The Bachelor Farmer was opened in 2011 by two brothers, Eric and Andrew Dayton. They happen to be the sons of Minnesota’s governor, Mark Dayton. (An old friend of mine.)
The restaurant is housed in an old timber and brick warehouse that the owners purchased in 2008.
Debbie and I dined here with Lynda and Paul a couple of nights before Walter Mondale’s 90th birthday party.
To begin, we ordered Warm Popovers with honey butter. These popovers were particularly large.
Debbie started with Salanova lettuce, aged goat’s milk cheese, cider vinegar and walnuts. For her entree she chose Sea Scallops, braised black turtle beans, sautéed greens, pancetta, parsnips and lemon aioli.
Lynda chose as an appetizer Smoked Hamachi, fingerling potatoes, Swiss chard, crème Fraiche with Ostetra caviar. She also had the Sea Scallops as well as an order of Pork fat-fried sweet potatoes with maple butter, a dish shared by all.
Paul opened with Celery root soup, roasted celery root, king trump mushrooms, Regent apples and tarragon. He then had Red wattle port, mashed root vegetables, marinated kale, caramelized cabbage with ham broth.
I started with Shaved red and green cabbage, pain de mie croutons, toasted almonds, chopped egg, and cheddar vinaigrette followed by Duck confit, broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash, toasted almonds and sage.
For dessert we shared Peppermint Semifreddo cake, and fudge with toasted almonds.
There is a two sided banquette running down the middle of the restaurant.
On one side of that banquette are a series of 2 tops and 4 tops as well as several large booths that can easily seat 6 or 8 people. On the other side of the banquette are a series of tables that can be joined in several ways.
The restaurant has a rooftop farm in which it grows its own herbs and vegetables. The restaurant also practices whole-animal butchery and uses traditional techniques to preserve spring and summer produce for the leaner months.
Mike was our server. I asked him what it was like to work at the restaurant. He said he had been there for some time and it is a cool place to work and noted that people who come to work there don’t leave. As I recall he had been there for about three years.
At capacity the restaurant has 92 seats.
The restaurant is only open for dinner. Its hours are 5:30 to 9:30 pm Monday thru Thursday and Sunday. It is open until 10:30 pm on Friday and Saturday. There are a series of private rooms on the second floor.
During the day there is a café in the basement of the restaurant which offers breakfast and lunch. It becomes a separate bar at night.
There are three unisex restrooms, one is set up for handicapped use and is so marked on the outside. The walls are green and the floors are have small white hexagonal tiles. There is a white ceramic commode and white ceramic sink with a wood framed mirror above. The restrooms are small but serviceable.
The Bachelor Farmer
50 2nd Avenue No
Minneapolis, Minnesota
612-206-3920
Thebachelorfarmer.com