Mandolin’s Farmhouse meals offer elevated comfort food at home | Review
Mandolin’s chicken pot pie came out of our toaster oven looking worthy of a magazine cover. Breaking into the puff pastry crust released a cloud of steam rising from a rich gravy riddled with peas, carrots, celery and chicken that proved to be every bit as succulent as it looked.
The Mandolin website says the chicken pot pie should feed six to eight, but I’d plan on four healthy appetites.
The chicken pie is one of a dozen fully cooked, ready-to-reheat Farmhouse Meals that owner/chef Sean Fowler is now offering for curbside takeout or delivery. All come with clear, easy-to-follow directions for reheating.
Most are available as orders of two, four, or six portions. In the case of the pot pie, I’m embarrassed to admit that my wife and I (OK, it was mostly me) nearly polished the whole thing off in one sitting. Mind you, this is an entire 9-inch pie.
In a departure from Fowler’s ambitiously adventurous regular menu (which the chef has described as “Southern at its roots, but draws influences from around the world”) the Farmhouse Meals are homestyle American classics.
Or in other words, comfort food, with options including regional favorites from chicken and dumplings to beef enchiladas to shrimp and grits to baked ziti. There’s even what you might call a modern American classic: a grain bowl loaded with quinoa, kale and more vegetarian goodies in a ginger dressing.
The Farmhouse Meals are a wise response to the pandemic, and the ones I’ve tried so far have been executed to a level that you’d expect from one of Raleigh’s most talented chefs.
One night, Fowler’s red wine-braised beef pot roast — chock-a-block with carrots, potato, celery, onion and hefty hunks of fork-tender beef — was as cozy as a cashmere sweater. A few days later, the New Orleans-style gumbo served up chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage in a textbook dark roux-thickened sauce punctuated with okra and red peppers. These Farmhouse Meals can become habit-forming.
Several à la carte side dishes are available to complement the meal, with options ranging from rustic roasted root vegetables to a silky puree of cheese-enriched whipped potatoes. The Mandolin family farm that supplies much of the restaurant’s produce during the spring and summer is pretty much done for the season, but the greenhouse still provides lettuces for delightful salads. And by all means, include at least a half-dozen of Fowler’s sublime yeast rolls in your order.
An abridged version of Mandolin’s regular menu is also available for delivery or takeout. Beer and wine bottles can also be order to-go. As with many restaurants serving these types of prepared meals, orders must be received a few days before pickup. The website has details.
But for many of us in these stressful times, the comfort of the Farmhouse Meals — not to mention the convenience of enjoying them whenever you want — is just what the doctor ordered. And dessert — a plate of brownies, a dish of banana pudding, or a slice of darkly decadent Videri chocolate chess pie — is the perfect follow-up prescription.
Mandolin
2519 Fairview Road, Raleigh
919-322-0365
Farmhouse Meals: mandolinraleigh.com/store/catering
Takeout Tales
Send me your experiences with restaurant delivery and curbside pickup at ggcox55@gmail.com. I’ll publish as many as I can (edited as needed for brevity and clarity) in this space.
The Station
Jim S. hasn’t let the pandemic — or a changing menu — stop him from netting a tasty catch at one of his favorite spots in downtown Raleigh.
“Prior to the pandemic, my wife and I had been weekly regulars at The Station on Person Street, usually having their smoked salmon BLT, and occasionally salads or their steamed mussels. We are still waiting on the smoked salmon BLT to make it back to the menu, which we are told is in the works.
“In the meantime, we have discovered their tuna sandwich with Asian sweet-and-sour BBQ sauce, pickled daikon, cucumber and onions on brioche with a side of pickled ginger. The tuna steak is at least 8 ounces, about an inch thick, seared on the flat top. Delicious.
“The takeout experience was great. I called the order in, food was ready, right on time, when I got there.”
bu.ku
John P. has discovered gastronomic global adventure in the family meals at bu.ku in Wake Forest.
“Bu.ku in Wake Forest has a really good deal. There are three choices for family offerings that serve four people for $40. One features Thai-style foods, another Mediterranean. A Latin family meal recently has been added. Pickup is extra safe with time slots in 15-minute increments. Both offerings provide excellent food with more than enough to eat.