Pasture At South Farms: A Food Park For Foodies And Fall Foliage Seekers

In The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong, his seminal analysis of corporate hierarchies, Laurence J. Peter opined: “If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.”

Not knowing where you’re going and ending up somewhere else, however, sounds like the perfect plan for a long drive through the countryside this fall. And here’s a suggestion about how to ensure that your leaf-peeping sojourn through the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut this fall does not go wrong – include Pasture in your autumn wanderings. This open-air food court in Morris is the brainchild of Ben Paletsky of South Farms, which has been owned by his family since the late 1940s. Formerly a dairy, the bucolic farmstead and its landmark White Barn have been transformed into a destination for weddings, parties, and other events.

Pasture, says Paletsky, is an outgrowth of the success of the South Farms Social, which attracts as many as 500 visitors on Thursday evenings from June through September for live music and high-quality locally sourced food and drink. Pasture is sited just off the farm proper at the intersection of Route 63/109 and Watertown Road, and overlooks the massive historic barn, gardens, and surrounding pastureland.

“We wanted Pasture to be a place that offers interesting food without a high level of fuss,” he says. To achieve that, Paletsky enlisted three local food truck favorites that will operate, weather permitting, from Thursday through Sunday into October. Hungry customers find seats among the dozen or so picnic benches and tables situated under the shade of a towering Eastern Cottonwood tree, said to be one of the largest in Connecticut.

Iron & Grain burger. Photo: Winter Caplenson

The Iron & Grain Co. food truck at Pasture is such stuff as certain manly dreams are made on. It has been fashioned from a vintage 1959 Chevy Viking and retooled to accommodate a wood-fired grill from which wafts the soul-satisfying smoky scent of sizzling meats – and it possesses a liquor license and four beer taps. Its provenance comes from the same folks who operate GastroPark, West Hartford's popular “foodie playground” and the commitment to local Connecticut products and ingredients is apparent. Opt for a burger – grass-fed beef or turkey with feta – or a Martin Rosol (of New Britain, CT) pork/beef sausage and they’ll grill it in front of you and give you four choices of how you want it served. I was well satisfied with a beef burger served in their Black & Bleu preparation, with bacon, blue cheese, caramelized onions, and arugula.

Connecticut has some fantastic breweries and Iron & Grain Co. has pours from some of the best – BackEast, Kent Falls, and CounterWeight. A rotating menu of craft cocktails is also available, among them an intriguing watermelon margarita concocted from tequila, fruitful watermelon, fresh watermelon, lime, and agave.

Even if you are made merely peckish rather than ravenous by your autumn motoring excursion, Iron & Grain Co.’s Mexican street corn is worth a detour – super-fresh local corn grilled to a perfect sweetness and topped with cotija cheese, mouth-warming chipotle mayo, chili lime seasoning, and fresh chives. A nosh supreme.

Dessert is by Grassroots Ice Cream of Granby – they make over 100 flavors and a representative selection was available from their truck at Pasture. I had a pineapple sorbet that, like the best sorbets, lets the fruit, not the added sugar, do the talking. The ice creams I sampled were similarly flavor-forward rather than oversweet.

For most of the summer, Pasture featured TA-Que, star Connecticut chef Tyler Anderson’s take on Mexican street food, a counterpart to the food truck he operates next to his popular Simsbury restaurant, Millwright’s. Through the fall, Hindsight BBQ of Waterbury will be the third vendor at Pasture, offering an array of wood-fired smoked meats and their take on classic sides.

“We want to be excited about Pasture so that others will be excited about it,” says Ben Paletsky. “We’re still learning and tinkering and figuring out what will be exciting for our guests. For now, small and concise is the way we’re going.”

I have to say that also I couldn’t help noticing during the hour or so I spent there, folks from seemingly many walks of life came to enjoy its offerings (some just for a drink, some for a meal, and many families just for the Grassroots ice cream). It is a chill place where a diverse array of patrons seemed comfortable hanging out, and good vibes were absorbed by us hopeless romantics watching a bride walk down the aisle at the wedding in the distance at South Farms. It will all be lovely when autumn’s orange and yellow colors soon abound.

Bottom line – even if you don’t know where you’re going this fall, if you find yourself at Pasture, you’ll be glad you did not end up somewhere else.

Pasture at South Farms
2 Watertown Road, Morris, CT (at the intersection of Route 63/109).
Hours (weather permitting): Thursday and Friday, 5-8 p.m.; Saturday, noon-8 p.m.; and Sunday, noon-6 p.m. Open through October.