For family proprietors Dan, David and Laureen Barber, Blue Hill is the name both for their two restaurants, and for the farm that inspired them.
"I used to walk up Blue Hill Road every week, for years; sometimes everyday. I loved Blue Hill Farm more than anything in the world.
"Back then it was a dairy run by two brothers. What a mess! They had cows pasturing in the front yard, for god's sake... And the barn and house were run-down and so dirty I couldn't believe it. And you know what? I loved it. I loved the open pastures, I loved the backdrop of blue hills, I loved that I felt like a queen every time I came up here.
"But whenever I told the brothers I wanted to buy the farm, they just laughed. ‘Lady,' they'd say, ‘This farm has been in our family for three generations. We're never selling.'
"I'd return the next week, and they'd say the same thing. ‘Never selling.' This went on for years.
"Then one day I arrived at the top of the hill and one of the brothers came running over to me. ‘Ma'am, do you still want to buy this farm?' I couldn't believe it. He didn't even let me answer. ‘My brother and I have gotten into the biggest fight. If we don't sell it now we're going to kill each other.' I told them I was interested. ‘Ma'am,' he said, ‘we're selling it now, or forget it. Right now.'
"So I said yes. I hadn't even been inside the farmhouse, and I didn't know where the property began and where it ended. But it didn't matter. I just knew this was the place."
~Ann Marlowe Straus, as told to her grandchildren David and Dan Barber
Blue Hill
The original Blue Hill restaurant, opened in 2000, is located in Greenwich Village, New York City. Hidden three steps below street level, the restaurant occupies a landmark "speakeasy" just off of Washington Square Park.
Blue Hill's menu showcases local food and a wine list with producers who respect artisanal techniques. Ingredients come from nearby farms, including Blue Hill Farm in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, a forty-five minute drive from New York City. Guests can choose from the regular menu or opt for the "Farmer's Feast," a five-course tasting inspired by the week's harvest.
