Farm House in the Burbs

Last night we had the pleasure of our 22 year old daughter taking us out to dinner for the holidays. She had picked the Farm House Cafe http://www.farmhousecafesd.com/ in the University Heights area of San Diego and we were all looking forward to it. I had always envisioned a much larger restaurant but was pleasantly surprised that it was a comfortable cafe (I guess I need to pay attention to the name). The restaurant is a exact representation of what you would find in a small town in France quaint and warm. Let's get down to the food, the menu is precise just the way I like it not too big to leave you in a battle of choices. I don't know about you but I perform a process of elimination, first round is what I just do not want or like, next round is what I think I make pretty good at home by the third round it leaves me with less choices that I can focus on. This year I have been trying fettuccine with lamb this was my 3rd time and that is what I went for. The starters came and 2 of us had the Burratta Salad, our guest had the Beet Salad and my wife had the Foie Gras. All 3 were good but my Burratta was great due to the mustard based dressing and the delicious taste of the Burratta Cheese. The Foie Gras was reported as fantastic it was floating on top Pumpkin Bread and had a shaved Onion with a Pomegranate reduction sauce. Round 1 was a success. On to the entrees, we all had something different, as I said earlier I went with the Fettuccine with Lamb, it was not what I expected but after going back and reading what was on the menu it was what I ordered. The sauce was a traditional Bolognese base but had Cinnamon, Coriander and Saffron which gave it a sweet and aromatic Mediterranean taste with the bite of Tomato for acidity. Also ordered were the Short Ribs special it was tender and moist much better than I can make, there was Salmon with Black Lentils that had a smokey taste and the last meal was a Vegetarian Risotto with a Bordelaise sauce. Overall everybody really enjoyed their entrees and we all enjoyed sharing a bite of each others meal. Our Server and busboy were very attentive and made sure our water glasses were full and that we were being paid attention too. The Farm House Cafe is a definite repeat performance for us. On the way out Rochelle Bioteau, owner and wife of Chef Olivier asked us about our experience which ended up in a fun 15 minute conversation about food in general and our likes and dislikes in San Diego.