Dinner at Blue Hill Stone Barns

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I am seriously into seasonal eating. Another love of mine is dining out. Put the two together and you get Blue Hill at Stone Barns. This is a great restaurant in upper Westchester County that serves fresh-from-the-farm foods put together in interesting, creative ways. It’s not cheap, so it’s quite a treat to go there, but well worth it for a great dining experience.

Last night Andy and I went with another couple who had never been there before. Andy and I have been there a few times before and the menu is always different, based completely on what the chefs bring in from the farm that day. The meal started in quite a nutritious, but delicious, way, with tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce from the farm, shown here, for us to snack on:

The meal was four courses plus a dessert. Although this is a lot of food, the portions are smaller than what you’d regularly find when dining out, so we didn’t feel overly full when we left. Plus, there were lots of veggies, which kept the meal light and clean feeling. Here are some of the highlights of the evening.

Our first course was a summer fruit and vegetable salad with apricots, white peaches, heirloom cherry tomatoes, purslane, and string beans, in a tomato water broth. It was delicious! Here is a picture of it:

Another interesting preparation was a poached egg over kale and chanterelle mushrooms in an eggplant broth. This had a smoky, “umami,” flavor, but was also very light and provided a nice combo of protein and vegetables.

The other two dishes were mostly protein (fish and lamb) with very light and clean preparations as well. And finally dessert was a rectangular dark chocolate parfait with raspberry sorbet and fresh berries. Unfortunately I didn’t get shots of the other two savory courses or the dessert course, but they were delish!

And lastly, instead of petit fours at the end of the meal, we were served two plates of wild blueberries, white peaches, and apricots. What a nice, healthy way to end the meal!

As you can see, although this was a five course plus meal, the portions were small, balanced with protein, vegetables, and healthy fat.

What’s your favorite seasonal restaurant?