There is no one on this earth that I know, who loves burgers more than my dad, Poppa Beck. I have gone to the finest restaurants with him where the cuisine is artistic, fanciful, seasonal, and full of flair, yet he will order a burger. So when it came to celebrating the most handsome and loving man on this earth this Father’s Day, I knew that having a burger was in order.

The place that we opted to try was Wilmington, Delaware’s own Farmer & the Cow. This small restaurant is in the city of WIlmington where the city streets are less busy on the weekends, only the locals are strolling down the street, and the bright lights big city persona is non-existent, but they have something that can rival any big city, big name restaurant, any day of the week.

First up, mac and cheese, now I am fully aware that I write about mac and cheese quite a bit, but my thought process is,  if a restaurant is bold enough to put it on the menu I have a responsibility to taste it. Mac and cheese with aged parmesan, bacon jam, and sweet onion, in a nutshell… absolutely yummy. Nutty parmesan melted so wonderfully that I got a cheese pull with every forkful, the bacon jam worked double duty by giving it saltiness and a smooth hint of sweetness, and the onion was honeyed as only a vidalia onion should be. Yes, I found this mac and cheese delicious, but the best treat to this dish was the unexpectancy of it all. You just don’t presume that a burger restaurant would put that much panache into a side dish that easily fed 3.

Next up, the burger; the list of burgers were overwhelming, so many combinations, so many options, so many opportunities to let my comfort zone talk me into just ordering a standard burger, but I decided to go on a small limb and order “That’ll Do Pig.” Now if you follow me or know me personally you know my intimate relationship with bacon and how I affectionately call it the super meat, this burger was right up my alley. Let me inform you that all beef burgers at Farmer & the Cow are made with a blend of chuck,brisket, and filet. But to up the ante this burger had toppins of tater tots, cart sauce, bacon, bacon mayo, bacon jam, and my substitution of american cheese on a warm bun. 

Real talk, the first bite of that medium well done burger literally made me slightly close my eyes and gently rest my elbows on the table, and it was then I knew I had found infatuation. This burger stole my taste buds and handled them with care. I am totally convinced that the bacon was made in-house, this was beyond slab bacon, it was perfectly cooked, the perfect amount of meat to fat ratio, the jam cut through some of that saltiness that the back of my throat needed, I don’t even like mayonnaise, but bacon mayonnaise is a pig of different color, then topped with the tater tots that provided me with texture and the nostalgia of elementary school, and the american cheese that was fully melted, not semi-melted let me know this chef knew his burgers, understood his craft, and loves to have people enjoy their food.

It’s been some time since I have had a burger that I would define as wonderful, but Farmer & the Cow you have a prizewinner on your hands and it was my absolute pleasure to have it in mine.

This was the perfect place to celebrate my dad, to give him something that caused him to smile, that made him anxious to want to come back, and he legit enjoyed it and it wasn’t simply because I took him, well done Farmer & The Cow…well done🍴