I have been looking forward to having a meal at Re Farm Café for months. Although the owners, Monica and Duke Gastiger have probably been looking forward to this for years. And it was Worth. The. Wait. Beautifully set on 57 acres of farmland close to the airport; the farm’s mission, among other things, is to provide a really great, unique dining experience. Food you enjoy at Re Farm Café is either grown on site from the surrounding fields or sourced locally. They even have livestock: ducks, pigs, sheep and chickens! Its really more than just a farm and more than just a place to eat; its an experience and a place that gives back to the land and community. I’ve been getting a taste of the meal to come, as I’ve participated in their CSA (Community Sourced Agriculture) program since early this summer, receiving fresh produce every other week.
Upon arrival, we were given a brief tour and some history of the building. As a State High alumnus, I was happy to learn that the old wood floor from the High School stage has found a new home as the flooring in part of the building. There were other touches throughout the building that utilized Reclaimed wood or pieces from around the area. As an Architect, I also appreciated the beautifully detailed spaces and the attention to framing the wonderful views just outside the windows.
Reservations are easy to make: RESERVE HERE They have a lot of reservation options including: 3-course dinner, 5-course dinner (both of which you can reserve for an early time slot or late time slot or, (and this is what we did), sit at the Chef’s Counter) They also have Brunch on SATURDAY’s yay!
The Chef’s counter is a long semi-arched counter that seats up to eight. You are seated at bar stool height and have a view into the kitchen and get to talk with Chef Bill McPartland who was great by the way. If you do not choose the chef’s counter, you are seated at tables with waiter service. *The only downside I would say about the chefs counter is that if you are there with more than 2 people, its hard to have a conversation with the rest of your party. So if you plan on dining with a group of 8 at the counter just know you will not be able to talk to everyone in your group. I would suggest reserving a table for your larger groups. But watching the kitchen was fun, and you do get to interact with the Chef (sigh my dream) which was fun.
lets eat!
Since the ingredients are sourced locally, the menu changes weekly depending on what is in season and what is available. And, unlike some pre-fix menus, you are offered choices throughout the meal – but there is no menu or al la carte service, which I think is the best part. Our party of four was served the same welcome bite, soup, and salad but were then given choices for our 3rd (intermezzo bite) 4th, (main course) and 5th course, (dessert). So you do have the opportunity to make some choices or order a non-meat main. We opted to each order something different so that we could taste everything. Also good to know is that its BYOB; they are happy to cork your bottle and get you glasses and serve.
The food, of course, was really really good. Fresh and local with flavor combinations that were special and unique. My two favorites of the night were the soup, which was roasted eggplant and tomato with a thyme yogurt sauce, and the Seared scallops (from Main Bay & Berry Co.) served over a snap pea risotto and a sauce that was most likely sprinkled with unicorn dust.
For dessert we were given the option of either a cheese plate which included three types of cheese, grapes, bread, honeycomb, and jams Or homemade peach ice cream served with fresh berries. The peaches were from Way Fruit Farm and the cream from Meyer Dairy.
I cannot recommend making a reservation to Re Farm Café enough. It truly is a great setting, a great initiative, great food and a great staff. We were able to speak with both Monica and Duke Gastiger, the Chef, of course, and many other staff during our visit. You can sense the genuine excitement and love of the mission from each person we interacted with and you could certainly taste it as well.
Centre County Eats 
I’m ready to go!!
Mom
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