Herbfarm's lavish production needs fine-tuning
http://www.metroactive.com/metro/04.30.08/dining-0 [2008-7-11]
Tag : White Mushroom
Dinner at The Herbfarm is no mere meal. It's an epic, nine-course, four- to five-hour dining experience featuring themed menus and a $492 tab for two. It's an evening full of high drama, from the introductions of the staff and the 25-minute discourse on the menu by chef and sommelier to the lovely guitar mastery of longtime resident musician Patrico Contreras and the quiz that accompanies a special blend of "Smart Tea." Yet, like the umpteenth staging of "Cats," the script seems a bit stale, and the food -- are you ready for this? -- is only occasionally show-stopping.
The Herbfarm's storied history is covered briefly during the pre-meal garden tour. A richer version is told in the restaurant's glossy brochure: Proprietor Ron Zimmerman's mother Lola first planted the seed for what would blossom into a destination restaurant quite by accident in 1974, selling extra chives from her home garden in Fall City. The next year, herb sales grew, and by 1986 Zimmerman and his wife, Carrie Van Dyck, began offering six-course educational lunches in what was once the farm's garage. (The place was expanded but burned down in 1997. The new restaurant opened in Woodinville's wine country on May 25, 2001, the 15th anniversary of the original Herbfarm debut.) Jerry Traunfeld joined the team in 1990, elevating the humble Herbfarm to superstar status. Two books, countless awards and more than 17 years later, Traunfeld exited stage left last summer to open his own place. (Poppy is scheduled to flower on Capitol Hill in September.)
Dinner at The Herbfarm is no mere meal. It's an epic, nine-course, four- to five-hour dining experience featuring themed menus and a $492 tab for two. It's an evening full of high drama, from the introductions of the staff and the 25-minute discourse on the menu by chef and sommelier to the lovely guitar mastery of longtime resident musician Patrico Contreras and the quiz that accompanies a special blend of "Smart Tea." Yet, like the umpteenth staging of "Cats," the script seems a bit stale, and the food -- are you ready for this? -- is only occasionally show-stopping.
The Herbfarm's storied history is covered briefly during the pre-meal garden tour. A richer version is told in the restaurant's glossy brochure: Proprietor Ron Zimmerman's mother Lola first planted the seed for what would blossom into a destination restaurant quite by accident in 1974, selling extra chives from her home garden in Fall City. The next year, herb sales grew, and by 1986 Zimmerman and his wife, Carrie Van Dyck, began offering six-course educational lunches in what was once the farm's garage. (The place was expanded but burned down in 1997. The new restaurant opened in Woodinville's wine country on May 25, 2001, the 15th anniversary of the original Herbfarm debut.) Jerry Traunfeld joined the team in 1990, elevating the humble Herbfarm to superstar status. Two books, countless awards and more than 17 years later, Traunfeld exited stage left last summer to open his own place. (Poppy is scheduled to flower on Capitol Hill in September.)
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