It occurred to me recently that I’d never tried dessert at Farren’s. This makes sense, because my usual Farren’s excursion involves me gorging myself on a delicious Motherlode with a side of truffle chips. Adding dessert to that mix would not be a good choice for me.
However, Farren’s has a substantial number of dessert options on the menu, just begging for me to try them, so I shifted my dinner plan an appetizer-dessert combo to accomodate this.
Photo by Julie McClure.
My favorite appetizer on the menu is the fried portabello mushrooms. A lot of places have fried mushrooms, but Farren’s is the only I’m aware of that fries up a giant portabello. It’s basically an app and salad in one, as it is plated on a bed of lettuce and chopped tomato and covered in ranch dressing. The breading is flavorful and crispy, and mushrooms meaty and almost buttery tasting.
Photo by Julie McClure.
The dessert menu has several options, from a brownie sundae to key lime pie to specialty cupcakes from real.baked. My spouse and I chose bourbon butter cake and triple layer chocolate mousse cake. The bourbon cake was light with a sumptious cream cheese frosting and some chocolate sauce to compliment. The triple layer cake had three delicious layers: chocolate cake, cheesecake, and chocolate mousse.
While I can’t completely abandon the Motherlode, this dinner combo will become a part of my Farren’s order rotation.
Farren’s Pub and Eatery
117 N Walnut St
Champaign
Su-Th 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
F-Sa 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Top photo by Julie McClure.