The Farm Bar & Grille
Imagine going to a cookout, in a big backyard, with a horseshoe pit, a volleyball court, a giant projection screen TV, live music, and some of the best food you'll ever eat. That's what you get at The Farm.
The Farm Bar and Grille in Essex Massachusetts, is more than a restaurant. It's an all day experience, created by two brothers and their cousin, who left the corporate world to follow their dream of opening a restaurant.
Brad Atkinson - The Farm Bar and Grille: "I was an engineer, my brother is a lawyer, and my cousin was a sales recruiter, and we all... quit our jobs all on the same day, and we opened The Farm."
The guys knew they wanted to serve great food at reasonable prices. But when they found this unique location on about an acre of land, they decide to turn the backyard into a playground, transforming The Farm into a whole lot more than just a restaurant.
Noah Goldstein - The Farm Bar and Grille: "People are coming here, having dinner, going outside, playing volleyball, playing horseshoes, and all of a sudden, it's three or four hours later... so it's a full experience when you come here."
With so many activities, you might think the food here would be an afterthought, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Brad Atkinson - The Farm Bar and Grille: "We make everything from scratch, there's nothing pre-frozen or manufactured you'd throw in the fryolater. We don't skimp on anything."
So the Mozzarella Bites are homemade with whole milk Mozzarella for the ultimate stretchiness. The Barbecue Nachos are topped with pulled pork, fresh made salsa and guacamole. And the Chicken Tenders are fresh, never frozen, triple dipped, and double fried.
Brad Atkinson - The Farm Bar and Grille: "When you eat these chicken tenders, they're so juicy and moist, they melt in your mouth, they're amazing."
If you spend some time playing in the backyard, you're gonna work up an appetite, so you probably want to order the Mega Burger. It's a jaw dropping stack of two hand packed half pound Angus patties and four slices of cheese topped with a pair of homemade Jalapeno Poppers.
Brad Atkinson - The Farm Bar and Grille: "You really got to squish it down. You get it squished down, and you take a bite of this, there's nothing like it."
Of course any great cookout should serve up some barbecue, and The Farm does that too, cooked for hours in the smoker out back and finished off with a sauce so secret, the brothers won't even tell each other.
Ryan Cox - The Farm Bar and Grille: "Our barbecue sauce is a secret sauce, I'm the only one who knows how to make it in the restaurant. My brother doesn't know how to do it, my cousin doesn't know how to do it."
But there’s no secret when it comes to dessert, because The Farm offers half a dozen flavors of Richie’s slush and about two dozen varieties of Richardson’s ice cream.
And that’s the perfect end to a perfect summer day at The Farm Bar and Grille, a Phantom Gourmet... Hidden Jewel.