I would wager that a lot of folks from the city go to Stone Barns for the multi-course “Farmer’s Feast” at Blue Hill, the highly reputable restaurant on the farm that does away with a menu and instead, offers whatever was just picked for the day. There are several price points, ranging from $88 for the 4-course lunch to $208 for the 12-course dinner. The restaurant is only open on Sundays. Although we enjoy a good meal now and again, we did not go to Stone Barns on this particular weekend to partake in an extravagant meal. We went for the fresh air, open space, and animals.
The name of this place fits very well with the cluster of stone buildings in the center of the farm. The restaurant is here, along with a take-out cafe, a gift shop, and the farm market that sells fresh produce and baked treats. We bought lunch at the cafe and ate it under the eaves in the courtyard. It was quite chilly but the lunch was very tasty – we had a roast beef sandwich, a bruschetta-like open face sandwich, and butternut squash soup.
You are free to walk the grounds, with the exception of some places that are closed off to the public. You can either do a paid guided tour or self-guided tour with a map. You will need to consult the program calendar to see what tours are available on any given day. We opted to just roam around. Near the buildings are a cluster of immense greenhouses. They were growing kale, chard, and some other vegetables I could not identify in their native state.
We were very happy to see huge swaths of open space here. There are some hilly parts, but they are not that bad to climb. There are also some wooded trails that surround the farm. In the interest of time, we did not do any of the trails but may come back another weekend to do them.
The main attraction, at least for me, are the animals. Farm animals are entertaining, even the not-so-cute ones. These pigs live a life of luxury in their hay-padded shelter.
The sheep had the run of two pastures, one next to the other. In each pasture was a genuine sheepdog guarding its flock. This dog seemed friendly enough, but when I walked several yards away from it to take a picture from another angle, it immediately stood up, walked up to me at the fence and stood in front of me as if to say that if I wanted to steal any of his sheep, I would have to go through him first!
I don’t know if you can see this very clearly, but some of these chicken have very sad bald spots. I have heard of chicken plucking their own feathers from stress, but have never really seen it. I don’t know why they would be stressed here. This seems like comfy living to me!
Our seasonal favorite, the turkey, times 200. There was a fight among the turkeys where one would jump and flap its wings quite suddenly and then another would do the same. At one point, one would gobble and the rest would gobble in chorus. It was very odd and soothing at the same time.
Stone Barns is located at 630 Bedford Road in Tarrytown, NY. You can either drive or take the Metro North to Tarrytown and then hail a taxi from there. Parking is $5, but it is reimbursable if you spend over $15 on food or at the gift shop. Just make sure to give the cashier your parking receipt. Dogs are allowed on the grounds, but not in all places. There are signs that clearly tell you when you can’t take your dog past a certain point. Also, note that the fencing around the animals are electrified, so keep a tight grip on the smaller ones around these areas.
Tags: farm, nature, new york city, outdoors, stone barns, Westchester, woods
November 12, 2011 at 8:41 pm |
I was there last spring (when I still had a car). Mom and I couldn’t offer the prix-fixe there, but did get some snacks at the cafe.