Daniel B.
Yelp
Farm Burger is one of my favorite regional burger chains and I'm happy they've opened a location close to my home, inside the new Whole Foods on 14th St in Midtown. I think these guys make some of the best burgers in Atlanta, though I admit, over the years and across locations, their burgers haven't been the most consistent. They have, however, been good to great and never average or worse. Our experience at this location was "merely" good, but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and chalking it up to new location kinks. We'll definitely be back.
Currently, this location is the company's seventh and newest location in Georgia. It opened July 24, 2019. It's situated on the ground level of the multistory Whole Foods complex at the corner of 14th and Spring. This is a spacious location with plenty of free parking in the Whole Foods deck. There are entrances to the deck on both Spring and 13th. Take your parking ticket with you and Farm Burger (or Whole Foods) can validate your parking for two free hours.
This Farm Burger has both exterior and interior entrances. There's lots of seating with a full service bar, communal high and low tables, window seating, and a cool-looking tiered patio. The restaurant has a modern industrial design with lots of glass, natural light, and several TVs. This is a fast-casual joint with a pick-up counter, self-serve drinks (some, not all), and food is brought to your table if dining in.
Farm Burger features about a half-dozen signature or "blackboard" burgers, most priced at $8.99 each (the Sunny-Side burger with a sunny-side-up egg is $10.99), plus a daily/seasonal burger. You can also build your own burger starting at $6.99. Sides like hushpuppies, kale slaw, collard greens, fries, and onion rings cost extra; anywhere from $2.49-5.49 each. $8.99 (lunch only) and $10.99 combos, which include fries and a fountain drink/tea, are available. In addition, they offer salads (we had the superfood salad at the Grant Park location and it was terrific), a kids menu, shakes and floats, beer and wine, and interesting specials like creamy shiitake soup with chili oil and bacon macaroni fritters ($4.99) (check out the blackboard next to the register).
We went with one of our favorites, the classic #1 Farm Burger ($8.99), a special version of the chicken burger ($10.99 daily burger combo with fries and a drink), and a side of onion rings ($4.99). This food was fresh and hit the spot.
All of Farm Burger's burgers are made with grass-fed and "grass-finished" beef. The #1 Farm Burger comes with aged white cheddar, caramelized onions, and a house sauce ("FB sauce"). It's good. The version we had on this particular visit wasn't up to snuff, but still, satisfying enough. All beef patties are cooked to order. I asked for the Farm Burger to be cooked medium, but it came out a little overcooked. I should've asked for medium rare. Overall, the burger wasn't as juicy and flavorful as the same burger I've had at a few other locations. I can't put my finger on it, but it seemed to be missing something.
The special chicken burger was better. Farm Burger's regular #4 burger is a chicken burger that comes with smoked Gouda cheese, kale slaw, crispy onions, and a sherry-date BBQ sauce. The special had shiitake mushroom slaw in lieu of kale slaw and paprika mayo instead of sherry-date BBQ sauce. It was super tasty. What I was most impressed with was the chicken patty. The chicken tasted clean and high quality and it was nice and tender too. There were good-sized pieces of shiitake and the slaw was made with kale. The paprika mayo is the same paprika mayo that they serve with the onion rings. It's smoked and deliciously addicting.
The fries were fine/good and the onion rings were great. The fries are standard-cut with the potato skins still on. The rings had a nice crispy golden batter, not too greasy or oily, with a delectable crunch to them. A bit airy too. Portion size was okay. I recommend them.
To drink, we had a cherry cream soda from the restaurant's Tractor Beverage Co. fountain machine. It was good stuff. Other Atlanta restaurants like Zunzi's also serve Tractor sodas. Tractor sodas are all-organic and 100% non-GMO. You can taste the difference between Tractor sodas and run-of-the-mill artificial sodas. Tractor tastes better.
Service was quick and the staff was friendly.
We come to this Whole Foods regularly and I think this was an excellent addition. I look forward to future visits.