Last month, my husband and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary and decided to splurge with some Farmhaus take out. We make most of our meals at home these days, and while I genuinely enjoy cooking, sometimes it’s just nice to have a night off of cooking and dishes. When we do eat a meal out (or get take out, as the case is here), I really want it to count, especially on a special occasion like this one.
We first heard about Farmhaus Burgers more than a year ago on a visit to the Augusta area. Friends of friends spoke very highly of it, and we added it to our “must try” list. Since then, several other people we’ve met have sung Farmhaus’s praises. My research taught me that Farmhaus is actually owned by the same people as Frog Hollow Tavern, another local restaurant where we dined over the summer. With all that hype (and an awesome experience at Frog Hollow Tavern), this seemed like a solid choice (spoiler: it did not disappoint).
I am pretty indecisive, so it was hard to choose what to get. As much as the BLTC grilled cheese was calling my name, I really wanted to try something off of their curated burger menu (as opposed to a build your own burger) to get the full experience. I ultimately decided on the Wild Turkey. My husband chose the New Mexico, and we shared sides of Haus Cut Russet Fries with Split Creek Farm’s Feta Dipping Sauce, Hausmade Sweet Potato Tots, and Fried Pickles with a buttermilk ranch dipping sauce. There was also a third mysterious sauce, and I wish I knew what it was called because was my favorite of the three. The mystery sauce was orange and tasted similar to Chick-fil-A sauce.
The Wild Turkey, which the menu describes as “Ground Turkey Patty, Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato, HAUS Pickled Onions, Sriracha Mayo,” surprised me in a few ways. I hate to say that I expected to be kind of disappointed by my order, but you know, it was a turkey burger and sometimes turkey burgers are dry and bland. This one was not that! It was well-seasoned and moist, and it actually had a pleasant heat to it, which I really did not anticipate – I guess I forgot that Sriracha is spicy, whoops! All in all, I did not spend the whole night wishing I had gotten beef. I almost forgot about the bun! This burger came on a whole wheat bun, and unlike lackluster grocery store finds that taste like spongey pillows of nothingness, it had body and flavor and I actually enjoyed eating it.
Burgers on the good china – life is good
I shied away from the New Mexico, which the menu describes as “Hatch Green Chiles, Pepper Jack Cheese, Lettuce, Duke’s Mayo,” but luckily for me, my husband wanted to try it. I like spicy food – or at least I did before I had kids. The flavor combination sounded delicious, I just worried that it would be too spicy for me these days. Anyway, my husband tried it and loved it. He is not into super spicy foods and he pegged this as only mildly spicy, so next time this is probably what I will order.
Now let’s talk about the sides. The Fried Pickles were normal fried pickles – crispy outside, delightfully sour inside. The buttermilk ranch was a little gritty but overall a satisfying pairing. Next up we had the Haus Cut Russet Fries with Split Creek Farm’s Feta Dipping Sauce. If you’ve had Five Guys fries, that is what the Haus fries reminded me of. They were obviously hand cut with a crispy exterior and perfectly salty. I read in another review to try the feta sauce with these fries, so I gave it a shot – it was unlike any dipping sauce I have had before. The feta sauce is bright, lemony-minty, and lightens up the flavor of the fries.
The Hausmade Sweet Potato Tots were my favorite side item, and were especially delicious dipped in the mystery sauce. Really just dip everything in this sauce and you won’t regret it. But I digress… Technically I think these are croquettes and not tots, because the centers were quite smooth, not the shredded potato chunks you would find in a tot. Whatever they are, they are slightly sweet and a nice change of pace from french fries. And we all know that I can never get enough of sweet potatoes, so there’s that.
So there you have it. If you’re in Augusta and wanting to try a local burger place, check them out!
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