“Food, to a large extent, is what holds a society together, and eating is closely linked to deep spiritual experiences.” – Peter Farb
New Year’s Eve 2024. It has been a tradition for my husband and I to go away for New Years. One of our favorite New Year’s getaways is traveling down South Jersey to Cape May! This year we decided to try Beach Plum Farm’s New Year’s Eve Farm to Table Dinner. Beach Plum Farm is located in West Cape May, N.J. Established in 2008 by owners Curtis Bashaw and Will Riccio, this working farm is open to the public.
Since 2008, Beach Plum Farm has grown to produce over 100 kinds of fruits and vegetables as well as chickens, eggs and Berkshire Hogs. The Farm provides produce and meats to local Cape May restaurants such as The Ebbitt Room (one of my faves, see a previous post on it), the Blue Pig Tavern, the Rusty Nail, the Boiler Room, and Louisa’s Café .
I first wanted to mention the location. The ambiance was very cool – rustic and festive. Definitely getting the farm vibe! The staff was super friendly and hospitable. They provided a chill and laid back experience 😏 Loved the firepit! It added a nice touch to our beautiful and crisp evening!
Before we headed to our sit down dinner, we had a cocktail hour. Blown away! I did not expect the variety and abundance of it. Let’s start with the crabcakes. They were delicate in texture and flavorful. The sauce on top was creamy and added depth to these delectable treats. The Beef Tartare meat was very fresh, tender, and packed with flavor. The taste of the tartare was a perfect medley of sweet, savory, and acidity. The deviled eggs were creamy and tasty! The little crab puffs were airy and the crab had a creaminess to them. The Brisket, sitting on top of flatbread, was seasoned nicely with a slight smokey flavor. It was very tender! The shrimp and oysters were my personal favorites and I could not get over how fresh tasting they were! Fantastic Hors d’oeuvres overall!
The sit down dinner was such an awesome experience! From beginning to end, it was delicious and plentiful. Everything was very fresh! To start, the eggplant in the salad was crispy and tasted amazing. (the staff refused to give up their secret of how they cooked this eggplant to perfection 😂) The farmhouse chicken pate was next, served over a fresh baked brioche. While it was creamy and nicely seasoned, it was a bit heavy and “earthy.” It wasn’t my favorite dish of the night, and I wound up leaving a little of it. However, my husband, who was a bigger fan of the pate, ate his entire portion so pate people would like it! Next up were the scallops which had great flavor and just melted in my mouth. They had a wonderful, tasty sear on them. The roasted sweet potato had a sweet and creamy flavor profile to them, with just the right amount of saltiness. The bone-in pork loin… OMG it was amazing! The taste was salty, smokey and it felt I was eating a hunk of bacon. Dessert was “holiday” carrot cake. At this point, I was about to explode with all the food we ate, but I had to eat this cake. The icing was light and creamy with bursts of lime zest. The cake itself was moist, not too sweet with a good amount of carrot flavor. Wound up eating the whole cake and it was yummy.
Our Farm to Table experience was excellent! The food, was fabulous and abundant. My only complaint is that I wish I had a bigger stomach.🤣 I loved the variety of fresh ingredients and spices they used for this meal. You can definitely taste the love and passion in everything the prepared for this meal. I especially loved the family style sit down dinner. Having dinner with others was fun, because we had the opportunity to share a meal, meet some awesome people, and ring in the New Year in a very unique way. I would definitely do this again and recommend anyone to try this. Beach Plum Farm does the Farm to Table series throughout the year. Do keep in mind that the tickets are pricey. However for the amount of food, the quality of it, and the service, it was well worth it!
Thank you for reading my review and continue to chomp away!
Chomping Chica