On a recent trip to New Hampshire I stumbled upon a wonderful organic farm named Longhaul Farm. This farm was complete with a New England specialty shop offering a wide variety of products from local farmers and artisans. In addition to being an organic farm, it offers Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). As I was poking around, the farmer approached me to introduce himself. We had a wonderful conversation and I learned all about the Farm and discovered a hidden treasure, its Pavilion in the Woods!
The Pavilion in the Woods offers a unique dining experience to the public. Whether its a Farm Dinner complete with local farm to table foods, a BBQ or brunch the experience is amazing. Set in the woods the pavilion is spacious and offers a rustic building for inside dining as well. When we arrived we were excited to hear a local band playing, a camp fire blazing and a very festive atmosphere.
We settled in and chose to try the local ribs and shrimp. The food was fresh and delicious. Sides were amazing, the salad had nasturtium from the garden offering a peppery flavor. The kids loved roasting S'mores after dinner. The dinner was BYOB but they offered locally brewed sodas, I tried the Blueberry and it was delicious.
As we gathered around the camp fire we got to meet people local to the area which was a real treat. Feeling close to nature and full of the local flavors of New Hampshire we left the dinner as happy campers.
Longhaul Farm will be offering public events in the winter. "Snowshoe, Walk, Hike...and Real Food Lunches" will be held on Saturdays and Sundays from January 1 to March 16. "Full Moon Dinners and Moonlight Hikes" will be held monthly.
If traveling to the Squam Lakes region of New Hampshire, The Pavilion in the Woods at Longhaul Farm is a unique dining experience not be missed.
Longhaul Farm at Squam Lake
Be careful. Although much of the produce is indeed local some of it comes from far away, specifically apples from New Zealand and plums from Chile. If they cant get "local organic" from their distributor they go for just "organic" which often means it has traveled a long distance.
ReplyDeleteThank you, you bring up a very good point. Consumers need to be careful when buying produce. Often times consumers are under the impression that just because they are visiting a farm stand everything offered is harvested on that particular farm or close by. On my visit I spoke with the farmer who assured me that all the produce was either harvested at Longhaul or from local New England growers. It is important that consumers ask questions as to where the produce they are buying comes from. To meet a demand farmers will do what you say by going for "organic," and it is true this produce may have traveled a distance. It has been my experience that the farm will disclose this information to the consumer and the feeling I got from the folks at Longhaul was that they are honest about where their produce comes from. Thank you for your comment it is always good to get full disclosure! Longhaul is a special place that is promoting local growers as well as their own!
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