PLATES & GLASSES
48
By Margaret McCormick
Wake Robin Farm will welcome visitors during its second annual “Wildflower Walk in the Woods’’ from noon to 2 p.m. SunTAKE day, April 27. The farm is on Brutus Road, in Jordan. Take a hay wagon ride from the field to the woods and look for Wake Robin, Trout Lily, Spring Beauty and Mayapple flowers. The event is free, and will take place rain or shine.
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Photos from Diamond Mill Catering Facebook.
LOCAL DAIRY FARMERS EXPAND TO ‘HAYSEED’ FOOD
ROADSIDE GRILL IN ONONDAGA CATERS TO OUTDOOR AND TAKEOUT CROWD
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s a caterer, Dan Seeley, executive chef and co-owner of Diamond Catering,will orchestrate many outdoor feasts and fetes this season — corporate picnics, graduation parties, weddings, class reunions, family reunions — you name it. But you don’t have to be on a guest list to sample some of Seeley’s signature spring and summertime fare. On April 14, Seeley and company debuted the Roadside Grill at Diamond Catering, then promptly had to shut it down for two days thanks to heavy rain and a (hopefully) last blast of snow. It’s a seasonal, outdoor kitchen and takeout operation at the Diamond home base and event center, at 4221 Fay Road, in the town of Onondaga. The grill will be open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday (weather permitting), offering fan favorites and an evolving list of summer specials as the season progresses. The launch menu features lobster macaroni and cheese, a house-ground sirloin burger “po’ boy” sandwich, bourbon beef, Vidalia chicken (favorites from the summertime/seasonal menu) and a classic Central New York sausage, pepper and onion sandwich. These offerings are available on their own or as a platter, with two side dishes. Sides include salt potatoes, french fries, macaroni salad and honey
04.23.14 - 04.30.14 | syracusenewtimes.com
garlic baked beans. A signature salad, available on its own or with grilled chicken, spotlights the Seeleys’ homemade blueberry vinaigrette dressing, which they also have bottled and available for purchase. One of the more unusual items on the menu is Seeley’s deep-fried, “Cajun-dusted” pickle chips, served with ranch dressing. Picnic seating is available for those who want to eat on the premises. After something simple to grab and go? There are Hofmann hot dogs and coneys. Seeley plans to roll out other customer favorites as the season rolls on: chicken riggies, sauerbraten with gingersnap gravy, house-made kielbasa, chicken and biscuits, etc. Diamond Catering is at the former Morey’s Mill. The Seeleys formerly operated a restaurant at the site, the Split Rock Grille. For more information, call 487-0647 or visit www.diamondcatering.us. SNT
How do farmers spend the winter? Dairy farming is a year-round operation. So Meg, Bruce and Hugh Schader, of Wake Robin Farm, in Jordan, spent the winter milking their cows, making yogurt and cheeses and bringing their products to market (primarily, the Central New York Regional Market). They also added a small commercial kitchen in their creamery building, and have been experimenting with products that complement their dairy products: chunky “energy cookies’’ with raisins and chocolate chips to go with their milk, maple-sweetened granola to spoon on yogurt or eat on its own and breads to go with their Farmer’s Fromage, Jordan Jack, Brutus Blue and other cheeses. “We chose the name ‘Hayseed Bakery’ to reflect the simple, wholesome nature of our baked goods,’’ the Schaders said in a recent newsletter. “We consider our bakery to be an extension of our home kitchen — we don’t make anything fancy, just real, nourishing food — things that we hayseeds eat daily on our farm.’’ The Schaders have been baking on Thursdays and Fridays in order to have fresh products for sale at the farm and market on the weekends. They are still in the “development phase’’ with baked goods and other items and welcome customer feedback and suggestions. Look for the Wake Robin stand in Shed A at the Regional Market, 2100 Park St., Syracuse, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. From May to October, find them in Shed C. For information about Wake Robin Farm, including directions, visit www. wakerobinfarm.org. SNT Margaret McCormick blogs about food at eatfirst.typepad.com. Email her at mmccormicksnt@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter at @mmccormickcny.