Allandale Farm
259 Allandale Rd
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
(617) 524-1531
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
(617) 524-1531
Allandale Farm
Business & Professional Services, Agricultural Production, Farms
Green Tags: bicycle-accessible, city farm, close, farm stand, fresh, fun, knowledgeable, local, local farm, organic, organics, produce
Good Tags: baked goods, excellent products, fair prices, Reliable and Knowledgeable
Allandale Farm is the bee's knees. Boston's last working farm is probably one of my very favorite places in the city; the selection is vast, the staff informative, and the products are absolutely top notch. There's not a single, negative thing to be said.
The rotating stock of produce is as fresh as you can find anywhere and very well-priced; you can't even compare it to the bullshit produce most supermarkets sell at inflated costs. For example, their crisp kale and swiss chard is sold for only $2 a bunch; and the corn, for 70 cents an ear, is so fresh you can eat it raw. It's an environmentally and socially conscious choice too. Allandale's produce is either grown on site or at neighboring farms; they also partner with other local businesses to offer delicious treats, like cookies from Jamaica Plain's Blue Frog Bakery, and the adorable, vegan, Ever So Humble Pies, baked right in Walpole.
Allandale is also the urban gardener's best friend. Not only do they carry a fantastic selection of seeds, perennials, annuals, herbs, and vegetable starter plants, but they also stock a nice variety of fertilizers (organic and non-organic) and natural pest repellents, should you not feel like making your own. The staff members at Allandale are more than willing to answer your questions (or point you in the right direction if they can't), and it is evident they deeply and truly care. Gardening is hard (but really fun!) work, and it's a relief that places like Allandale are here to help make the growing season successful.
Allandale Farm promises to be brilliant - and then never quite delivers on its potential. Don't get me wrong, the fact that this cool little farm stand-slash-flower nursery-slash-gourmet food store is directly behind the Faulkner Hospital in West Roxbury, and a stone's throw from the Arboretum is pretty darn sweet. And the overall vibe of Allandale is cool and idyllic.
The problem is that nearly anyone who's ever helped me at Allandale seemed genuinely perturbed by my disturbing their idyllic vibe, and the prices are pretty outrageous. You'd have to take out a second mortgage just to by flower box flowers from them...
On the green front Allandale's cred is pretty good - lots of organic produce and supplies - from fertilizers and potting soil, to locally grown honey and breads.
But with their green there's a problem too - mixed in with all the great green stuff, are the same ol Florida grown traditional blueberries you can get down at the Roche Bros in West Roxbury Centre - same label and all....except the price is a good bit beefier...which reminds me that even at a cool gotta-be-green joint like Allandale, sometimes you've got to watch the fine print.
All in all, I like Allandale - but I'd love it if they were a little friendlier, a little less expensive and a little more approachable...
