The Farmhouse

I can never understand the people that just skip breakfast. Well, I can never understand people that skip any meal for that matter. But you just can't skip breakfast, especially when you have a restaurant down the road like the Farmhouse. To give you a visual, The Farmhouse is comfortably nestled in Old Downtown Gilbert, an area of town that looks like it could be a movie set for an old western. It isn't surprising to see a cowboy or two walk out of the barber shop across the street. And the restaurant opens at five for the early birds, so you will always see a line out the door no matter how early you get up. The interior decor, black and white framed pictures mounted on the wall, random, comfortable seating, and remains of the original roofing of the early 1900's home, is simply quaint. And the food matches the ambience. We started off with a colossal, flakey, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon roll (the picture shows only a 3rd of it) and then my sister, brother, and I shared a green chile, bacon, tomato, and cheese omelet and a side of biscuits and sausage gravy (if you can call 6 biscuits and a mountainous topping of gravy a side). It might have been the best breakfast I've ever had.

Bueno!

What can I say, I live in Arizona. So whenever someone says bean and cheese burrito I say where. This one, from a little mexican restaurant called SomeBurros, is oh so delicious. The world just wouldn't seem complete without them. The tortillas are large and floury and the beans are addicting (its because of the lard...sounds gross but it makes them tasterrific). You'll just have to go there and have one for yourself. Save a seat for me.

Indonesian Chicken Noodle Soup

Going to the gym to lift weights is one way to work off the bagel with extra strawberry cream cheese you had this morning. However, grinding jalapeno chiles, shallots, ginger, garlic, almonds, lemongrass, and an assortment of spices using a pestle and mortar is another, much more satisfying way. This spicy indonesian chicken noodle soup was well worth the sweat. Imagine a spicy chicken broth with a subtle hint of fish sauce and curry powder, poured over stringy rice vermicelli and shredded chicken, and topped with fried shallots, mung bean sprouts, and a hard boiled egg. It sounds like it would be a bold taste, but underneath the spiciness is a smooth, and (I dare say) smokey aftertaste that leaves me going back for seconds. It takes a little longer than the regular chicken noodle but it might be one of my favorite soups. I found the recipe in an Asian cook book by Williams- Sonoma... its called Asian. I'm sure you can find it on Amazon somewhere.