Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Profile

No, Dan Barber’s great farm-to-table destination isn’t technically within the confines of New York City, but so what? The chef grew up and lives in Manhattan; the carrots, pigs, hens, eggs, and assorted other boutique barnyard bounty that he and his merry band of farmers, bakers, picklers, and cooks raise, harvest, butcher, pluck, and roast at this beautiful Rockefeller complex up the river outside Tarrytown are a product of the city’s local Hudson River watershed; and if you count the original Blue Hill, off Washington Square, there’s technically even an outlet here in the city. Over the years, as the farm has matured, Barber’s particular brand of free-association, Slow Food cooking has grown and evolved from a more standard “gourmet” locavore experience (which you can get a taste of at the West Village Blue Hill outlet) into a kind of elaborate, ever-changing culinary pageant, which is educational, entertaining, and, yes, delicious to eat. Yes, there’s a cozy tasting room on the grounds themed around the boundless joys of composting, and, yes, when you’re presented with two kinds of freshly churned butter, you’re also given the names of the noble cows who produced it (Tulip and Daisy, for the record). Like everything about the modern haute barnyard phenomenon, the proceedings can tip occasionally into the realm of parody, but for jaded city slickers who wish to experience this dining revolution in all its nuanced, creative, and, yes, entertaining glory, there’s no better place to do it, not just within the general biosphere of the greater New York City region but, arguably, the entire USA as well. — Adam Platt

A tasting menu is available at the bar for $238. Seats at the counter can be reserved on the website up to 2 days in advance.

Weddings
Located in scenic Westchester, near Tarrytown, Blue Hill at Stone Barns is both a working farm and critically lauded restaurant. The hayloft can hold up to 260 guests for a seated dinner, and in warmer seasons a cocktail reception may be held outdoors with a view of the Stone Barns center farm. At the height of the season, 80 percent of ingredients are grown on-site or purchased from local farms. Call for pricing.

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New York Magazine Reviews

• Adam Platt's Full Review (7/19/04)

Best of New York Awards

• Best Foodie Road Trip (2005)

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