This summer, new restaurant Farmers Hardware opened just off Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs. Farmers Hardware serves breakfast and lunch foods with a wide assortment of beverages, including Kru coffee and cocktails.
The Farmers Hardware website describes the restaurant as being a “Brunch Hall,” modeled after Boston’s Quincy Market and Union Market in Washington, D.C., serving “inspired brunch.”
I went last Saturday morning to Farmers Hardware with one of my housemates, and we agreed it did not really have the Brunch Hall concept that the website said it was modeled after, and it also did not have much of a coffee shop feel either. Instead, I think it is more comparable to Comfort Kitchen except with its coffee, brunch items, and more limited hours.
The menu includes a selection of entrees all served with a market side. These dishes are not what you typically see on a brunch menu. Its menu is based on the time of year, but currently you won’t find any of the more traditional brunch items like omelets or pancakes on the menu. Instead, it currently has items like “The Staple Sandwich” and Cinnamon Bun French Toast. The Staple Sandwich includes scrambled eggs, bacon, cheddar and maple Sriracha on a brioche bun.
The market sides are truly unique; currently, the options include Cinnamon & Sugar Apple Slices with Creamy Peanut Butter, Pumpkin Spice Yogurt and Granola Parfait and Sweet Potato Tots with Spicy Honey. If the market sides sound too good to pass up, you can get four for $14 or one for $4.
I had the Staple Sandwich with Cinnamon & Sugar Apple Slices with Creamy Peanut Butter, and my housemate got the Cinnamon Bun French Toast with Sweet Potato Tots & Spicy Honey. I asked for the Staple Sandwich without bacon. Co-Owner Tyler Russell, who was taking our order, asked if I wanted tomato or avocado instead. I opted for the avocado and though this was on our receipt, they did leave it off the final dish. The sandwich was still very good, but it was a little weird eating an egg sandwich on a brioche bun since it felt like I was eating my sandwich on a hamburger bun. Unfortunately, you couldn’t taste much of the maple Sriracha on the sandwich, and the Spicy Honey for the Sweet Potato Tots wasn’t very spicy. Farmers Hardware clearly has a different definition of spicy than my housemate and me.
We were also pleased at how fast our food came. They brought it to us within ten minutes of ordering. We both agreed that the Cinnamon Bun French Toast was definitely the most unique item that we got. While there are a lot of other delicious sounding items on the menu, we would definitely consider getting any of the items we had on Saturday next time.
After ordering our food, we sat down to do some work on our computers. According to Co-Owner Julia Sazen, even though it might not seem like a place where you should take out your computer and do work, Farmers Hardware has WiFi and is happy to have Skidmore students come in, get some coffee or breakfast, and sit down to do some work. We sat at the long communal table on the second floor where you order. This was the only table on the floor, and it was a lot quieter than the first floor. The co-owners did tell us that after break they will be adding more seating on their third floor for people to come in and work in a quieter area.
We decided the food would be too messy and the table was too narrow to eat and work at the same time, so we ate and then took out our computers to work and drink coffee. Farmers Hardware has a limited coffee menu, but they do have some unique flavors. I got a maple, vanilla flavored Nitro, and it was definitely a little on the sweet side, but it did grow on me the more sips I had.
Overall, my experience was really great at Farmers Hardware except for the fact that my housemate and I felt we left a little hungry as the dishes were very small, especially for the price (each of our dishes cost $10.50). We were also a little bummed because we had to get up in the middle of working to leave when Farmers Hardware started closing at 2pm (their hours are 8-2pm Wednesday through Sunday).
Farmers Hardware is a little on the pricier side for the amount of food you get, so it might be a better place to go when you are not super hungry or when your parents are in town. My housemate and I both agreed that next time we come back it will probably just be to work and get coffee, largely because of the Skidmore special they told us about. The restaurant was not advertising the special when we were there, but the co-owners told us that if you show your Skidmore ID you can get a large cup of Kru coffee or a large Cold Brew for only a dollar, which is as much as a 75% discount.
While during our two hours at Farmers Hardware my housemate and I did not see any Skidmore students, as it was mainly adults and families with young children, we definitely think more Skidmore students should consider coming.