New Wilmington burger eatery offers cereal milkshakes and more

Saturday Morning Cartoons aren't just a cherished childhood memory. 

It's also the name of one of the crazier milkshake combinations served at Wilmington's new Farmer & The Cow restaurant at 413 N. Market St.

The $8 drink blends Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cap'n Crunch cereals with milk and vanilla ice cream.

The top is sprinkled with crunchy cereal pieces, along with a not-so-healthy but thoroughly decadent squirt of canned whipped cream.

The milkshake, a sweet and surprisingly addictive concoction, tastes much better than it sounds. It also conjures up warm, fuzzy remembrances of watching "Scooby-Doo" or "Jem" (and the Holograms) while slurping up the sugary remnants left in the bottom of a cereal bowl.

The idea of using cereal in sweets has been around for at least 10 years. It is credited to Christina Tosi, chef/founder of New York's Momofuku Milk Bar.

Tosi began steeping toasted cornflakes and other cereals into milk and using it as a base for ice cream and other desserts. Others have been offering riffs on her Cereal Milk ever since.

Nostalgia isn't just a novelty at Farmer & The Cow. The restaurant, celebrating burgers, shakes and bourbon, builds on an up-the-ante concept with even more outrageous culinary surprises.

It's one of the more exciting restaurants to hit the downtown area since chef/owner Bryan Sikora brought the nearby La Fia Bistro to Market Street in 2013.

In fact, dining in Wilmington has gotten considerably more interesting in recent months with the opening of such places as UDairy Creamery Market, Stitch House Brewery and the revamped cafe, lobby and bar at the Hotel du Pont.

Coming soon is Margaux, a French restaurant near Rodney Square, and DE.CO, a food hall in the DuPont Building. 

Whimsy weighs supreme at Farmer & The Cow. Its half-pound burgers ($14), made from beef that's been ground in-house, are topped with everything from bourbon-soaked apples to fiery ghost chili pepper aioli to crispy slices of scrapple.

Don't want meat? Vegetarian burgers ($12) are available and patties also can be made with turkey, salmon, chicken and lamb ($14-$16).

Made-to-order milkshakes ($6-$1) can be blended with smoked bacon, peanut butter and pretzels. There also are salads, but, seriously, get the burgers.

The Market Street eatery, which some may remember as the former home of Orillas Tapas Bar & Restaurant and later the short-lived Twisted Soul, opened about a month ago. 

Business partners include Jaspal Singh, Mike Day, Matt Collins and Rob Schneider, who also is the chef at the 60-seat establishment. Schneider's cooking resume includes stints at Philadelphia's former Percy Street Barbecue and Argilla Brewing Co. at Pietro's Pizza near Newark.

"We wanted to walk before we ran," says Schneider about the very quiet March 17 opening that included no advertising. "We now have quite a few regulars."  

Schneider says the partners looked at the food offerings on Market Street and thought their concept was something not yet available.

"The idea was over-the-top bar food that was more approachable, not pretentious and affordable," he says.

Farmer & The Cow seems to have hit all marks. The room has a large bar and a combination of hightop tables in the front, and regular seating in the back. Customers are a mix of downtown workers and residents, but Schneider says families also are welcome.

There's much variety among the table-sharing starters including Korean  barbecue Brussels sprouts ($10) made with sweet-spicy gochujang and hoisin sauces and topped with sesame seeds, fried pimiento cheese ($6) and truffle Tater Tots ($9).

A dish that's definitely not for dainty eaters is the deep-fried chicken skins ($7), very similar to pork rinds.

Schneider says it's become one of the restaurant's more popular dishes. "We take the best part of the chicken and serve that," he says.

We ordered them partly out of curiosity, thinking we'd stop after nibbling one or two of the crunchy skins, dusted in a "Nashville" dry rub, and served with creamy ranch dipping sauce.

Nope. This dish is a delightful commitment. Once you get started on these noshes, you'll be dedicated to finishing the bowl.

Like the milkshakes, dishes, served on stainless steel trays that resemble TV dinners, have kitschy names. Closed On Sunday ($12) is a wink-and-nod at Chick-fil-A's fried chicken sandwich. Schneider admits the fast-food chain's sandwich is a favorite, so he decided to create an homage.

Respect has been shown and if you don't want beef, this is definitely what you want to order. The bun is slathered with spicy mayonnaise and pickles are piled on top. French fries, served on the side in a stainless steel cup, are excellent. You can also get tots.

The Bushwood burger, topped with bourbon apples, thinly sliced prosciutto and smoked Gouda, leans toward the excessive. While the sweetness of the apples balances the saltiness of the Italian dry-cured ham and the fat from the beef burger, I think next time I'd get Bleu Steel, a burger topped with bacon, stout-braised onions and blue cheese.

Schneider says another winner with customers is the flagship Farmer & The Cow burger topped with bacon, fried onions, American cheese and a house-made burger sauce.

The perfect pairing with a burger is, of course, a milkshake. Schneider says the partners got the idea for glammed up shakes after a visit to Holsteins Shakes and Buns, a popular Las Vegas burger joint serving what they call "bam-boozled" milkshakes.

Candy freaks should enjoy Farmer & The Cow's Brimley shake ($10), a blend of Reese’s peanut butter cups, Hershey chocolates, Butterfingers, Oreos and M&Ms.

Want a boozy kick? Add a shot of liquor to any shake concoction. 

"Buzz it up," says Schneider, adding a customer recently asked for coconut rum to be blended into the Curious George ($8), a shake made with banana foster, pecans and Nutella. The verdict? "It was great," he says.

Farmer & The Cow is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call (302) 407-5957, or visit the Farmer & The Cow Facebook page or the website, farmerandthecow.com/.

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Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico