Prairie Fruits Farm kicked off their new monthly event series with New Orleans themed food and entertainment. The farm was packed with hungry people eager for a taste of the Creole south, and the chef did not disappoint. Third Friday events happen — you guessed it — on the Third Friday of the month. You can check the PFF event calendar, or SP for information about the next one (Friday, June 20th, 5:30–8 p.m.). Each month will have a different theme.
When my husband and I arrived around 6 p.m., we were greeted by a lengthy line.
Friday’s weather was subpar, to say the least. It was unseasonably frigid and rainy. Waiting outside the building wasn’t exactly awesome, but within 10 minutes or so we made it inside.
The line was in a strange horseshoe formation. The register was directly to the left as you walked into the building, and I’m guessing people didn’t want to wait outside in the cold, so they formed the line inside. Because there were so many people, there were actually two people taking orders.
The menu was limited, and clearly New Orleans-inspired. The hubby and I opted for the Andouille and chicken gumbo, the sweet corn beignets, and the Andouille ‘po boy’. Before we ordered we were told that because the deep fryer is small, if we ordered the beignets, our order would take twice as long. Not to be deterred by time, I moved forward with the beignets.
The inside of the building was packed, and there were no seats available. Patrons brought in their own alcohol, and were happy to be sipping, nibbling, and spilling all over the tables. The crowd was pretty diverse in age: some older folks, young couples, and a lot of families.
People waiting for their food stood along the walls, which seemed like a fire hazard.
The servers and kitchen staff were complete pros — they maneuvered around the crowded space with a grace and agility I admire.
The muffalata sandwich was a nice wedge shape, but looked a little small for $9.
The kitchen was hot! The food coming out looked delicious, which made me regret ordering the beignets — I was hungry!
See the small fryer? That dude made a lot of beignets.
I appreciate PFF staff’s honesty about the beignets, and they weren’t kidding when they said it would take a long time. It took about 45 minutes for us to get our food. While the music was good, standing around a crowded space for 45 minutes wasn’t awesome. We didn’t want to leave, though, in case some seats became available or they magically brought our food out.
Those seats were taken.
When the food arrived, I very nearly forgot to photograph it because I was so hungry.
The bowl of gumbo was $7.50, the beignets (5 pieces) were $6, and the po boy was $7. We also shared a Homer Soda Company soda, which was $3. Our total was just under $26.
The gumbo was good; it was flavorful and the chicken was tender as hell.
The beignets were served with a side of garlic mayo, which was indeed garlicky. The beignets were fresh and soft, and contained pieces of sweet corn.
The po boy was served on a toasted baguette. The baguette and the generous handful of cabbage and sliced red onions made it very difficult to eat. This was exacerbated by the fact that there weren’t any forks left at the serving station when our food arrived. You just can’t eat something like that with a spoon. The po boy also had a fancy sauce, which was hard to taste through the cabbage. Although I enjoyed the po boy, I wanted more meat and more sauce. The sausage (from Triple S Farms) was delicious. It was incredibly well seasoned without being too salty or too artificially ‘Andouille’ in flavor.
It’s also worth noting that the super thinly-sliced red onion was perfect, and that bean salad was to die for. It was tangy and sweet and salty in all of the right places. I’d order a tub of that any day.
When we finished eating, we went to visit the baby goats. How can you not fall in love with those little faces?
Despite the weather and the wait, we genuinely enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. We’re looking forward to next month, although we’ll get there at 5:30 p.m.
Check out the gallery below for additional photos.
All photos by the author.
[gallery PFF_third_friday_may_16]