On the Farm

Greetings from Pennsylvania. For the next two weeks I’ll be reporting from my in-laws’ family farm in the south central part of the state. You may recall how I am a bit obsessed with DMA’s. Albany-Schenectady-Troy is just outside of the top 50. Johnstown-Altoona doesn’t make the top 100.

Things are different here.

The family makes two pilgrimages to the farm every year: one in the summer and the other over Christmas. But I’ve never stayed on the farm for such an extended period of time. And it will be interesting to see what kind of effect this has both on me, and my perceptions of Albany upon my return.

Will it seem better than the Albany, feeling much more cosmopolitan than my current country surroundings? Or will I stumble upon great little places even in this little backwater that put the much larger and relatively more affluent Albany to shame?

For starters, let’s chalk one up in the pro Albany camp.

There may be a more holy trinity of Capital Region food than pizza, wings and soft serve. But it’s escaping me right now. And I know that people will say the pizza is better closer to New York City, wings are better closer to Buffalo and soft serve can’t hold a candle to masterfully hand churned small batch ice creams. The point is well taken.

However, we should never forget that the versions of these foods we have in our region are better than most. And while each may be good on its own, put together, they make up a total greater than the sum of its parts.

There are some places in the world where they can get away with calling something that isn’t deep fried “Buffalo chicken.” Already I miss all of the pizza options available back home along with their staffers’ innate deep understanding of what makes a good buffalo wing.

It’s also amusing to be on the farm and miss On the Farm. But I think their dense soft serve has ruined me for much of the product sold at seasonal stands not just in the Capital Region, but around the country.

Please forgive the short post, but I’m tired from yesterday’s big drive. There’s also lots to do here, both from a family perspective, an eating perspective, and a catching up on long overdue blog work. Maybe I can even find some way to take a nap. But I’ll be back tomorrow.