There was a time when the Farmhouse at Serenbe was one of the hidden “gems” of Atlanta.  At the forefront of the farm to table movement, the Nygrens (along with a few others around town) were ushering in a new era of dining.  Originally open only on Thursday – Saturday nights, it seems as if there was a secret society of diners that was aware of them.  And then they started their Sunday fried chicken dinner.  For this fried chicken, we drove to Serenbe in many combinations – with friends, with kids, with parents.  But over time, other places opened in the city and, for whatever other reasons, we stopped going.

Today, it appeared again on our radar (actually it appeared on the new version of open table) and we grabbed a 12:30 reservation.  The Sunday afternoon menu is simple – two appetizers, two entrees with preset sides and a couple of desserts.

We started with a wonderful biscuit / muffin with fresh onion.  This was an amazing piece of bread.  It was so tasty that it didn’t need the butter. 

And we both ordered the fried chicken, which was served with butter beans, sweet potato casserole and sauteed cabbage.

This was the first place where I recall having an airline chicken breast.  Today the chicken was crispy-skinned and had a different taste to it than I remember, maybe from the brine.  The butter beans were very good and I actually enjoyed sweet potatoes for the first time in life.  But I didn’t want to push my luck and try the cabbage. 

I enjoyed my lunch – the meal was good.  And it was very quick.  But as we were eating, we were talking about the place, in general, and how it seemed to be less “special” than it was before. 

The walkways didn’t seem as well maintained. 

The village didn’t look as “picturesque”. 

Even the sign across from the Farmhouse declared that you were at _erenb_. 

I’m sure that we’ll return and I hope that it will be more like I remember.  It’s always sad when you go someplace and it’s not as wonderful as you recall.