When visiting a friend in Irvington, we decided to dine at Stone Barn for lunch and a walk around the grounds. The rain negated that plan! We had prebooked and paid for lunch at The Cafeteria, an intriguing place within Stone Barn where you gather your meal onto a tray.

While doing so, I ran into Chef Dan Barber. He’s the one who spearheaded the farm-to-table movement. Dan received the James Beard “Best Chef New York City” in 2006 and “Outstanding Chef ” in 2009. That same year, he was named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people worldwide. Ferran Adrià (of elBulli fame) penned the Time piece, mentioning Dan’s use of vegetables and animals from the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture.

The dishes showcase their freshest seasonal ingredients. The food is protein-lite, although we did have cured sliced meat with one of the salads. The freshly baked seeded bialy came heaped with various salads.

The Cafeteria at Stone Barns is a casual communal space that opened about two years ago. It’s an affordable meal ($42-$48, depending on the day) that you gather on your lunch tray in the cafeteria line. Dinner at the 2-Michelin-star Blue Hill is pricier. It’s $348 to $398, depending on your seating time. There are no printed menus. Both are the chef’s choice. Reservations and pre-payment required.

The Cafeteria at Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Pocantico Hills
630 Bedford Rd
Tarrytown, NY 10591
bluehillfarm.com