Among very special memorable meals the CIA, Commanders Palace, Burning Tree and Angus Barn are joined by Chef and the Farmer where we were able to enjoy a superb meal with great friends. CJH and I have watched many of the C/F shows on PBS over the last three years but we pale as fans compared to our long time friend who went with us to dinner. She had a ball. Actually we all did. She brought her cookbook that Vivian Howard wrote and several of the staff on duty that evening signed her book. Nice touch. We arrived for our reservation and were seated promptly. The menu was sufficient and unique but not one of those with 10 pages to navigate but we still took a long time with our orders. The staff person taking care of our table was knowledgeable and answered lots of questions. We had three small plates, two salads and three large plates. One of the small plates was flash fried collards, lightly salted. Really good. But the fried green tomatoes - amazing. We all loved those, a lot. We had three different main meals: two of us choose Amber Jack a deep sea fish, bone in pork chop that was huge and a vegetarian risotto style dish with grains, almonds, parsley and while it sounds so-so it was quite delicious. Dessert was a dish of fresh strawberry ice cream and a deconstructed so'more. The Chef and the Farmer is simply a treat from beginning to end. Kinston, NC is not where you would first travel for inventive dinning but you should.

 http://www.vivianhoward.com/chef-the-farmer/