SoCo Farm And Food

Best restaurant in North Carolina, hands down. Farm fresh wonderful choices and great wines paired along the way. A bit of a drive, but worth every mile!

Who would have thought to find fantastic fine-​dining down a country road in Wilson, NC? It is hard not to gush about the quality of Chef Jeremy’s cooking, the unique décor of the restaurant, or the attentive friendliness of the staff (led by Kimberly, Jeremy’s charming wife). It’s like eating at momma’s. .. if momma was running a Michelin-​worthy kitchen in a converted tobacco barn. That is to say, it is at the same time homey and refined, suitable for your family or your out-​of-​town guests that you want to impress, and just down-​home, finger-​lickin’ good! Perhaps the best word to describe SoCo is «curated.» Every element, from the menu organization to the farm-​fresh ingredients to the beer and wine list to the mason-​jar chandelier and the artfully mismatched chairs has received the special attention of the wonderful couple that own and run this restaurant. I particularly loved the bar, which was made entirely from reclaimed tobacco-​sticks and topped with a gorgeous piece of old heartwood. I’ve seen a lot of bars in a lot of towns, and this was definitely one of the most beautiful and unique.
It’s still all about the food, though, and that receives the most loving attention of all. The menu is a four-​course prix-​fixe, and you usually have a choice of two options on the appetizer, main and dessert. But really, you can’t go wrong. My friend’s vegetarian lasagne was at least as delicious as my own pork loin. The highlight was the watermelon steak appetizer. I have never had anything quite like it, and it was clearly the work of a master-​chef.
SoCo’s food would be right at home in Paris, London, or NYC. Luckily, those in the Research Triangle don’t have to travel that far. There’s a chair, a smile, and a fantastic meal waiting for you at SoCo, so come hungry!

UPDATE: We returned to SoCo to celebrate my husband’s birthday and my in-​laws’ anniversary. We brought our toddler along and they were very accommodating. Granted, this is not a place where you’ll usually see kids but our son sat quietly in his portable high chair that we brought from home and ate his home-​brought food relatively quietly without running amuck in the dining room.
The food was just as great as last time. Pumpkin bisque, lamb chops and persimmon pudding were all delicious!
Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to come back a few more time before we move out of the area.

The SoCo is So So. The concept is awesome. The personalities are non-​existent and the food while very culinary in nature was somewhat disappointing. The food had interesting flavors yet the one overriding salient quality was the gratuitous amount of SALT that the chef used. I eventually ended up drinking over a half of gallon of water and did not realize why until my wife who had limited her water intake to hopefully actually maintain the savory nature of the food put her fork down half way through the entrée and said, «enough, I can’t eat another bite because I am becoming dehydrated by the high sodium content». The fact that I had been drinking so much water (something I don’t normally do, give me a couple of beers and I am fine) should have been indicative of something. We were also drinking wine which was somewhat disappointing as well, it was a Swanson Pinot Grigio which was 25 dollars and it didn’t even have a cork, it was a Napa Valley wine so we thought, how bad could it be, well our three buck chuck from the Trader Joe’s put it to shame.
There were many positives about our visit, which is why we rated it three stars. The concept is Fantastic, the location and the dining room were very cool if not somewhat evolved. The music which is meant to be sophisticated was somewhat annoying but tolerable. The meal consists of four courses. The salad course was very nice, the citrus and the kale worked very well. The soup course was interesting and probably where they first infused the high salt content but we weren’t really realizing how much salt was really present, but obviously my body did. The soup to me was okay, my wife thought it was very good. Then the main course, she had the catfish, which was not greatly desirable since she follows a Kosher diet for the most part and was not thrilled about eating a bottom feeder but she was a trooper and tried it. The flavor of the fish was decent and there were also SALTED potatoes, so yes we realize the dish had a very salted flavor, and yes the fish was pan seared and blackened but with the Carb being very salted the protein should have been much toned down as a contrast, but it was like it had been salt encrusted. I had the rabbit (which again the Kosher diet would not tolerate — rodent family) and while I did eat it and it was palatable it was indeed salty as well. They mixed Portabello mushrooms with the rabbit and the mushrooms did not have a nice texture, they were very hard and difficult to even pick up with a fork. Both dishes seem to have good concepts but the execution was rather lacking. We both understand that we live in the South and Southerners love their salt, but when you put yourself out there as a culinary experience then sometimes you have to walk the line between cooking the way you know it should be and the way the average diner wants to have it.
Five star Michelin chefs do not over salt their food to appeal to the average Southern palate, neither should they.
My wife actually spoke up that her food was very salty and the wife basically said, I will tell the chef and that was it. No «wow, no one else has said that but we are in the South», just «I will tell the chef», also her husband. WE were not looking for free or discounted food only to express our opinion. Anyway, the desserts were decent, not sweet enough for my taste, but my wife thought they were very good, the flavors were subtle.
My advice is if you want a unique experience go to SoCo but don’t have extremely high expectations (possibly unrealistic expectations) for the way it is prepared, the quality of the food products were very good though, or so it seemed. It was an interesting experience and the price was high, probably too high for the overall quality but still not complaining about that portion of the experience. The ambience is nice, the setting is great, the concept is great, the people need to learn or get a personality, the food needs to speak for itself and not rely on the oldest and most basic spice known to mankind — SALT.
My wife and I believe that part of the issue is that the husband and wife are really trying to take on too much. They have their own gardens, their own bee hives, their own chickens, etc. etc. to include a bed and breakfast which I could not imagine to stay at given the personalities of the individuals, I can only imagine a repeat of our time at the Greystone Manor in Wilmington, NC – a definite DO NOT repeat moment. Maybe they need to take a step back and really review whether they need to plant their own fruit trees (which by the way were planted too close together) and plant their own fields, etc. Sometimes in business you need to focus on your strongest attributes and pay others to do the grunt work. I appreciate being self sustainable and appreciate doing as much as you can yourselves, but if in the end, your end product suffers because of it. Stick to what makes you happy and delegate the rest.

This place is the real deal. The owners, Jeremy and Kimberly, are fantastic at what they do and I hope SoCo is around for years to come so Mr. B and I can always come back to visit. The farm to table food is interesting but not pretentious, and atmosphere is perfect (relaxing and classy and kind of artsy all at the same time), the service is impeccable. Did I mention the food? We visited back in April of 2013 and I still think about that dinner! If you are ever in the area, or are traveling up or down 95, stop here!

Absolutely amazing, we have only gone with groups and were seated at the Chef’s table, but they have individual tables in the restaurant area. Awesome farm to table food, excellent beer, great service. We are looking for a similar place in San Antonio. We Will be back!!!

We stopped at Wilson, NC on our way down I 95 from New York to Florida and decided to give Soco Farm and Food a try. What a unique and imaginative treat! The prix fixe menu included roasted watermelon, the best ribs I have ever eaten and a poached peach dessert made with local peaches picked two days earlier and figs picked earlier in the day. The wines paired with each course included a Reisling that we will search for when we get home and the smoothest Rioja I have ever drunk. Add to the menu a beautiful farm setting and friendly but professional service, and it was a meal and an evening we will not soon forget.

What a wonderful little B&B. The proprietors have a wonderful vision of what a B&B experience should be.
The suite was very comfortable and felt like home away from home. And the cuisine was simply amazing. We had dinner on Friday night at the community table and Jeremy prepared a meal that will go down as one of my favorite meals ever. Not only was the meal elegant and delicious but the company of the 10 other people at the table put an explanation on point on the experience.
Breakfast was just as classy as dinner but prepared just for us. Talk about being pampered!
I highly recommend dining or staying at Soco if you are ever in the Wilson, NC area!

A gorgeous and elegant farm setting. The very well appointed bed and breakfast is a «must visit»! Clean and quiet rooms overlooking the beautiful horse pastures. The food was unique and amazing. A very private and elegant dining experience prepared by a truly gifted chef. Culinary excellence! Fresh local food makes each dish perfect. You will not be disappointed!