Farm is definitely NOT the theme in this Frank Bruni reviewed pizza and wine restaurant, but Franny’s is all about making an “environmentally responsible business,” i.e. sustainable agriculture time! Yep, local ingredients, meats cured in-house and the belief that “less is more.”

Rabbit pappardelle and ricotta gnocchi…okay, not exactly what I remember eating on a farm, but this is New York playing the farm card. The produce, eggs, meat and even cheeses come from local purveyors, so you can rest assure that you’re getting a little slice of New York farm smack dab in the middle of your plate.

Next doors is its sister bar, the BARN! Geeeenius name. You can order a lot of the same food and drinks like the gin fizzy and a pear martini. Soak up the city sun in the backyard?

It’s called the Farm burger, so it must be good for you, right? Whatever. The Farm, as some dining peeps call it, has that down-home country feel but in a New York trendy way. Got that? It’s also in a neighborhood that is seriously lacking restaurants and remains a hidden gem for those willing to venture out to Ditmas Park and brave the outer boroughs.

When I experienced the Decker Farm devastation, I was only temporarily perturbed and put off. Then I got determined. Staten Island may have wronged me, but surely Queens would deliver on their pumpkin promises? And they did.

More than the regular working farm thing, they have the “Amaizing Maize Maze.” Now in my I-Heart-Plays-On-Words opinion, “Maize Maze” would have been sufficient. Savor the country mouse moment.

East New York is one of the roughest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, so I can’t say I’ve been to the farm or farmer’s market there. Biking in broad daylight was a little, um, scary, but more power to the community for running several gardens and recently celebrating 10 years!