Now Open: Farmers Fishers Bakers, Serving Tiki Cocktails, Beer Cocktails and More
After surviving seven feet of water during the April 2011 Washington Harbour flood, Farmers & Fishers has reopened as Farmers Fishers Bakers, with a remodeled space and a noteworthy new beverage program. While the focus is still on American family farmers and hand-crafted food and drink, the beverage program is unique in the District and features a 24-beer draft list — available in flights, growlers, shot combos and beer cocktails — and a “Tiki Redux” menu of 1930-inspired, fantastically garnished and amazingly boozy tiki cocktails.
There are four ways to experience the beer selection, which includes a proprietary cask blend from Fredericksburg’s Flying Dog. “Shot & A Beer” for $14 consists of your choice of beer and shot (whiskey or tequila) followed by a house-made chaser. Can’t decide? The $14 beer flights allow you to sample four eight-ounce tumblers or three and one shot — and “dealer’s choice” might yield a seasonal assortment. Groups can opt for a $25 growler and split the jug with the table, and don’t be afraid of the beer cocktails; beverage director Jon Arroyo is the first to acknowledge that these can be hit or miss. Start with Arroyo’s take on the classic version with the Shandy Gaff, which uses house-made ginger beer along with fresh extracted ginger and lime juice.
Most notable, however, is the selection of flamboyant, dangerously stiff tiki cocktails of the variety made popular in 1930s Hollywood and again in the 1970s. Farmers Fishers Bakers offers both daiquiri-based and zombie-inspired cocktails, the latter of which also includes varieties of scorpions and mai tais (including the version served made famous at Don the Beachcomber’s Polynesian-themed restaurant. The scorpion bowl, $25, is a flaming, volcano-esque spectacle circa 1946, while the zombies — made with at least three different rums and a blend of juices — is so potent it’s limited to two glasses per guest.
Pro tip: order a few pizzas or plates to share along with the booze. The brick oven pretzels (served with pimento cheese, barbecue mustard and sour cream and onion dips) and the “Bread & Broths” (exactly like it sounds — carbs and buttery dips) provide a perfect accompaniment to a table of tipples.
While the tiki cocktails offer an exotic, escapist sip in the dead of winter, we recommend going back in the spring, too: On warm nights, the service bar’s garage door opens up onto the fountain-facing patio, where you can enjoy all 24 brews on tap, many of which aren’t available anywhere else in Georgetown.
Top photo via Farmers Fishers Bakers; bottom photo by Lauren Sloat