The Traveled Farmer

Located at 1211 Battleground Avenue in midtown Greensboro, The Traveled Farmer serves international cuisine using local ingredients. There is a full bar with rotating seasonal cocktails and a market area that offers produce and ready-made meals. Patio seating is available during warmer months, and The Traveled Farmer can also cater.

When The Marshall Free House opened in this space in 2014, I was skeptical given how long the restaurant was in development. Despite that – and high pricing - it won me over with well-appointed décor, excellent service, and tasty food. Well, the Free House closed this September, and after a few weeks of redecorating and rebranding, The Traveled Farmer opened in its stead. Welcome back, skepticism. Since my doubts were ultimately misplaced the last time around, however, I felt it only fair to give The Traveled Farmer a try. Ultimately, it amounts to another victory for the Kotis restaurant empire, but not an unblemished one.

Thematically and aesthetically, The Traveled Farmer is a strange and somewhat contradictory place. The interior keeps much of the Free House’s refined pub look: brick, long tables, and handsome dark woods. This still makes for attractive décor, but it doesn’t exactly suggest a farm motif. To remedy that, they’ve added some green paint and bucolic pictures of fields, which leaves you feeling like they’ve split the difference between the past and present concepts. The somewhat limited menu also speaks to a bit of an identity crisis. Though there are a few “global” offerings (a schnitzel, linguine and meatballs, a Korean rice bowl), “local” (as in Southern) takes precedence here. This is a lot closer to Lucky 32 than it is to Crafted, not a bad move given the commendable incorporation of locally sourced ingredients, but a bit of a confusing one.

For our first visit, my wife and I opted to start with one of the few Free House holdovers: Scotch eggs, a dish we had both enjoyed previously. They came plated differently (atop a bed of greens) but tasted as good as ever. Though the fried chicken proved tempting, we ended up with a blackened catfish and a low country shrimp bowl respectively. Both dishes were composed and presented well. The fish was buttery, and my wife, who usually disdains collards, found The Traveled Farmer’s rendition (sweetened with a hint of carrot) to be to her liking. My bowl featured perfectly cooked shrimp, and an accompanying broth imbued richness. However, despite the presence of andouille, it could have definitely used more spice. As it was my birthday, The Traveled Farmer was kind enough to offer a free dessert. The bread pudding with apple miso sauce was excellent: sweet, but not cloyingly so and moist without being mushy.

Compared to the previous concept, The Traveled Farmer’s prices leave less room for complaint. Many of the appetizers (including our Scotch eggs) come in at $5.95 while the non-steak entrees range from $11.95 to $15.95. Portions aren’t huge, but they are filling enough. The service, as was the case with the Free House, is on-point. Our server had a number of tables to cover but didn’t seem frazzled, and though The Traveled Farmer was clearly having a busy night, we didn’t have to wait long for anything.

Overall, The Traveled Farmer has promise. The concept doesn’t quite gel, but the food featured more highs than lows, and the pricing is reasonable enough to allow for future exploration. Don’t let whatever reservations you may have about this place stop you from making reservations for it.

8/10