Thanksgiving is all about traditions. For some of us in Westchester, one such tradition is picking up a turkey at Cortlandt Manor’s Hemlock Hill Farm (500 Croton Ave; 914.737.2810), an institution built on familial traditions. “We’re the oldest remaining livestock farm in Westchester,” says Laura DeMaria, whose grandfather Nicholas founded the 120-acre farm in 1939. Now owned by her father, John, the farm is among a handful of places where county residents can shop for humanely raised, high-quality birds. (This year, the farm expects to sell a record 2,000 pasture-raised, Broad Breasted White turkeys, and it’s highly recommended that you reserve by early November.)
As of September, the farm has something else to offer, too: an expanded and renovated farm store. In addition to being a point of sale for Hemlock Hill’s Angus beef, heritage chickens, Dorset lamb, and Yorkshire pork, the new market will also sell locally sourced produce, dairy, and gourmet items — everything you could need for your Thanksgiving table. Look out for local brands, including award-winning cheeses from the Hudson Valley’s Old Chatham Creamery, honey from Hudson River Apiaries in Verplanck, loaves of artisanal bread from Peekskill-based Journeyman Bakery, seasonal beers from Peekskill Brewery, and even flowers from Tiny Hearts Farm in Copake, NY.
“We continue to build on the traditions established by my father and his father before him,” says DeMaria. “We have had this turkey operation for over 40 years and continuously get the next generation of families coming to us from all over Westchester.”
