calling for a reservation for a party of 2. Voicemail both times, stating that they would call back right away. They never called. So, you cant trust their "word" since it isnt worth anything. 3. Knowing that Fridays can be busy, we went early and arrived at 5:15 pm. Seeing open tables and nobody waiting, I was hopeful. I checked in and was told they were full for reservations for the night. I asked what that meant, and I was told that they only take reservations and had no openings for walk-ins or waiting. Puzzled, I clarified... "...so you are saying that without a reservation I would not be able to get a table?..." the reply... "...that is correct." 4. Ive been to much more exclusive, and finer dining establishments than this one and I find it incredulous that from 5:15 pm to 10 PM (over 4 hours) that they would take no diners without a reservation!?!?!? Commentary: Im rather offended by such ridiculous practices. It is highly unlikely that 100% of their reservations actually showed up. It is highly unlikely that they perfectly forecast and planned how long each party would stay. Ive never been to a public restaurant that didnt run 10% or more of the tables for walk-ins. Prior to even showing up I found it suspicious that such a restaurant would NOT have a real website but rather be using Facebook when too many of us Dont use Facebook. My Recommendation: Call to make a reservation. If they dont call you back in 15 minutes and you still want to go, call again. Repeat as desired until you get frustrated or they call you back. Do NOT show up at dinner time expecting to get a table is what we learned. Do NOT expect them to answer the phone during business hours is what we learned. My Plan: My wife still would like to try it. I personally was extremely excited that we took this opportunity to try the French Cuisine at Hana in Albertville (just north of the mall) and had the most amazing Sea Bass! Other than my wifes desires, I dont plan to make any exerted effort to hurry back. It was just so disappointing to get a night out from the kids, make plans to try a new restaurant, have no notice anywhere that reservations would be REQUIRED or service would be refused, then show up and have exactly that happen. Shame on the Main Street Farmer Eatery! They are still new, so hopefully they will learn and improve their manners and communication. Perhaps even adding to their answering machine something like.... "...we will call back right away, but if you dont hear from us shortly, we dont want your business and you should find somewhere else to dine..."

KE

Kevin Byrnes

Dined there last night. It was a pretty great experience all the way around. Got there ahead of time, so had 45 minutes to kill at the bar. Ambience was nice with exposed brick and rough industrial space vibe. Good acoustics, high ceilings and funky art. All of the staff behind the bar were attentive and friendly. Great selection of beers, including some locals. I had an old fashioned that was terrific, and although was not made with a Luxardo cherry, the one they used was a very nice (VERY different) second place. Demerara brought the sweet, and Id have made it a touch less sweet, but i get where they were coming from. I appreciated the change. Now comes the whole "I would have been happy with the appetizers" part of the review. The carpaccio was terrific, but the keilbasa was incredible. Perfect char and wood-roasted flavor. Like it was cooked on a stick over a fire looking out on the boundary waters. The onions, kraut and grilled bread were perfect. I will rememnber that for a long time. The Charcuterie also did not let us down. Stand out pickles. Everything was done well and presented nicely. I had the main street frenched chicken. It was beautiful. Cooked well, moist, a generous portion and for my liking, nailed the salt level. Every chef will tell you that salt makes the world go round, and I get leery of this aspect. It feels like cheating. Not so with this dish. It was spot on. Nicely cooked green beans and a really good proscuitto potato mash. Although I am lucky enough to live within a restaurant that provides everything I could ever hope for out of a dining experience (Travail) I will absolutely return to this restaurant. It deserves to thrive. It was farm to table fresh, and this place hits the "bread and circuses" balance perfectly. Well done.

JA

Jamie Smith

UPDATE: Management responded and attempted to clarify the situation, Ive increased my review from 2 stars to 3 for the effort to resolve my complaints. Some issues remain unresolved by design of the establishments owners. (Original Review Below) In response to Management: Im going to leave it at 3 stars for now as you were still out of several items on your menu on one of my visits which was disappointing. It was explained to me that your order was put in that day and that was why you were out of a few things, it was a Tuesday evening. And well, not answering your business phone, to me, seems unprofessional and an inconvenience to your customers. Even if they are not in your dinning room, they are still just as important of a customer. They can still review you, they can still give you 2 stars, and they can still tell others about their experience. They can also still show up in your dinning room ready to enjoy your fare. Should we decide to visit again in the future, I may return and adjust my review if you are able to accommodate all of your customers, but for now im comfortable leaving it at 3 due to your lack of external customer service, not answering your phone on a night where you only had a few tables sat, and short supply of menu items on our second visit. I do wish you and your business the best, as your food is extraordinary! ORIGINAL REVIEW: Our first visit here a month ago was out of this world amazing. The kielbasa was outstanding as was the stew. The wine list seemed a little skimpy until we discovered the captains menu... If youre a wine lover, you must check it out. Easily 5

DA

Damon Kocina

I went to Main Street Farmer for the first time last night. We were a table of eight, a pre-holiday gathering of good friends and they seated us at in an alcove that gave us the experience akin to having the restaurant all to ourselves which was a great, unexpected benefit. Each of our four couples ordered a different appetizer and we passed them around the table so we each got a sample of everything. The word eclectic comes to mind as there is no set style to the menu except to say fresh -- an interesting combination of quality elements. The main dish selections were also intriguing, fresh, local -- and tasty! My wife chose the Pork Belly Tacos and I choose the Frenched Chicken and we shared bites of each plate -- both were fabulous. Of course, each couple ordered a dessert. And of course it was delicious. Special call out to the carrot cheesecake -- youve gotta try it. One thing to note -- dinner is not a grab a bite and go -- this is a dining experience. Im sure you could order an app and get to a movie or game, but you are foregoing the full dining experience. Sit back, relax, enjoy the people youre seated with, and eat interesting, delicious food. One more shout-out to MaryBeth (our waitress, bless her heart for putting up with us). I went to the Main Street Farmer for the first time last night and Im already looking forward to going back. :)