The Freshest Farm-to-Table Meal in New York City: Dinner at Edgemere Farm in Far Rockaway
The Freshest Farm-to-Table Meal in New York City: Dinner at Edgemere Farm in Far Rockaway
Most people don't think of New York City as a hotbed of urban farming, but there are a number of hidden pockets of agriculture scattered throughout the city’s five boroughs supplying local produce to everyone from neighborhood residents to Michelin-starred restaurants. Case in point: Edgemere Farm, a half-acre of land in Far Rockaway, Queens, that grows everything from potatoes to raspberries to peppers.
At first glance, Far Rockaway may seem like a strange location for a small farm—the peninsula on which it resides is known more as a summer beach getawaythan a bastion of fresh produce. While Edgemere Farm is thriving several years after its 2013 opening, it took a great deal of effort to even make the land productive and arable.
“Originally the space where the farm stands housed a few bungalows, but during the 1970s a lot of people left the Rockaways and the city condemned the buildings that remained,” says Edgemere Farm co-founder, Matt Sheehan. “Before we arrived, the lot had been used as a place to park cars or change tires. We had a lot of work to do to get the land in usable shape.”
Four years later, though, the four-person team at Edgemere Farms grows more than 40 varieties of plants on the property, along with playing home to weekly farm stand markets. Edgemere also provides produce to more than ten area restaurants—the team makes deliveries in their cars, blasting the AC to preserve freshness.
While the farm’s focus is growing great produce, Sheehan and his team also host dinners on the property, each run by a different visiting chef. Edgemere Farm continues to host dinners almost weekly throughout the summer and most recently they teamed up with Grindhaus’ Erin Norris and chef Kevin Speltz, along with noted baker, and Matt’s wife, Jessie Sheehan, for the Hooked On Edgemere Farm dinner. Here's a look at what it's like to eat the freshest farm-to-table dinner in the city.
— Max Bonem