FARM-TO-TABLE DINING: BLUE HILL.

I have been wanting to try Blue Hill ever since I learned of its existence. The concept of the restaurant spawns from the Blue Hill Farm in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The inspiration for opening the restaurant in New York was to celebrate local food and local agriculture by having all the produce sent from Blue Hill Farm to their kitchen in Manhattan. The result - amazing food made with fresh, local ingredients. Last weekend, a friend came to visit and I couldn't think of a better place to jump-start his trip. We left our meal around 11:30PM and the restaurant was still fully-seated - some tables even just sitting down for dinner. The inauspicious restaurant certainly draws quite a crowd, even that of President Obama.

You will have to forgive me because my poor recollection of the food in the blurbs ahead will be quite embarrassing. A combination of an awful memory and eating out too often has caused me to forget most of the little details of my meal. I admittedly only half-wore my food blogger cap that evening, but since the meal was such a great one I still wanted to share the (crappy) images with all of my readers. The most important thing is that I remember enjoying every bite, being happy with all of my selections, and leaving in high spirits (which is more than I can say for a majority of restaurants I have experienced).


We started with a complimentary canape of beet burgers!! The buns were slightly sweet, toasted, and so darn cute. How do they make buns so adorable!?!?


I ordered the Root Vegetable Burger appetizer - which was topped with a sunny side up farm egg, Stone Barns butter lettuce, and red cabbage ketchup. This was not your typical Boca Burger.


The Poached Hake entree was served over pressed carrots and almonds and surrounded by a drizzle of warm vegetable vinaigrette.


For dessert, we opted to share the Chocolate Bread Pudding with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream. The square of chocolate heaven was topped off with a thin crispy layer like that of creme brulee.


We were then presented with a gratis tray of coconut covered marshmallows and chocolate truffles to end our meal on a truly high note.

The farm-to-table concept is definitely appreciated, the atmosphere in the Garden Room was perfect for catching up with an out-of-town friend, the service was spot-on, and the food was excellent in both quality and flavor. Blue Hill definitely rates as a highly-recommended restaurant on my list. Hopefully my dream of one day eating at Blue Hill at Stone Barns (30 miles north of the city) will come true - who wants to go on a field trip!?!?!