• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

The farm-to-table menu changes weekly at Fable, the dining room at Stone and Thistle Farm.   (Photo: Courtesy of Fable)

Sip one of seventeen custom tea blends ($2 per cup; $16 per 4-oz tin) at Tay Home (open Thursday–Sunday), a stylish but whimsical tea bar and design shop in the charming town of Andes. Try the Persian Rose, a Ceylon black blend with rose petals and cardamom, and enjoy vegetarian lunch options like the Nini Panini with refried beans, fresh greens, and cheese, served with quinoa salad ($10). You can also pick up eclectic gift items including colorful Nepalese felt slippers ($60), and handcrafted Buddha-head candles ($20).

Have a true farm-to-table meal at Fable, the light-flooded dining room at Stone & Thistle Farm. Saturday dinners ($50 for four courses, through Thanksgiving) and Sunday buffet brunches ($20, through Columbus Day) kick off with a tour of the farm. Menus change weekly, but a recent dinner menu featured Syrah-braised lamb shoulder and a pear tart with double maple whipped cream. The beer and wine list keeps it local with New York State’s Cooperstown Brewing Old Slugger ($4/bottle) and Arrowhead Springs Meritage Reserve ($8/glass) among the options.

Enjoy seasonal produce from the Lucky Dog Farm at Hamden Inn (dinner only, Tuesday–Saturday), which shares owners with the Lucky Dog Café (open daily for lunch) across the street. Gently priced daily specials like grilled cheese with soup and salad ($5) are available, but dishes like the meatloaf sandwich made with local grass-fed beef, sun-dried tomatoes, and homemade garlic mayo ($10) offer something more unique.

Published on Oct 3, 2011 as a web exclusive.