Dine Among the Trees at This Botanical Garden Restaurant

"Farmhouse at Descanso Gardens may not be the sort of revolutionary restaurant that would inspire people to trek up to La Cañada Flintridge on its own, but it's absolutely spot-on for the local foothills community. The menu is dense with vegetables, befitting its location in the sprawling Descanso Gardens; the atmosphere feels unpretentious but serene, its forest-like setting versatile enough to handle a book club brunch group, families with kids, or a quiet couples' catch-up at the bar."

"A late summer salad of mixed tomato varieties - brandywine, green zebra, celebrity, and sungold - from Munak Ranch gets topped with fresh basil, pesto, and spicy croutons for a fond farewell to tomato season. Main courses also get packed with produce: The grilled pork tenderloin is served with pickled corn, chorizo cornbread stuffing, and a halved grilled apple, presented with dandelion greens sticking out at jaunty angles like a scraggly rooster comb."

"The dining room is nice; the patio is nicer. But the best seats in the house are at the bar, which forms a wooden rectangle that extends across the threshold to include both indoor and outdoor seats hewn from a tree that fell inside the garden. Cocktails feature lots of herbs and berries, in addition to craft beer and an approachable wine list."

Farmhouse at Descanso Gardens offers unpretentious, vegetable-forward seasonal dishes set within expansive, forest-like gardens. The short specials menu highlights hyperseasonal produce with farm credits, such as a late-summer mixed tomato salad from Munak Ranch topped with basil, pesto, and spicy croutons. Main courses showcase produce too, like grilled pork tenderloin accompanied by pickled corn, chorizo cornbread stuffing, and a halved grilled apple garnished with dandelion greens. The restaurant accommodates families with a kid-friendly coloring menu, features a bar built from a fallen garden tree, a preferred patio, cocktails with herbs and berries, and a Jones Coffee truck onsite.

Read at Eater LA