These days, I'm making a habit of going to Forts Ferry Farms' pop up markets. I was introduced to a new-to-me herb, cilantro-like, from Peru. It is even more punchy than cilantro. I don't remember the name of it. Use sparingly. Heirloom tomatoes - I bought a flat of them so I made gazpacho and a fresh tomato sauce (using Marcella Hazan's recipe). I also ate some raw - still warm with a little salt. Tomatoes define the taste of summer. Peaches - this is the first year FFF is offering their own peaches. I don't know what kind of peach it is. It is smaller, the flesh more delicate with a more pronounced flavor. The memoir, Epitaph for a Peach, by David Mas Matsumoto, came to mind when I tasted it. This peach wasn't grown to be hearty and built to withstand the rigors of transport, it was grown to be flavorful; to be eaten and savored. I'm so glad FFF is here to remind us how produce should taste. I'd almost forgotten. read more

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I knew nothing about this place when my wife suggested for a surprise lunch on a Saturday afternoon, and we had to rush over as they have limited hours. It was cold and raining outside and I was happy to get out of it and relax. Sadly, I quickly found out her surprise involved eating outside under a tent in the cold and rain on a November day. Sigh. At least they had blankets on the benches. We ordered in the far tent and the menu board was both helpful (it listed everything in each entree, including onions) and annoying (it indicated no substitutions were allowed, including onions). Not to be deterred, I picked the pepperoni pizza with hot honey, basil and Calabrian chili peppers. My wife ordered the Margherita pizza. Both were ready in about 15 minutes, but upon delivery to our table it became clear that a couple of things were off. First, my wife's pizza was cold and mine was pipping hot. Second, mine had so much basil- which in places was left in 2-3 leaf bunches- that perhaps they just cleaned out the pantry for the last order of the day. The crust in spots were burned, but I could live with that. However, it was so floppy that it couldn't be picked up under any condition. Everything but the outer inch of crust was like a thin wet tortilla. And their plastic cutlery wasn't up to the challenge, ripping the pizza toppings off and turning my pizza into a casserole. That being said, the flavors were wonderful on my pizza. The hot honey made for a really tasty flavor balance, and the copious amounts of curling pepperoni were a nice change of pace from the cheap stuff. The peppers were good too, and I wish I could source some locally. My wife's pizza was okay, though the whole mozzarella clumps reminded of dollops of Ricotta and they were very cold as if they were added after baking. Odd. I don't mind paying for expensive pizza if it is good. I am also not a pizza snob and will gladly eat subpar pizza. But, to overpay ($26 for mine alone) for pizza that is just a mess in a cardboard box rubs me the wrong way. The same goes for buying ($24) a cold pizza. The dessert we ordered was a Paris-Brest, and being a choux fan I absolutely loved it. Delicious with hints of coffee, almonds, nuts, and some flavorings I couldn't place, I would quickly come back here just for that. As for their pizza, I just don't know. On a nice pleasant day it would be fun, but too many mistakes on our pizzas makes me leery of ordering them again for those prices. read more

This place has a quaint country farm atmosphere and had it not been pouring rain during our visit I'm sure we would've enjoyed it even more. I really like the concept of this place and what they're doing but I also expect the food to be perfect if I'm going to pay $24-$26+ for a 12" neopolitan style pizza. All the ingredients were fresh and good quality but the execution for both pizzas was lacking. Pepperonni- homemade sauce, copious amounts of Pepperonni, fresh basil, red chilis and hot honey. Well balanced but over dressed and crust turned into a soggy mess. Margherit- homemade sauce was great, crust was thin and crispy with char, copious amounts of fresh basil with fresh mozzarella and dank oil. The fresh mozzarella was good but totally cold. I understand that maybe due to the cooking time for this style of pizza it wouldn't be all melted but I would expect it to be warm. I asked about the oil and was told its very good but no further explanation was given. I wish it had been explained further as bitter etc since I found it off-putting. The daily special dessert was beyond decadent and delicious. Crunchy, creamy, buttery, salty and sweet... I would definitely recommend. This farm is making fresh farm to table fair and for the most part excellent neopolitan pizzas and other weekly specials using ingredients they grew themselves. I hope they can improve their execution slightly for the price point. read more

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Interesting boutique farm stand hampered by limited hours and, on the three occasions we've stopped by, very low stock of vegetables. I appreciate having organic and heirloom available locally and we'll keep stopping by periodically as we can to see if things are more available, but it's a little too hit or miss to do anything but treat it as a special occasion type thing. I wish they had a CSA, which would be a delight if they could populate a full box every week during the season. read more

Forts Ferry Farm - Some seriously boutique hours makes this place a little hard to patronize. - Farmers Market Near Me - Latham, New York

This place could sell canned vegetables and I'd be a fan. Seriously, I am an absolute sucker for the environment of a place. Sadly, visually appealing and the Capital Region don't go always go hand in hand. When I can get a great product woven into an Instagram dream.....and it supports an organic business.... I'm unabashedly in. First heard of the farm from a billboard in Latham. The marketing caught my eye; font and logo. Finally made it over on Sunday when I read they offer bagels. Upon arriving I did not want to leave. I loved everything I was seeing. How was I in Latham? The entire farm and associated buildings l, landscape, fencing, are so well designed. So enticing. My Pinterest Urban Farm board came to life. The selection of veggies was minimal but I found the prices to be surprisingly doable. I'm not going to fault them for selection. It's an organic farm not a hothouse. You get what you get. That's the beauty. I will go back just to try whatever is available. In addition to the veggies there are dry goods that are chic and fabulous and more than I would spend but I love admiring them. And then there are the baked goods. I think getting a bag of pea shoots means I can get a bagel. And a cookie. The toffee cookie was one of the best cookies I ever ate. The bagel reminded me of home where real bagels are taken for granted because they are everywhere. It was soft on the inside and chewy on the outside. I don't often eat flour and this has made that dietary choice harder to follow. The only bummer was they didn't have a basic cream cheese option at the time and they didn't have butter. I get it. It's not a deli! Go home and eat your bagel there. But the environment was so beautiful and it wasn't raining (for once) and I didn't want to leave. I don't think it would be too much to ask to keep some organic butter patties on hand. The prewrapped kind. Solving this problem by bringing my own next time. Oh, here's a second bummer, no shade when I was there. I can see a very hot day being impossible to handle if you want to sit outside and not melt. Just a beautiful spot. I didn't want to leave. read more

If you needed another excuse to head to Latham, here you go. Emma Hearst and John Barker are growing heirloom produce on 30 acres and selling it onsite from a farm stand open six days a week. No spray. I just picked up Turkish orange eggplants, baby shogoin turnips, Korean silver line melon, avocado squash and an accordion tomato. While you pay you can ask prep questions of the former chef. Turkish orange eggplants aren't bitter so no need to salt them. The silver line melon is good in sweet and savory preparations. And so on. Nice housewares and logo goods also sold on site. I'll stop writing. Just go and you'll see for yourself. It's magic. I'm not worthy. Time to get worthy. read more

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Unfortunately, I'll be amazed if this place survives. There's only so much market appeal in the Albany area for an upscale organic grower of heirloom and exotic vegetable varieties. The problem is the price reflects the price of production, which might work if in a larger metro area or if you're principally supplying local chefs/restaurants. I just don't see a lot of traffic for this concept in an off the beaten path section of Latham. We'll see, but I just don't see the business case. In the meantime, we'll periodically stop in to sample whatever they happen to be harvesting, as everything we've tried from this farm has been fresh and delicious. read more

Only farm stand in the area with a wide selection of beautiful heirloom vegetables that you don't normally see sold. Organically grown on site without and pesticides or sprays in the fields right behind the farm stand. Some highlights are the avocado squash, Korean melon, yellow tomatillos,and tropeana onions. Definitely one of Latham's hidden gems. read more

This is thee BEST farm stand for exotic, beautiful produce that you simply will not find anywhere else. They offer so many delicious things that I've never even heard of. Go once and you'll be back for more. You won't find them at farmer's markets, you'll have to make the trip...sooo worth the trip. read more

Forts Ferry Farm - Turkish eggplant (on the left) is fantastic on the grill! - Farmers Market Near Me - Latham, New York

You won't find better heirloom vegetables anywhere. I wish they were open year round. My family eagerly looks forward to when they reopen in the spring/summer read more

Wow!! What a awesome farm stand. They have a variety of heirloom produce. You can see the fields behind the stand where they grow their products which by the way is all spray free. If you're looking for some unique tomatoes, squash,onions,carrots,cucumbers, eggplant, and a large variety of fresh herbs (which they cut for you right there on the spot)definitely check this place out. They have much more to come for the fall lineup.They also know there stuff on how to prepare some of their unique offerings so if you don't know what to do with "avocado squash" just ask. read more