It felt good to be back in New York State. I flew from Chicago to Albany, rented a car, and went directly to my favorite Italian Pastry Shop, Villa Italia in Schenectady, NY. They are one of the few places my Dad and I can still find pasticiotti, so whenever I am in the area, I have to buy a few. Just like at the Stockholm Pie Shop in Wisconsin, I like to make sure I have dessert in order before I go rushing into dinner.
The next stop was Huyck Preserve for their Pizza Beach Party featuring BeGolden Farms Pizza. I had been following this farm on Instagram for a while and it worked out perfectly that I could combine a visit to one of their events with my own personal visit to see extended family in the area. I drove through the windy roads and County Highways near the Hudson and Mohawk River Valleys to meet up with a crew of family. Our group consisted of several carfuls of people traveling from New Jersey, Amsterdam, NY, Rochester, NY, and Montreal!
There was a little confusion about if a membership was required, so my Mom had called ahead and, of course, made friends with one of the employees that helped answer her questions. The employee on the phone let my mom know that the hiking trails were great and the waterfall was really nice to see. Since I was the first to arrive by over an hour, I took my mother’s advice and hiked on some of the trails. Unlike the midwest, there were actually some hills to hike up and down. I occasionally would realize that I was wearing a goofy grin as I hiked the trails to the waterfall. It felt good to be in New York and not at work.
I was back at the Beach and reading a book while enjoying the beautiful location when the Be Golden Mobile Oven pulled in and began setting up. I was excited to see them arrive, but decided to give them some time before eagerly introducing myself. Shortly after they arrived, the scent of a fire being stoked in an oven that has been used to make many a pizza spread over the beach. My parents arrived with all the Pizza Farm amenities that I had been unable to bring on the plane.
We went over together when our set-up was complete and had a chance to say hello to Farmer Marymichael and Chef Pat. The smells and the menu listings were making me so hungry! It was nice to talk with Marymichael about her business and her experiences at Farmers Markets in the region and what had worked and what they were changing.
The rest of our party arrived one car at a time and we put in our pizza order. Marymichael helped deliver them to our table, two at a time. I was most excited for the white pizza with garlic, ricotta, and kale. And it did not disappoint. Even a couple of our guests that I think were skeptical at first, ended up having a second slice. The Cherry Bomb with cherry tomatoes was also a hit. The cheese and the pepperoni also disappeared quickly. Marymichael had told us that they didn’t originally do pepperoni, but NY pizza eaters insisted that they get some, so they complied with the demand.
It was special for me, because some of my extended family that have never been to a Pizza Farm made the trip all the way to the Preserve. And they told me that they loved the pizza and would look for it at events and around their area. And we all had the chance to sit in our camp chairs in the late summer sinshine around Lake Myosotis, enjoying the scenic view, each other’s company, Italian pastries, Canadian beer, and fresh, hot, delicious pizza.
It was such a beautiful setting, awesome people, esp the birthday Gal, and delicious pizza!!!