Walk into the Farmer’s Table Cafe, and one of the first things you’ll see is a chalkboard — a sight not uncommon in many diners. What sets this particular chalkboard apart is what’s written on it: the names of each farm from which Farmer’s Table Cafe sources ingredients. And that chalkboard is full, and the writing is small. At nearly 90 local partners, this is one restaurant that means business. I wrote about the cafe back in the first edition of Arkansas Food and Farm, but until last week i hadn’t had the pleasure to dine there. And pleasure it was.
When I sat down to eat, I hadn’t had a bite to eat in all day and I was hungry. Being a confirmed pancake junkie, I ordered up two of the War Eagle Mill flour pancakes, a side of fresh sausage links, and a pile of bright green, very spicy kale. Now kale isn’t what most people think about when it comes to pancakes and sausage, including our senior editor Max Brantley, who sent me this on Twitter right after I posted a picture:
@eatarkansas Sorry. Kale has no place on a plate with pancakes, sausage, syrup and butter.
— Arkansas Blog (@ArkansasBlog) January 17, 2015
The crazy thing is, the kale was right at home on that plate, even when the honest-to-god real maple syrup I smothered my my pancakes with oozed down into them. The greens were so lightly cooked and pleasantly spiced that after a few bites, having kale for breakfast didn’t seem odd at all anymore. Of course with sausage this fantastic and pancakes this fluffy, the kale really didn’t have to do much on its own to make the plate incredible.
I bring up Farmer’s Table today not only because of their fantastic breakfasts, but also because they are hosting a series of dinners called “Shake the Hand that Feeds You.” The price for these dinners is $20, which is unheard of for one of these farm-to-table events. Reservations are required and space is limited, so if you’re interested in eating with the folks that grow your food, check out the Farmer’s Table Cafe website, call 479-966-4125, or e-mail them.