For years now, I’ve heard from Cortez residents that The Farm Bistro is a great place to eat, but I haven’t set out to confirm it until now.
According to its website, the farm-to-table restaurant was started by Rusty and Laurie Hall in 2009 as an outlet for their organic Seven Meadows Farm, but the owners have since come to source their ingredients from a number of local farms and ranches. The eatery also doubles as a year-round farm stand and art gallery.
Anyway, on my most recent visit to Cortez, I decided to see what all the hubbub was about.
I got there a few minutes before my dining companion, and while I sat waiting, someone at another table received the steak they had ordered. Keeping in mind that everyone in the bistro was very socially-distanced, the times being what they are and all, I got a very long, very powerful whiff of the recently-cooked meat. It very nearly derailed my plans.
I’m not sure if it was the restaurant’s Baseball Sirloin or another steak, but it smelled like a perfectly seasoned and seared slab of meat. You know that face that vampires make when they see or smell blood in the movies? I’m pretty sure that the carnivore side of me broke through as I slowly turned around in my seat and made exactly that face.
[image:2]But I had been looking at the menu long before I arrived at The Farm and had already psyched myself up for the eatery’s Relleno Pie. And that’s exactly what I ordered when my friend arrived. She ordered the Dove Creek Black Bean Burger. As we waited, we nibbled on some grainy-in-a-good-way bread.
I also sipped on the True Western, a cocktail from the bistro’s martini menu. Made with bourbon, golden curacao, cactus juice, and prickly pear juice, it had one of the most hyper-masculine names, and 67 years of James Bond suggests that martinis are already pretty masculine. What arrived looked very much like a magenta cosmo with a cherry in it that would be very at-home in Carrie Bradshaw’s hands. It was delicious, don’t get me wrong — I’d definitely drink it again (and again and again). But the name brought to mind an image of a Sam Elliot-type cowboy drinking it, which I found amusing. The last sip, in particular, was delightfully spicy, but I’m not 100% sure it was the drink and not residual chile on my tongue from my meal.
[image:3]The Relleno Pie, roasted poblano chiles baked into a cheddar custard topped with feta and tortilla strips, was nice and fluffy. The cheddar and feta came together around the chiles to create a pleasantly cheesy-but-not-too-cheesy experience. It lived up to its reputation.
My friend informed me that the black bean burger, made also with carrots and zucchini and served on focaccia, tasted very fresh. She mentioned that rather than a mash of the ingredients, you could still identify individual black beans — which she enjoyed. You could “feel the roots” she said. The focaccia bread also felt fresh and there was a range of dressings to choose from.
Now that I’ve finally tried it for myself, I definitely want to return to The Farm next time I’m back in Cortez. Plus, like a nosferatu who hasn’t fed in weeks, I have to get that steak.
Nick Gonzales
