Farms to Tables: Clinton's Funny Farm brings local products to local take-out
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
Despite the name, Funny Farm Burgers and Fries in Clinton isn’t raising its own livestock. You’ll find no pasture out back of this hot-pink shop, nor is there a herd of cattle grazing beside the front door. What Funny Farm does have, however, is great food and a growing network of local suppliers.
When owners Lisa Durnin-Raidt and Rob Raidt decided to open up their own eatery, a commitment to local ingredients was always part of the plan. To learn a little more about the ins and outs of sourcing suppliers, The Citizen sat down with Lisa for a quick chat before the lunch rush started.
After deciding to wrap up her career in long-term care, Lisa began driving around Clinton with Rob, looking for what might come next. “I was thinking about what kind of job I can do, and I’ve always been in the food service industry, so why not a little burger shop?” she asked.
Funny Farm may be the new kid on the culinary block, but every day at noon, this flamingo-themed takeout spot is abuzz with hungry customers lined-up for lunch. The menu isn’t big - as the name suggests, burgers and fresh-cut fries are the shop’s top-sellers - but there’s another item on the menu that’s been quietly making a name for itself: the homemade chili.
For as long as people have been making chili, they’ve been finding innovative ways to ladle it over already delicious food, and Funny Farm has embraced that tradition wholeheartedly. There are many ways to try their hearty mélange of beans and beef - atop burgers and sausages, or as part of chili cheese fries, as part of a Flamingo Combo, or just on its own - there’s no wrong way to do it.
Lisa confessed to The Citizen that the not-so-secret ingredient to this very popular menu item is sourced just down the road, from the Harm-N-E Longhorns farm. “They supply all the meat for our chili,” Lisa explained. “That’s very local!”
Chili featuring Texas Longhorn beef raised a five-minute drive from the restaurant is just one of the local touches that makes the food at Funny Farm stand out. Also close to home is the Clinton Freshmart bakery, which supplies fresh buns to cradle every Funny Farm burger.
Every sandwich is dressed to order after it comes off the grill. Crisp lettuce, sliced onions and ripe tomatoes provide the fresh crunch that balances each burger after it comes off the grill. “Right now, we’re getting all our produce from Maitland Market,” Lisa pointed out. “Our lettuce, onions, tomatoes... you name it. Local just tastes way better. It didn’t come from a long way away, it’s not bruised, and it just tastes great!”
At this point in the rising flight path of this flamingo-themed take-out destination, certain items have proven difficult to source from right around the corner, like the exact type of russet potatoes required to craft their fresh-cut fries. Whenever ingredients can’t be sourced locally, Funny Farm still tries to stay as close to home as possible. “When we do have to order from restaurant suppliers, we try for Ontario first,” Lisa said. “If we can’t get Ontario, then we’ll look for that little flag and buy Canadian. We want to serve good quality food at a decent price, and keep it as local as we can.”
In the weeks since they first opened their doors, the couple has learned to operate Funny Farm as a team, though each brings different strengths to the business. “We are co-owners,” Lisa laughed. “He has a full-time job, so I classify him as my boss. He takes care of the financials, and I do all the cooking.”
Of course, Rob’s influence extends far beyond the bookkeeping - he’s also responsible for Funny Farm’s unmistakable decor. “My husband is tall, he likes pink, and he likes flamingos,” Lisa offered as an explanation for the shop’s wall-to-wall flamingo theme. His fascination with these carotenoid-coloured creatures began during a visit to Discovery Cove in Florida, where a flock of flamingos surrounded him. “They wrapped their necks around his head and were preening him,” she recalled. “Since that experience, he’s just grown very fond of them.” The result is a restaurant impossible to miss. Bright pink flamingos perch on every surface, from the napkin holders to the trash can.
However, all those bright-pink phoenicopteriformes fade away once your meal is ready, and all attention turns to the act of eating.