The current scene in the Bay Area region is very much hipster (as known by all residents of the world). Gone were the days when toast just referred to that brown piece of cardboard popping out of the toaster. Artisanal bread, topped with what may seem like “mundane” toppings – cheese, jam, nuts and fruits is all the rage. And oh no, not just regular jam, but jam made with organic farmed fruits, farm fresh cheese and nuts. I wanted to experience this trend as much as I could before people realized that they were just getting excited about bread, and jumped on a newer, more basic bandwagon.
[Listen to this piece by This American Life. Read this article in The New Yorker.]
I had read about a couple of popular places that embody this trend . The Husband who struggles to be up to date with the hipster world stumbled upon a cafe late last year and described (failingly) the amazing breakfast he had that featured fruits on toast. After surfing Yelp I decided that I needed to experience this new trend. Hence I was led to farm:table (reads farm to table not farm *cricket sound* table as pronounce by a noob (not me)).
Farm:table is a tiny, Harry Potter’s-bedroom-under-the-stairs sized cafe? restaurant? breakfast area. While there is a little more variety in the menu by way of croissants, eggs and pastries the star of this establishment is toasted bread (varies daily) generously slathered with butter, topped with mascaporne cheese and assorted fruits, with a sprinkle of nuts. Sounds pretty basic, I know. Even the husband mused, “Who would think to put fruit on bread!”, and then paused to realize that jam was essentially canned fruit.
But believe me when I say that this variety of toast was like nothing I’ve ever tasted before and was definitely not basic. Each bite was at once creamy, crunchy and fruity. It is probably one of the best breakfasts I’ve had, a great departure from my usual breakfast of bread and fried egg. I would return to farm:table in a heart beat if I didn’t live an hour away. But make no mistake, I will be making the trek the next chance I get!
Maybe In Madras 
You are such a funny one.
I’m sure you can recreate this hipster toast at home na? So you don’t have to drive for hours and all…
I wanted to! But funnily enough I can’t find mascarpone cheese!
Note to self: Should not open blog links with food descriptions and food pictures when hungry.
You can try but I doubt you will succeed!!
How are these things eaten? Picking on the fruit first and then the other layers sounds counter intuitive. I’d assume the whole point is to take little bites and work your way through the toast. Yet, biting into the whole thing does not seem doable without bits of fruit falling down, but then again, I am a klutz in these matters and can never be elegant about it. Else, knife and fork your way through? The logistics of food traveling from plate to mouth are deeply interesting.
I first tried the fork and knife. The fruit kept falling down and the bread was too dense for the knife. So I just threw away my utensils, picked it up and bit it as a whole! I wasn’t elegant, for sure, but who cares!
I thought I commented on this? Where did it go?!
Sorry was having some WordPress problems. Should be seen now!!
Hipster scene aside, I love the food in the Bay Area…and this is no exception. Looks delicious!
I hope Ramadan if off to a good start for you….
Yes! I am so thankful for the amazing food in the Bay Area!