The Barnyard Bloody Mary at Farmer's Table
Farmer's Table: La Mesa, Chula Vista, Little Italy, Bay Park
4.5 🍅's
Over the last 10 years, I have picked up, moved, and started all over again in a new state and city 4 times (Boston to Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh to Las Vegas, Las Vegas to Saint Paul, Saint Paul to San Diego). The most incredible part, in my opinion, has been meeting new people from different places and walks of life. Some who I met were only a part of my life for the time I lived in that city, and some have become lifelong friends. I also managed to pick up the love of my life along the way! In contrast, the toughest part about moving somewhere new can be not knowing anyone; it forces you to be okay with being alone and to be brave enough to get out there and meet new people.
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Moving to San Diego, I was fortunate enough to have my husband with me and a few friends from Massachusetts already living there. My friend pool was still very small. Combining my love for bloody marys, brunch, and desire to meet new people, the San Diego Bloody Mary Brunch Meetup was born; a group of brunch-loving bloody mary aficionados in search of the creme de la creme of bloodys in San Diego.
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I was so nervous about hosting my first meetup. Would anyone show? Who would come? Would they like me? Would they like the place I chose? One by one, women started showing up to my first meetup. We headed to our table, delighted for bloodys and new connections. For the first meetup, I decided to go big or go home. I wanted to make a statement, so I decided on Farmer’s Table, La Mesa.
Farmer’s Table has an eclectic menu of bloody marys, but I was there specifically for The Barn Yard Mary. The other women seemed to be excited about it as well, so we ordered the ginormous pitcher of bloody mary goodness, that could feed a family of 5. Coming in a $36.00, you don’t want to order this bloody without 4 or more people to share it with. It takes work to finish this bloody. *Update, after COVID it is now $55.00 but comes with a fun sparkler to complete the entire experience!
The Barn Yard Mary has house-made mix with a subtle flavor and as our waiter said, “half a bottle of vodka”. It’s not just the cows tipping over on this farm! But everyone knows that they order the BYM for the “skewers”. The Barn Yard Mary comes with multiple skewers of roasted seasonal veggies (zucchini, peppers, stuffed mushroom caps), tomato and mozzarella, pickled veggies (pepperoncini, olives, and onions) bacon wrapped shrimp, Mexican street corn (my favorite part), sage fennel sausage, and oh, a WHOLE ROASTED CHICKEN! Not just some dried out chicken, a juicy, moist, and succulent bird. It comes complete with a BBQ drizzle over everything!
Thank goodness, they stick the chicken with a carving knife, otherwise we wouldn’t have known where to begin. We had one brave volunteer who took the chicken out and started carving it up for us to share. Everyone had preferences of what they like to eat so, there was a little bit of something for everyone! It was like sitting down with my new family for Sunday dinner!
We split the Barn Yard Mary between 7 people, so, of course, we needed more alcohol! We dove into the other bloodys offered by Farmer’s Table. I got The Peter Rabbit; it came with grilled seasonal vegetables, cheese stuffed mushroom caps and assorted mixed veggies. The others went for the meatier choices;
The Butchers Block: BBQ and bacon rim, sage fennel sausage, braised short rib, with a BBQ drizzle.
Tijuana Maria: bacon-wrapped hot dog, Mexican street corn, pickled jalapeños and carrots, jalapeño vodka, and the cutest Mexican flag and packet of Tapatio sauce.
The Ragin’ Cajun: andouille sausage, cajun spiced bacon wrapped shrimp, pickled veggies, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, topped with tons of Tabasco.
The Peter Rabbit: mushroom with melted mozzarella + arugula potato + mixed pickled veggies
If you’re not feeling very adventurous they also have a “regular” bloody mary. As you can see their bloody mary menu is quite expansive and creative. All Farmer’s Table ingredients are locally and sustainably sourced.
Seeing the looks on everyone's faces when each bloody was delivered, I knew my first meetup was a success. The conversation was lovely and we all got a chance to learn something about each other and share a bit of ourselves; mission complete! Most of the ladies who attended the first meetup have been regulars each month since then. I’m so thankful to have met them and excited to keep growing the meetup. Who knows, maybe even have the one year anniversary at Farmer’s Table to celebrate!
