Blue Hill at Stone Barns

When the kids were young we would let each of them pick a top restaurant once a month and we would go there for a meal.  It was an education in hospitality, food and culture.  One of the most memorable was going up to Blue Hill at Stone Barns in the winter while snow was falling.  It was a magical night.  Emily asked to return and so we did.

stonebarnsThe Stone Barn is absolutely beautiful.  It was an actually a dairy barn at one point so in many ways it is fitting to return to a culinary center.

farmingWe got to walk through the fields and hear about what they are growing.  Their farming techniques have been around forever.  They move the vegetables around the field every season taking 7 years to return to their original spot.  It creates layered soil and a delicious product.  They are also creating hybrids of products without any manmade genetic modifications.  It is impressive.

veggiesThe meal is essentially whatever they are doing at the farm.  Not every table gets the same meal because they run out of things or whatever the case.  We had a heavy handed vegetable meal with a lot of asparagus and rhubarb which is in season right now.  Here are some of the highlights.  Vegetables from the garden.

duckproscuitoI honestly can’t remember what this was but you layer the duck proscuitto on the side on top of this.  It was amazing.

beetpizzaBeet pizza over a crispy thin bread.

silverwareSilverware to choose from as the meal continues.  I really like this.

eggsThis was awesome.  A variety of egg yolks that have been dried.  We got to add this to each dish that came out afterwards to our liking.  The reddish eggs were because the chickens ate red peppers.  Crazy!

ovensHalf way through the meal we were treated by going into the bread kitchen first to hear about this program.  They have been starting to grow grains on the property and make their own breads.  The baker in training was there that night and she could not have been more engaging.  What an amazing place to learn your trade.

danbarberThen we went into the kitchen.  The place is huge and humming.  You can see Dan Barber checking out the dishes in this shot.

bookshelfI loved being in the kitchen.  This is all the cookbooks and a variety of house made products that they use.

porkWe had one of our courses in the kitchen.  Dan told a story about a 400 pound pig that they were given that had been hanging out for the past two months.  This course was off the charts.

strawberryDessert came next back at the table.  This was a strawberry oriented dish almost like mochi.

chocolatebreadThen the baker, Zoe, came out with a loaf of warm chocolate bread stuffed with dried cherries and chunks of chocolate and a caramel sauce to dip it into on the side.  Kind of the perfect ending to the meal.

What a treat.

Comments (Archived):

  1. Ghorwood

    Eating at the bar is a great entry point — three courses with equal creativity and hospitality — and they now take reservations which they never did!

    1. Gotham Gal

      The place is packed. The bar is great but no longer drop-ins. Kinda amazing

  2. kirklove

    Boom

  3. Sebastien Latapie

    Always wanted to go there! Looks like an amazing experience

  4. Jenna Abdou

    Wow, this is incredible!!

  5. pointsnfigures

    I saw this place on tv and have to make a pilgrimage there!

  6. Tim Ahmann

    Dan Barber’s book “The Third Plate – Field Notes on the Future of Food” is one of my favorites.

  7. jason wright

    the antidote to globalisation and frankenstein food. i bet most of the food you eat in restaurants isn’t grown this way. are there many organic restaurants in New York?

    1. Gotham Gal

      There’s really nothing like blue hill. Organic is not as real as it apprars

        1. Gotham Gal

          Granted it is big but when you look behind the curtain the differentiator is not as big as everyone thinks