Heather Ridge Farm: Idyllic Pastures & Salted Caramel Brownies
2023 Note: Heather Ride Farm is no longer serving brunch. Instead, they are operating as a farm store, open Saturdays from 11am to 2pm, offering delicious prepared food, frozen meats, and woolen goods. My 2016 blog post follows.
I wonder how many times we'll drive up a long, winding, we-must-be-lost road before we realize that we're exactly where we're supposed to be. It feels like a life lesson, and we're learning it over and over again every time we seek out another hidden gem in the Catskills.
Heather Ridge Farm is a perfect example. They offer directions to their Preston Hollow farm on their website, along with the friendly warning, "We find that GPS directions can often take you ways we’d never dream of suggesting to you!" When you get there, it looks like a farmhouse where someone might live, with a few extra umbrella tables out front. The parking lot is just a couple of spots across the street. I hopped out of the car to make sure it was a place of business, and even then, as I poked my head in, I was afraid I'd barged into somebody's country home kitchen. I had to ask, "Is this the Bee's Knees Cafe?" Well, of course it was.
Their seasonal weekend menu includes biscuits and gravy, egg sandwiches with farm-raised sausage and chili made with the farm's own pastured pork, plus hominy and tomatillos. Beautiful baked goods were unassumingly set out on plates on the front counter. White chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies were sprinkled with dried rose-petals, while their dark chocolate counterparts were topped with candied bacon and sea salt. Though it wasn't as pretty, the show-stopping treat was their ooey-gooey, crazy-delicious salted caramel brownie.
In the dining room, the pelt of an old animal friend warmed each seat. It brought to mind an Apartment Therapy post (see 10 on Trend: The Art of Flinging a Sheepskin), but the space was anything but trendy. Well-worn, wide-planked floors, mismatched floral tablecloths and warm lavender walls gave the place its homey country character.
During our springtime visit, farm tours were on hold while baby animals were being born. We did get to peek at this field of sheep and llamas. We hope return soon for a guided farm tour and a few more of those brownies.
