255841 Thu Sep 22 14:11:03 -0700 2005 13 20 Tristate Region 0 1354706 Hey there, It's still summer-warm, but sooner rather than later the air will crisp, apples will hang rich and fat with themselves, and it'll be time for apple cider and donuts. Where are your favorite orchards / places to have the good stuff? Preferably a place that fries the donuts before your eyes and has cider hot and cold to wet them down. Thu Sep 22 14:11:03 -0700 2005 0 Wallace Stevens 1 1354707 Blue Jay Orchards in Bethel, CT has pick-your-own apples...cider...pies and delicious little donuts. I don't think they fry them onsite anymore becuase of health code. They used to and you had to wait while they made them. Still quite good though. Thu Sep 22 14:16:48 -0700 2005 1354706 0 TrishUntrapped 1 1354709 We haven't shopped around much, but we've enjoyed Wright's Farm in Gardiner, NY. They do fry the donuts before your eyes, and when we went last year, the were delicious. Plenty of apple picking, a farmstand with a variety of pies and preserves and such, and not a lot of hoo-hah. Link: http://www.eatapples.com/ Thu Sep 22 14:41:10 -0700 2005 1354706 0 ASM_NY 1 1354712 Wilkens Fruit and Fir Farm in Yorktown, NY (Northern Westchester County, near the Taconic and Route 202) has pick your own apples and they also have delicious small cider doughnuts that they fry in front of you. Almost every year we go there and pick apples and have doughnuts (they also have cut your own Christmas trees for later in the year) Thu Sep 22 15:55:21 -0700 2005 1354706 0 Donna Gresh 2 1354791 I second Wilken's...the donuts are *great*, and the whole experience is wonderful. Pretty drive, beautiful orchard, and a tractor-pulled hay-ride out to the apple-picking. There are two markets with lots of other apple/farm products available. They also have a pumpkin patch (the pumpkins are cut but left where they grew) if you're in the market for that. Mon Sep 26 10:54:50 -0700 2005 1354712 0 Eva and Ziv 1 1354714 Mmmm...donuts! We like Salinger's Orchard in Brewster, on Guinea Road just off exit 8 of I-684. Each year we spend a weekend making about 10 apple pies for friends and relatives and to freeze for Thanksgiving and Xmas. Always get our apples and cider there, never been disappointed. Fresh hot donuts, hot and cold cider, lots of awesome pies, honey, produce, pumpkins, etc. There's also Outhouse Orchard on Hardscrabble Road in North Salem. Pick-your-own apples and a pumpkin patch (already cut off the vine). But it can be a zoo on weekends (officers directing traffic, lots of overblown SUVs, etc.). Thu Sep 22 17:05:36 -0700 2005 1354706 0 blazee 1 1354723 Breezy Hill Orchard and Bakery near Staatsburg... off Taconic at Salt Marsh Turnpike... then five minutes away. They may be making hard cider again starting this year. Finally... after several years of disasters and recovering from the fire... 40 varieties of heirloom apples to pick yourself or from their store... amazing pies and other baked goods and pastries... fresh unpasteurized sweet cider... they even plan to mill their own flour from grains grown by local farmers to use in their baked goods. Breezy Hill Orchard & Cider Mill 828 Centre Road/ Staatsburg, NY 12580 Tel: (845) 266-3979 Fax: (845) 266-5910 Link: http://www.breezyhillorchard.com/ Image: http://www.breezyhillorchard.com/images/farmpic.jpg Thu Sep 22 19:47:08 -0700 2005 1354706 0 JMF 2 1354813 Hey does Breezy Hill have donuts? We are heading east(from SF) next week and will be in the Rhinebeck area mid October. I grew up deading to Geiger's in NJ for donuts and cider. It raises the nostalgia bar for me just thinking about the possiblity of cider and donuts. Tue Sep 27 04:34:54 -0700 2005 1354723 0 roxie 3 1354815 You may want to call them to see what they have and if anyone is there. They are sometimes closed because everyone is at farmers markets. I don't think they do donuts... they have pies and tons of pastries... great pastry... their apple turnovers are amazing. They are still rebuilding after the fire two years ago and at times are overwhelmed. They are just about finished building a new cider mill for fresh cider and hard cider. I was there on Sunday and the apples and pears are almost at their peak. Another two weeks and they will be perfect. Tue Sep 27 08:18:11 -0700 2005 1354813 0 JMF 4 1354856 Just wanted to mention that in this months (Oct.) issue of House & Garden magazine there is a 4 page article on Breezy Hill Orchard. Thu Sep 29 13:23:38 -0700 2005 1354815 0 JMF 3 1354880 Wow! Geiger's was just down the road from me (I lived in Springfield)--and I grew up on their cider and donuts too. Had forgotten about them til now--thanks for the memory! Enjoy your East Coast jaunt--the Apple Hill area around Placerville north of SF is nice, but nothing beats real a New England autumn! Fri Sep 30 16:37:26 -0700 2005 1354813 0 dixieday 1 1354798 We went to "Weed's Farm" yesterday - lots of apples, pears, some grapes, pumpkins, and plums. All u-pick. They had the delicious fried while u wait cider doughnuts, .50 ea, a giant bag of apples/pears $14.00, free hayride, sand art ($2.00), goats to pet, and pumpkin paintng for the kids. And it was not too crowded. Marlboro NY. Mon Sep 26 12:49:38 -0700 2005 1354706 0 Michele Cindy 1 1354885 They don't have donuts (may or may not have cider, I know you can press some as an activity but I am not sure if they sell any) but we are big fans of Prospect Hill Orchards in Milton, NY (Ulster County, I think). They have low trees that you can pick apples from without ladders or poles, and they sell by the pound so you can buy as few or as many as you want. Some of their family members have opened a new cafe/bakery that you can have a picnic lunch delivered from (details on their website). There are a couple of farm stands on the way to/from the farm along Route 9W where you can get donuts and cider (Hepworth and one other whose name I forget). Link: http://www.prospecthillorchards.com/ Image: http://www.prospecthillorchards.com/index.html Fri Sep 30 22:18:45 -0700 2005 1354706 0 Bill 1 1354935 I stopped by Apple Hill Farm in New Paltz this past weekend and while the activities weren't overwhelming (there was a hayride, apple picking, and a small store), the cider donuts were out of this world. Perfectly crisp on the outside, but cakey on the inside, with just enough sprinkled sugar. There are a lot of other orchards/farmer's markets in the same town, so check it out if you're in the area. Link: http://www.applehillfarm.com/ Tue Oct 04 00:46:33 -0700 2005 1354706 0 m00ncakes