Farm & Garden to Table

The orchard, the herb beds, the lemon trees, and the creamery all send something to a kitchen in this park. Each one is worth a stop on its own, and each one has something you can order and taste for yourself.

Apples

A few hundred trees, planted in blocks by ripening date so the picking runs from late August into late October. Ginger Gold and Gala come off first, then Honeycrisp and Cortland through the heart of the season, then Winesap and Northern Spy — sharp, better cooked than eaten, and they keep in the shed for months.

Applewood

At The Smokehouse

The applewood in the pit comes off the trees you're standing in — prunings from the winter cut, split and seasoned through the summer. It burns cooler and sweeter than hickory, so the brisket and pulled pork carry a lighter smoke than the ribs, and the difference is easy to taste if you order both.

Harvest Bowl

At The Greenhouse

The harvest bowl is built around whatever's coming off the trees that week — apples cut fresh over greens from the beds outside, with cheese from the creamery and a dressing that changes with the variety. It's the one dish on the menu that's different every time you order it.

Cider Donuts

Elsewhere

Fresh apples are sold at Plaza Café and out of the shed here at the orchard, and the press runs through the fall — cider by the cup and cider donuts at the carts.

Garden Herbs

Two dozen beds cut into the paths, planted thick enough that the kitchens can take from them every morning without the garden looking picked over. The perennials — thyme, sage, oregano, bay — hold through the winter and get cut back hard in spring. The basil and dill go in fresh each year and are gone by the first frost.

Herbs

At The Smokehouse

Oregano, thyme, and sage go into the dry rub, cut here and dried in bunches rather than bought in tins. The sage also goes into the sausage, which is the one thing on the menu where you can taste a single herb instead of the blend.

Flatbread

At The Greenhouse

Basil and mint come in by the handful and get used the same day — basil torn over the flatbreads, mint in the lemonade. Parsley and chives do the quieter work, folded into the dressings or scattered over a plate on the way out.

Fish Herbs

At The Boathouse

Dill and bay, both for fish. The dill goes over the fried platter and into the tartar sauce; the bay goes into the chowder pot at the start of the day and gets fished back out before service.