Brunch. On March 4, we open for brunch on the weekends. We’ll try to spoil you with the simple luxury of freshly-laid eggs and homemade sausages, smokey from spit-roasting in our heath. We’ll spare those of you who order the Dutch Baby the shame of asking for “more maple syrup please” - we’ll leave the tin at the table. Yesterday's eggs will go into today’s scones, spiced seville loaf and banana buckle. It’ll be breakfast like at home, if you lived in the country, kept a flock, rose at 5am to bake, and wrestled with a knot of ginger to grate its juice into cold draft beer for our favorite hair of the dog. Why bother?
Preview menu here. Book through Resy or walk in.
An Everlasting Feast. Join us on March 18 to celebrate Tamar Adler and the publication of her latest cookbook, An Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z. We'll be serving a Feast of her recipes that journey through the life cycle of broth, crusty bread, cheese and more.
Book your ticket here.
Eggs & Soldiers. We thought we'd get ahead of the question: What is a soldier?
We were thrilled to hear that our Ardith Mae goat cheese with beets, citrus and pistachios has moved quite a few of you to seek out Ardith Mae Farm cheese at the farmer’s market. This is precisely why we buy from local farms – for their incredible products and to hopefully inspire you to buy from them directly.
When Shereen Alinaghian, founder of Ardith Mae Farm, convinced her now ex-husband and former business partner that they should do a ten month internship on a goat farm in Vermont 17 years ago, she had no idea they would leave with a herd of goats to start their own farm. But she was hooked as soon as she arrived. When it came time to part ways with him, instead of training someone to take over the farm in Pennsylvania, she bought the goats, farm equipment and vehicles and moved everything to Columbia County, NY where she started over.
Like many farmers, Shereen has endured her share of challenges and setbacks. One specific challenge for local farmers is that of leasing property from part-time city buyers who don’t understand the investment required to maintain the infrastructure including wells, buildings, electricity, etc. It’s not the “pretty farm adventure they expected.” At one point in her leasing journey, after making her own sizable infrastructure investments like a milking parlor and cheese room, Shereen found herself with a bad well requiring her to make trips to Lowe’s for 25 gallon jugs to water her goats. And without the electricity required to maintain the climate of her cheese room and refrigeration, causing her to lose sizable quantities of milk and cheese. Buying her own property felt like the only way forward. Fortunate to have an established business, a great crew and reputation, and people on her side, we’re happy to report that Shereen was able to secure an SBA loan to buy her own property in Stuyvesant, NY.
Ardith Mae feta is also a standout. Shereen’s father is Iranian, and a staple in her house growing up in southern California was a simple pita with feta, onions, cucumbers and mayo. “I grew up eating feta like it’s cheddar,” she said. Today, her household staple is marinated feta with fried potatoes. It was her mother who convinced her that she should make feta cheese – lucky us!
The new Ardith Mae Farm property came with a small inground pool and greenhouse. In addition to being a lovely place for “the most amazing crew” to enjoy, they’ll also host a farmstay on Airbnb. There are plans for a greenhouse barn for the goats, a farm store, tours, and, wait for it...goat yoga! “Goats are fun,” says Shereen. Make sure to follow along @ardithmaefarm and visit this spring when they welcome new (kid) additions to their herd.