Let’s face it: This covid bidness has been tough for us foodies who look forward to trying new restaurants or haunting old faves with friends (not to mention how tough it is on the restaurants themselves). We’ve certainly been doing our share of take-out and delivery (and somehow have not gained any weight!), but sometimes you just want to do something a little different. Given that we don’t want to be lingering in the aisles and fingering the food at the local supermarket, even the adventurism in our home cooking has taken a hit.
Cue the clucking at Farmhouse Delivery Co.
We’ve never signed up for any of those home-delivered meal kits before, so this was a first. What intrigued us about Farmhouse was that (1) they’re local and (2) they team up with local farmers and restaurants within a 50-mile radius of Austin. The concept is simple: you order what you want by Sunday evening, and on Tuesday they deliver a grey box filled with your goodies. The following week, you set your grey box back out (with all the packaging and whatnot you got from the previous week) and they swap it out with a new box of goodies that you ordered. If you don’t order, you don’t get anything (another plus for Farmhouse: no forced subscriptions). We’ve focused our orders thus far on meal kits, but Farmhouse also offers up general groceries such as meats (Rancher Box), produce (Produce Box), and general groceries (including flowers!).
The meal kits come with all of the ingredients, the specialty ingredients already made (such as sauces and spice blends), and an easy-to-follow recipe. Unlike other recipes that consistently underestimate prep time by 50 percent or more, Farmhouse’s recipes are right on the honey. The prep is mostly chopping vegetables, boiling water, or warming up a sauce. For whatever reason, I’m the one that makes them, and they are enjoyable to put together. One of the most enjoyable aspects is that I feel like I’m a better cook now having learned some new techniques through preparing, so far, seven meals. On the bummer side, due to house-prepared sauces and whatnot, they do not provide you the full recipe to make later on your own.
And the food? Freakin’ delicious! Lots of veggies and savoriness. Most meals feed us twice (dinner with lunchable leftovers). The proteins have been savory, and the veggies pop with the recipes. Farmhouse has been a revelation; accordingly, we plan to partake of at least two meal kits a week hereafter. Because fresh produce is a big part of these meals, there can be some week-to-week monotony in the farm-fresh seasonal ingredients, but the recipes have mixed it up nicely to where we haven’t gotten bored.
If you’re the type that gets uptight about accuracy, be forewarned that Farmhouse can be a bit laid back here. So far, two out of three deliveries have not come exactly as ordered (one had the wrong meal package, and the other was missing a non-fatal ingredient). We’re not (too) picky, so no big deal, especially in these coviddy times.
There’s a $28 minimum for an order with free delivery on order of $49.50 or more. You order by 10 pm Sunday, and your food arrives on Tuesday. They text before they arrive so you can bring in your delivery as soon as possible. The crates are not insulated, and the cool is delivered by frozen water bottles, so these deliveries are built more for these chillin’-at-home times.
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