DAVID BROOKS / SignOnSanDiego.com
Farmhouse Cafe, with its rustic decor, has quickly become a neighborhood favorite.
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Nothing says farmhouse decor like a collection of colorful wooden ducks. San Diego chef Olivier Bioteau and his wife, Rochelle, began acquiring theirs more than a year before they finally opened their University Heights restaurant, aptly named the Farmhouse Cafe.
Duck – be it a l'orange, confit or foie gras – just happens to be Bioteau's favorite meat, not to mention the species of a beloved cartoon character from his youth. So, he couldn't pass up the chance to give it a starring role in his new restaurant, which serves up classic French country cuisine that relies on fresh, seasonal ingredients.
The tiny restaurant – it only seats 40 inside – is decidedly cozy but loud once a crowd builds, which is happening with increasing frequency.
In just four months, Farmhouse appears to have become a neighborhood institution, not unlike the French bistro in London where Bioteau worked 20 years ago. He decided that it was just the sort of place he would like to open one day.
the buzz > > > > > >
FARMHOUSE CAFE
2121 Adams Ave., University Heights; (619) 269-9662 or farmhousecafesd.com
Dinner Tuesday through Sunday; brunch 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
THE FOOD: Rustic country French cuisine.
THE SCENE: Cozy but loud, with rustic touches like brick walls and an assortment of painted wooden ducks. There's seating at a long bar and outside.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Appetizers $7 to $10; entrees $10 to $18; desserts $7 to $10.
DON'T MISS: Caramelized onion flatbread, green garlic soup (if still in season), grilled flat-iron steak, chocolate cake, pot de crème, and a tasting of handmade chocolates.
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You know that word-of-mouth is building when just down the street on Adams Avenue, a longtime popular neighborhood eatery is nearly empty on a Tuesday night, while Bioteau's place is buzzing with activity.
Cream-colored brick walls, a long, comfortable banquette along one side, subdued lighting and, of course, all those wooden ducks imbue the place with a warm, rustic appeal.
While the menu here changes with the seasons, I'm hoping the caramelized onion flatbread, studded with bacon and parmesan and drizzled with a balsamic reduction, remains a permanent fixture. One bite of this thin, crispy appetizer and you'll be smitten.
A petite slab of chicken liver mousse, accompanied by pickled vegetables, is what you would expect at a French bistro, and this version delivers with a light, delicate creaminess, but the flavor was a bit on the bland side.
More intriguing is the green garlic soup, a delicious ode to spring. The star is the tender immature garlic plant, which makes an all-too-brief appearance during the spring months. It lends a subtle garlic flavor to this silken puree, enhanced with shallots, leeks, thyme, bay leaves and potatoes and topped with a puddle of Stilton cream.
There are ample choices for seafood here, like tender, flaky sea bass, but if you have any hankering at all for meat, you must try the grilled flat-iron steak, so tender that it could be easily mistaken for a melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon. Topped with a disk of gorgonzola butter and accompanied by thin frites, this is a meat-lover's dream.
Duck, of course, is on the menu, prepared a l'orange, with thin slices of tender meat bathed in a simple yet richly flavored citrus sauce and garnished with spinach leaves and orange segments. It comes with a rich yet satisfying potato gratin served in a small tureen.
No matter how sated you are, be sure to order dessert. Bioteau, who is professionally trained as a chocolatier, somehow finds the time to turn out wonderful French cuisine and also deliver superb desserts, whether it's a fudgy flourless chocolate cake, a velvety pot de crème or a decadent sampling of petite hand-made chocolates exotically flavored with lemon, pepper, passion fruit and blueberry.
So good are the sweets here, they're reason alone to make repeat visits to this new neighborhood sensation.
