We went to Blue Hill Stones Barn for my birthday.

Here is my review on Chowhound. There have been 8 comments so far. Pictures below.

Went to Blue Hill last night to celebrate my 30th. The atmosphere was pleasant, it was nice to be out of NYC and on a farm.

We each ordered the 3 course tasting. I was about to jump at the Farmer's 7 course tasting where the menu is prepared just for you and off menu, but the entire table has to order that way.

I started with a yummy pickled ramp gin martini. Had never had anything like this before.
First two tasters were a pork breaded cutlet on a stick, and a mini 'burger' of beat paste on crunchy dough.

We then received mixed greens with a 'farmers' egg - something they are known for. Dreamy medium boiled then breaded deep fried egg. Have no idea how they did this, amazing.

Next I had the hake in pea and asparagus sauce. This was the some of the best piece of fish I have ever eaten. The peas were sweet and the asparagus was crunchy. When i had eaten most of the solids, I has a nice fresh green fish soup. My girlfriend has the gnocchi with the morels. She said it was great.

By this time, we had ordered a half bottle of the Borarolo. A nice complement (I like bold wines), but a bit spend-y for a half bottle ($52).

Next up was the third course: she had the chicken and I had the veal. Her chicken was succulent, and I had never had a chicken breast as dense as this before. Such strong flavor and a nice crisp on the skin.

But oh no - my veal. Center was really tough. I confirmed with the presentation waiter that this was in fact the veal, and he could see that I was only eating around the center, so he took it away, handed me a menu and said - select something else with no hesitation. I felt bad, given you see everything your about to eat as you drive in. So to think, this was messed up somewhere along the way to end up as waste didn't sit well with me. I will probably never eat veal again.

The veal was replaced with the Berkshire pork. Quite tasty, and dense meat (like the chicken) with a side of pork belly/bacon? The pork was over salted (and I like salty pork) and the belly/bacon was cold. The meat was on top of something like hominy that had very little flavor. Over all, the two 'land' proteins were a disappointment.

For desert I had a rhubarb compote with goat cheese and fresh honey. Great flavor profile. The cheese was almost like ice cream (waitress called it their cheesecake). We also had cappuccinos, which were also excellent.

Given the effort to get there, and the disappointment in the two proteins, it will be a long time before we will go back. I am really happy we went, and the meal will definitely be something to remember, just wish the middle of the meal hadn't been derailed.



Here are some lovely pictures of the food and the place. (Its beautiful in Terrytown.

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