Vivian Howard’s fans from NPRs “A Chef’s Life” would follow her anywhere to try her cuisine, but her main kitchen is in little old Kinston, North Carolina. Crowds from near and far reserve up to three months in advance for a tasty meal at Chef and The Farmer.
Unless you live nearby, you’ll need a place to stay. While there are some chain hotels available, if you want the full experience by staying within walking distance, stay at the O’Neil Hotel or the newly opened Mother Earth Motor Lodge. Think of the Motor Lodge as the 70’s Howard Johnson’s type while the O’Neil is a boutique hotel. While more affordable, the Motor Lodge was full the weekend we visited, so we’ll experience it next time! Click here to read about the O’Neil.
Reservations are made through the restaurant’s website. Reservations can be done up to 90 days ahead, but it is still hard! Parties of 7 or more should call the restaurant directly at (252) 208-2433 x1. One trick we learned was that if you follow their Facebook page, you may be able to get a last minute reservation. And they take their reservations seriously, I got a text at least a week in advance, confirming!
We arrived for a late dinner – 8 pm on a Friday night. We reserved almost a full three months in advance. The good news is that the place was as full and exciting as I imagined!
While a famous restaurant, the Chef and The Farmer retains a casual atmosphere. Some guests were dressed up, many more were casually attired, so wear whatever you like. The good news is that everyone is so enthralled with their meals, that they’re all willing to share!
We sat next to a couple celebrating the wife’s birthday. Living at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, they drove up and stayed at the Motor Lodge specifically to dine at Chef and The Farmer. The husband convinced Allan that the 16 oz steak that was the size of his wife’s head was worth it! They ordered a trio of desserts and insisted that I try some of it before I even got to order!
The Food! All The Delicious Food at Chef and The Farmer!
Appetizer and Small Plate
Everyone raves about Chef and The Farmer’s flash fried collards ($6) – and they were so right! Light and crispy with a bit of sea salt! One of my favorite items of the night. I also ordered the Millford Mill Grits ($13) – grits with some sage sausage, spicy tomato, egg, watercress and white cheddar. I liked the presentation and this was an interesting twist on a Southern tradition.
Entrees
For our main meal, Allan went for the Lane Angus Ribeye ($48) – a 16 oz rib eye steak with pecan romero, farm arugula, coriander salt potatoes and field peas. I decided to try the Sweet Potato and Peanut Green Curry ($25) – with bok chou and Thai basil. At our waiter’s suggestion, I added the shrimp. This was so good! The tangy of the green chili, balanced with the sweet potato, and the boiled peanuts for just a bit of crunch – yum!
Dessert!
Dessert was tricky! Having sampled the Rosemary Creme Fraiche Cheesecake from our neighbor, I ordered the Spiced Apple Stack ($9) with creme fraiche. It was good but not as gooey as I had hoped for! Allan chose the chocolate ice cream ($5) – topped with a salted caramel that could have been served all on its own! If I had known that it would be so good! You can also order a trio of three desserts for $25 or a flight of 4 for $30. This is a great way to share and try multiple desserts! Next time!
We finished our dinner with after dinner drinks – I’m a fan of dessert wines and followed the recommendation of a Paul Culver Late Harvest Riesling ($12) and Allan ordered a single malt scotch. They even brought a dropper with a distilled water! Very fancy!
The meal and experience at Chef and The Farmer was worth it!
Vivian Howard also runs the Boiler Room Oyster Bar next door. And if you’re in Kinston, you should go try a beer or spirit at Mother Earth Brewing or catch a live band at The Red Room. On Tuesday, December 12th, she opens Benny’s Big Time Pizzeria in Wilmington, NC. Sounds like another road trip is in order!
Happy travels!
Annick, The Common Traveler
Raised as a third culture kid living in South America and Europe, Annick caught the travel bug early. Now that the children are gone, but still saving for retirement, she enjoys traveling in an affordable way and wants to share those ideas.
Thai food is probably one of the best (that and indian food, can’t have enough of it!). I would love to visit this restaurant! Crazy you have to book so far in advance though :O Haven’t seen the TV-show but sounds like something I need to tune into! Thanks for sharing this
Whoa! 3 months advance reservation???? What!!!! That’s crazy! I plan trips 3 months in advance. Looks like I should reserve a table here as the first thing after booking a flight ticket to NC!
The food looks interesting! The dessert is definitely yummm… Good to know about the trio or 4 desserts combo. Will bare that in mind!
I am quite intrigued to learn that they are booked as early as 3 months and would love to try this in the future. I think celebrating my birthday will would be a wonderful idea. Thank you for sharing about this. We’ll seriously consider this.
I have never watched A chef’s life, but if fans are ready to go miles to taste her food, I’m sure she must be awesome. I like your choice of main meal, because of the mix of Thai basil in it. The dessert looks yummy too. Would love to visit the Red Room as well to see live performances.
I’m so hungry now after reading this post, thank you!! This looks like a great restaurant, with clearly many delicious things to choose from. I most like the look of the steak and the chocolate ice cream with salted caramel. Talk about heaven in a bowl! Will remember this place for sure if I ever visit!
Wow, this post really made me hungry! I knew it’s not gonna be a good idea to read this article late in the night when I have no food options available around 🙂 Anyway, it was a great read and I would definitely want to visit this restaurant someday.
I haven’t watched the series A Chef’s Life, but I am definitely a fan of the farm to plate type of place that I think Vivian Howard showcases. The meal you had looks wonderful, especially the rib eye steak. I like that the atmosphere was casual and friendly too.
Sounds like a fun restaurant! Why is it so popular that you had to make a booking 3 months in advance? I always worry I get disappointed when I build up the hype but looks like you had a great time. That 16oz rib eye is mouthwatering although I doubt I’d be able to finish it all! I always have a dilemma when it comes to dessert because I just want to try everything!
The chef has a tv show. The food was superb though.
What a great tip about following the FB page. I love thai food and my mouth watered with the sweet potato and peanut green curry. I also wish more restaurants would do ‘flights’ for desserts, it is always hard to choose.
It was all delicious!