Chase the good life
Chase the good life
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The richness and comfort you’ll receive from Parisian Gnocchi are enough to warm your heart and touch your soul.
At The Bon Vivanter we celebrate travel, food, and culture. We’re based in New York City, and as much as we love the city that never sleeps, we love to explore.
From our home kitchen to countries around the world, we hope you will follow along.
It’s important to get out of the city. Breathe some fresh air. Listen to the sounds of the forest. I truly believe it’s our natural state.
Don’t get me wrong though. I love cities and cannot be gone from one for long. The efficiency and culture emanating from every city in the world is astounding and inspiring.
Whenever my family feels the itch to leave our home in New York City, but not stray too far, we often go to Harvest Moon Farm and Orchard. It’s just north of the city in North Salem, New York. From Manhattan, the farm is a little over an hour with no traffic.
We discovered this farm in 2020 around the height of the pandemic. Many of its activities are outdoors, which made it the perfect place not only to breathe fresh air, but not worry about COVID-19. From apple picking to its holiday light display, Harvest Moon has incredible events year-round, which I’ve detailed below.
Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and YouTube channel so you don’t miss future content on these events.
The farm has a restaurant with a usually extensive menu, although when we went recently it was more limited. The Farmhouse Burger is my favorite. They feature local produce and meat, both from the farm itself and from neighboring Hudson Valley farms. And their apple cider donuts covered in cinnamon sugar are absolutely mouthwatering.
Even if you don’t plan to eat or experience any of their activities, simply going just to browse the farm store is worth a trip. They have homemade pies and bread. Tons of local produce that change with the seasons. Their squashes are my favorite in the fall and winter, and their tomatoes are amazing come summer.
The farm store shelves are stocked with homemade jams, local honeys and maple syrups, and other interesting tchotchkes. I’ve bought holiday gifts here to send to my relatives who live outside New York state. The store is a great celebration of what the state has to offer.
Their hardscrabble cider is world famous. They have a number of varieties to try, but my favorite is the traditional dry cider (light, crisp, with notes of macintosh apples). The bar also features rotating kegs of New York draft beer. Not to mention a fine selection of bourbons and whiskies from local distilleries.
The bar has limited indoor seating, but an expansive patio just outside its doors. From umbrella-covered tables to adirondack chairs, there is ample seating for people to enjoy. There are also numerous picnic benches behind the farm store.
It’s the perfect setting to eat, drink, and enjoy nature.
Throughout the year the farm has a variety of fruit picking experiences. As of this writing, apple picking tickets are on sale for the fall. This was preceded by peach, blueberry, and strawberry picking.
Come October, the farm has a wonderful pumpkin patch. Our little guy was too small to enjoy it last year, but now that he’s walking, he’ll be ready for the 2022 experience.
For Thanksgiving, the farm sells turkeys. I think they raise them on site, but I’m not entirely sure. For the past two years we’ve purchased our turkey here. They’ve never disappointed.
Post-Thanksgiving the events continue. The orchard comes alive with a light show. They decorate the grounds for the holiday season. While you walk through the display they even offer treats and warm holiday drinks (alcoholic ones too!). Last year was our first time experiencing it, and we’ll definitely be back.
This is only a summary of some of the events that Harvest Moon hosts throughout the year. During the summers they have pizza nights that are very popular. We’ve yet to go, but it’s on our to do list. For a list of other events, check out the farm’s website.
There are other orchards in the North Salem area — including Outhouse Orchards across the street — but Harvest Moon is our favorite. They truly have it all here. From events to a beautiful farm store with great food and drink, there’s something here for adults and children to all enjoy.
We’ll be featuring more of this beautiful farm and the surrounding area in upcoming content, so make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and YouTube channel so you don’t miss any of it.
I am not Italian and I am not a Nonna. Simply a passionate home cook trying to get my toddler to eat a hearty meal with some vegetables (conveniently hidden). I’m American and it was my first time attempting a bolognese sauce recipe. I think …
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The richness and comfort you’ll receive from Parisian Gnocchi are enough to warm your heart and touch your soul.