Today is ma husband’s birthday. Happy birthday, Brian!
But this past Sunday, because he makes me feel so special, so at home every single day… I wanted him to feel the same as we celebrated him turning 29. So special, so at home. So I took him to see his family at the farm!
Kidding! I did take him to a farm though. But not just any farm: Blue Hill Stone Barns, a magical place just 30 miles north of the city. If you haven’t been, you must add it to your list.
It’s a once in a lifetime experience. You can take a tour of the farm with their staff to see where your entire meal is coming from, or, if you’re lucky like me your husband will grab a map from the farm store and take you on a self-guided tour of all the vegetable gardens, chicken coops, and open pastures to see animals like this guy! (Thing I learned: sheep are much cuter than they are friendly.)
You can even play on some of the farm equipment (and dream about your own future farm)! It’s always fun to get nice and sweaty and dirty before the fanciest dinner of your life.
And I mean fancy. There are no menus, just a 20-course tasting feast made from whatever’s been harvested from their fields. You can get the official wine pairing to go along with it, or you can opt for a la carte drinks as we did, which I highly recommend. See this rose champagne cocktail? The flowers were edible!
Speaking of edible flowers, here were some that we had for one of our courses… served alongside some kind of cola made from a plant. (Don’t ask / this was during my second cocktail, and I’m not much of a drinker.)
For another course we had all different kinds of beans foraged from the garden, some delicious piece of dried meat served atop a glass of what tasted like the best apple juice I’ve ever had, salted cucumbers with fresh yogurt, and a canteloupe/cheese plate that made me drool. Literally, drool coming out of my mouth. What I really loved though was the waiter dropping off a bag of forks, knives and spoons and saying, “Use whatever silverware you like.” We ate with our hands.
We noticed during the meal that each table got taken outside by the waiter for a little while. Brian’s reporter curiosity kicked into high gear and he made me try and ask the woman two tables down from us what happened out there. “We saw the composting.” The composting? We thought, based on our cocktail-induced mathematics of when other tables were whisked away, that we were getting the shaft and wouldn’t be taken outside. But alas! Just as we were giving up hope, we were escorted to this little slice of heaven: our own private farm table to enjoy one last course before dessert. (Doesn’t he look sexy in this setting? We really need our own farm.)
Every detail at this place — from the soft bathroom towels, to how they catered every course of mine to my grain-free needs — was perfectly executed. It’s a seamlessly orchestrated experience, like none other. To wit: this adorable nook inside the private farmhouse room. So cute, right?!
And finally, here it was! Brian’s favorite course (besides dessert, of course): the goat.
Before we left we hit up the farm store for some eggs, a souvenir tote bag (of course, cause I need another tote bag), and some fresh vegetables from their farmer’s market. Ya have to bring a little Stone Barns home with you! And I’m so glad we did, cause the next day I sauteed these shishito peppers with some olive oil, garlic and sea salt… and it almost felt like we were back at the farm. Almost.
But let’s not forget why we came. One more time, altogether now: happy birthday, Brian! It was the best meal for the best husband. I am the luckiest girl in the world. I love you.
