^[1]I dug into my first round of farm share strawberries last night, but if you’re not signed up or prefer to have someone else do the preparations you could get on over to Food Matters ^[1] on Saturday for their Strawberry Festival. ^[2] “Join us for free samples of strawberry desserts, strawberry-inspired menu items, and strawberry cocktails.”

My darling girlfriend and I went to Food Matters about three weeks ago after they were mentioned in an update mail I got from Local Harvest ^[3]. She’s good about indulging my Michael Pollan disciple leanings and the promise of good food that is concerned with connecting eaters with origins ^[4] was enough to interest both of us. Although it’s metro inaccessible and oddly located – just head East from Landmark Mall and turn at the eerily similar townhouses – the experience was not a disappointment.

My dearheart’s amish chicken – named for the origin, not its garb or way of life – was superb and had the subtle but recognizable taste of non-commercial foul. My pasta carbonara was similarly delicious. We sat at the bar and I was delighted to indulge in their Bell’s Oberon on draft, a fact that might be enough to get our Mr Bridge there all by itself.

The decor is on the edge of odd, reflecting the fact that this is a place with some identity issues – they have some cafeteria-type premade food in a walk-up case, as well as some farm fresh items such as eggs, as well as a sit-down restaurant area as well as a sizable bar. On the other hand, the layout includes an open plan kitchen which allows you to stand and watch the goings-ons without being in the middle of a bunch of your fellow eaters. As a bit of a cook voyeur I found this to be a great feature and if it bugged the people working they didn’t give any sign of it.

If you’re an Arlington-ite and possessed of a car I’d say this is a place worth a visit. We’ll be back.