Dinner Bell Farm Chickens - San Francisco

By now you've likely seen the already classic Portlandia sketch that lampoons an earnest couple, hyper-focused on the life of the chicken they're considering having for dinner. But don't fret if the joke hits a little close to home; we all love a good origin story.

Case in point: Dinner Bell Farm. Located on 30 acres in the foothills of the Sierras, Dinner Bell chickens have their run of the locale, ensuring ample exercise and an ever-changing diet of such flora as goldenrod, trefoil and clover. The heritage-breed birds are also allowed 13 weeks to roam, more than twice the lifespan of typical Cornish broilers.

Unsurprisingly, Dinner Bell had a hard time keeping up with Bay Area demand last year. This year may be similar, especially since they'll now also be supplying chickens to Slanted Door.

Which is why we're giving you the heads-up now: The farm will begin taking pre-orders for the birds on their website tomorrow, and the first drop of 150 chickens is scheduled for May 26, with pick-up at locations in San Francisco, Oakland and North Berkeley.

Your friends may tease you about your pedigreed poultry, but so what? Your dinner will taste better than theirs.