This weekend marked the 1st annual Philadelphia Farm and Food Festival! In contrast to other food festivals I've been lucky enough to attend, it put emphasis firmly on where and how we get our food. Think ginormous farmers' market along with art, lots of delicious samples, and education on sustainable and local food options. Here are some of my favorite discoveries from Philly Farm Fest.
Yellow Springs Farm: Cloud Nine. This farm specializes in artisan goats milk cheeses, but Cloud Nine, a bloomy rind pasteurized cow's milk cheese, was my favorite of their tastings. It has a nice pungency and bite at the end.
Misty Hills Farm and Farm Fromage: Farm Fromage has a partnership with local dairies to quality check and distribute their cheeses. Their Mushroom Leek Jack is deliciously earthy and stinks of umami, and we loved the Tomme de Costenoga, a raw goats milk tomme with briny notes and an dusty-tasting, edible rind.
Shellbark Hollow Farm: Sharp #2. Shellbark Hollow is another goat dairy. Their fresh chevre, especially Sharp #2, had a nice texture and saltiness, and their aged goats were oozing, sharp and tangy.
Birchrun Hills Farm: Run by Sue Miller (above) and her family, Birchrun Hills makes (arguably) the best raw milk cheeses in the area. Not only was Sue great, incredibly knowledgable and really obviously crazy about her work, but Birchrun's cheese selection was both diverse and delicious! We loved her buttery Birchrun Blue (my notes just read "tasty! really tasty!!"), but delighted in her reserve cheese, Red Cat. It's a small wheel format of her pressed-curd cheese Fat Cat, washed in brine to promote bacteria growth. We brought a wheel home to enjoy with some apricot butter from Tait Farm Foods (also at Philly Farm Fest!). It's creamy and rich, the unctuous paste contrasting really nicely with the grainy, woody, slightly bitter rind for a really pleasant interplay of textures.
Other Foods We Loved
Little Baby's Ice Cream: Earl Grey Sriracha and Blue Bottle Coffee Toffee. When this ice cream cart opens its first permanent location in Fishtown, I will definitely be at the front of the line.
John & Kira's: Chocolate Figs. I'm not huge on sweets, but the boy loves them, so when he snuck away to look at John and Kira's chocolate stand, I wasn't too surprised to see him come back with this little box of goodies. Spanish figs, filled with whiskey-infused chocolate ganache, and dipped in dark chocolate. These are all things I love, so wasn't surprised that I became instantly obsessed with these little treats. Good thing John and Kira's has a stand every weekend at the local Rittenhouse Farmer's Market!
Can't wait until next year for the 2nd Philly Farm Fest!
