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| - Worth. The. Wait.
On a weekend morning (including Friday, curiously) expect a minimum wait of 20 minutes. There are a couple of benches outside to sit on if there's room, and they have shades hung so you don't fry while you're waiting, but even if you're standing in the blazing sun, it's worth the wait.
The new location (the old one was a mile or so south, in a real farmhouse) is in downtown Gilbert, in an adobe building between a furniture store and small grocery. There are cool wood-plank floors, antiques sprinkled around, and cozy tables. The tableware is also very homey - mismatched plates and utensils that contribute to the old farm kitchen feel of the place. It's clean and well-lit and very, very, very busy.
The wait staff is excellent, demonstrated by their efficient handling of the unending throngs of diners. The servers are friendly and accommodating, and never fail to crack a joke or exchange some type of pleasantry that makes one feel welcome. They understand the meaning of "extra crispy" in relation to potatoes, and communicate requests well to the cook. My tea test (iced tea glass refilled at 3/4 empty at a minimum, and never allowed to go dry) may seem like a slam-dunk here, since they serve the tea in gigantic 32-ounce glasses, but I can drink gallons, and they've always passed the test with flying colors. Once you're seated and the meal is ordered, the food arrives quickly.
The breakfast menu is somewhat typical, with omelets, scrambles, French toast, pancakes, but there's something magical in the preparation and the quality of ingredients. Daily specials are listed on a board outside the door, and are creative and usually quite good. The lunch menu and daily midday specials lean heavily towards comfort food (open-faced roast beef and gravy sandwich, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, roast chicken, etc.) with the usual cast of burger and sandwich characters thrown in for good measure. Portions are hearty, and prices are fair.
The omelets are at least three egg, and are filled to capacity. There are a huge number of combinations, and all that I have tried have been excellent. The vegetables are fresh and crisp-tender, the meat is abundant, the cheese is melty, and the eggs fluffily hold it all together. The Farmhouse's iced tea is my favorite iced tea in the state of Arizona. It's just straight-up, strong brewed tea (no passionfruit, raspberry or sweeteners), clear, brisk and delicious. The coffee is really good, too, and I'm not a huge coffee drinker. It's served in traditional thick white ceramic mugs, and is dark, fragrant and strong, without any bitterness. We've tried a couple of specials, including a Mexican-style scramble with pork green chile that is fabulous. The default bread at breakfast is not toast - it's whole wheat French bread, sliced on the bias and buttered and grilled. It sounds weird, but it's really, really good - warm and soft with a nicely crisped, buttery top.
The only thing I didn't like here was the chicken fried steak, which is only offered on weekends. I know it's ghetto, but I like mine made with a steak that's been pushed through the cuber so much that it closely resembles a hamburger, and can be cut with a fork. Chicken fried steak at the Farmhouse is made with a real steak; no cube steak or hamburger. The coating is light and crispy, and the gravy is great, but it was too fibrous and "steaky" for me.
I haven't ever had the revered cinnamon roll, but I did try a berry cobbler once (a la mode) and it was incredibly good - sweet and syrupy with juicy ripe berries and a flaky, buttery crust.
High-quality ingredients, careful preparation, superior service and the feeling like you're in your grandma's kitchen combine to make the wait all worthwhile at The Farmhouse.
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