Search

From Farm to Table at Heartland Brewery

Jon Bloostein, CEO of Heartland Brewery, is considered NYC's Godfather of craft beer. Today, he also harvests vegetables for Heartland Brewery & Chophouse in Times Square.

Bloostein founded Heartland Brewery in 1995. After winning three medals for his Farmer Jon's Oatmeal Stout at the Great American Beer Festival, "Farmer Jon" became a recognized face in the beer community.

But these days, he's more than just a caricature in ads and on pint glasses. He's Farmer Jon, and takes the term farm-to-table, truly to heart. Every weekend since May, Bloostein spends sun-up to sun-down in his 1,000 square foot vegetable garden on his 90 acre property in upstate New York planting, pruning and harvesting more the 33 different types of fruits and vegetables, that are served weekly at Heartland Brewery and Chophouse in Times Square.

His favorite organic tomatoes (with some heirloom varieties) are harvested by the bucketful every weekend. Currently he's growing nine types: Supersonic, Beef Master San Marzano, Blue Beach, Big Boy, Yellow Cherry, Red 100 Cherry, Ruby Gold, Tommy Toe Cherry and Heirloom Old German. In addition to tomatoes, he grows spinach, broccoli, collards, 6 types of peppers, 3 types of squash, Golden Gopher melons, tri-colored beans, Romaine lettuce, snap peas and numerous herbs & spices including Thai basil.

"At 5 years old, I sold BURPEE seeds door-to-door. In high school, I landscaped my parent's house and set up vegetable gardens for neighbors. Unfortunately, two trees on my terrace in the city simply didn't do the trick, so I bought this farm 3 years ago and I'm playing in the dirt again! It's great to share the fruits of my labor as people love the produce, as much as I love growing it."

As Bloostein is evolving so is Heartland Brewery, which is now offering Farmer Jon's vegetables in unique dishes on a special organic menu (while they last) each week. Varying each week depending on the harvest, these dishes will be curated by Chef Rich Pietromonaco and served only in Heartland Brewery and Chophouse (127 W. 43rd St) due to limited supply. Stop in today. For more information, visit heartlandbrewery.com

Bringing a group to NYC? Free planning services

Let us know what you are looking for and we will try to connect you directly and get discounts.

Enter the code: 3972

More Articles