Carefree Gardens

Wow! What a beautiful escape with food for the mind and the body. Mary and her family so welcoming and knowledgeable. Can’t wait to come back.

This gem, hidden a short drive outside the bustle of downtown Cooperstown, is a slow food restaurant tucked inside a beautiful nursery/​garden store’s greenhouse. Surrounded by plants, flowers and peruvian arts and crafts, the beauty of the surroundings is dwarfed only by the beauty and deliciousness of this little café’s offerings. I brought my out-​of-​town visitors here this week and I returned again today with the next group of guests. It is definitely the tastiest food I’ve had here all summer — we’re visiting from Princeton, NJ. The Café is run by the two sisters whose parents own the nursery. They’re world-​travelers during the off-​season, and have become restauranteurs in the summer. They have no culinary training but seem to have some lucky ideas how to make scrumptious food with an eco heart.
The basil-​walnut pesto makes my mom’s (SORRY!) pale in comparison. That is a serious compliment. They have locally sourced and organic ingredients whenever possible which they can tell you all about. The place is vegetarian, but doesn’t boast that fact, and I haven’t missed the animal protein in their creative sandwiches and salads at all. The botanical drinks we started our meal with were amazing. Lavender and Elderberry (two types) spritzers and a Strawberry Mint Lemonade were to die for. Their smoothies are fresh and really light and low sugar, so not necessarily a meal replacement but a meal addition for me. The chocolate mint and lemon rosemary cookies are large and crumbly and heavenly — somewhere between a brownie bar and a cookie, featuring the best qualities of each — don’t end a meal without one. I haven’t tried it yet, but they have homemade ice cream and crumbles some days too. I need an excuse to return, I guess.
What a sweet little spot. I hope they do well. The nicest ladies!