Daytripping to a real farm with amazing restaurants
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Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture
My family and I recently spent a long weekend upstate in Katonah, which provided a perfect opportunity to pay a visit to Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York. I could say that it was their commitment to healthy and sustainable food systems that attracted me, or maybe their children’s educational programs, or their overall mission to improve the way american’s eat, but actually, I’ve wanted to go ever since the episode of Top Chef when the contestants cooked at their famous Blue Hill restaurant (by the way, the Obamas selected their sister restaurant Blue Hill New York for their Manhattan date night back in 2009).
My daughter is going through a major pig and cow phase, so a trip to an actual farm seemed like a great idea. We started out in search of pigs. You do need to know that when visiting Stone Farms that you are in fact visiting a farm and NOT a zoo. There is quite a bit of walking involved, there is dirt – there is mud, and it can take quite awhile to locate a pig or a cow (however, walking tours are available). But when we did locate a pig family our daughter was delighted. Cows were eventually located as were some chickens and a very adorable farmer who happily filled us in on the ins and outs of their care.
We ended our day with a visit to the farmer’s market, which I found oddly lacking considering that it was mid-summer and situated on an actual farm. We bought a blueberry pie from the Red Barn Bakery which was so good it lasted in our apartment for about 24 hours maximum. The Blue Hill Café serves food in a more family friendly setting, and my only regret is that we didn’t have enough time to eat there. The food looked fantastic but the line just to get in was extraordinarily long. . . not a good combination with a sleepy two year old, but certainly bodes well for the food.
Stone Barns is open to the public year-round, Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Stone Barns 7th annual Harvest Fest is October 2, 2010 from 10 AM- 3 PM. Festivities include live music, a farmers market, hayrides around the property, workshops on food and farming, and seasonal pie bake-off. Advance tickets go on sale Monday, August 9th to all Stone Barns Center members. Ticket sales will open to the general public on Monday, August 23rd.
There are also continuous events for adults and kids: cooking, storytime, gardening and more. Check their calendar for event listings.
**You can also take the Metro North Hudson line to Tarrytown and take a taxi from there- about 1 hour away.
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
630 Bedford Road
Pocantico Hills, NY 10591
T 914 366 9600.
Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture
630 Bedford Road
Pocantico Hills, NY 10591
Tel: 914 366 6200
The pigs we hunted down (for a look of course)
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Paula Balzer is a Brooklyn based literary agent and co-founder of the blog www.adhocmom.com, the blog for freelance and part-time working moms.
I love Stone Barns. My kids picked up a kit to grow their favorite plant, The TickleMe Plant. This is the plant that got my kids excited about nature and gardening. It is the only plant that will close its leaves and lowers its branches when tickled. They get excited everytime the plant does that. I found them in their gift shop or you can search TickleMe Plant on line. My students run to class each morning to visit and tickle their plants. Stone Barns and TickleMe Plants are two experiences every family deserves to have!