Honor System and Ommegang

Dave and I were having the quintessential autumn Saturday yesterday, with a successful trip to the Cooperstown farmers' market under our belts, when it occurred to me that I had hoped to pick up some pumpkins. I like to decorate with them, mostly, but if they don't get destroyed first, I'm considering making some pumpkin puree - the cats eat it on occasion, and I loves me some pumpkin pie. 'Tis my favorite. Remember that, there'll be a quiz.

So, the husband came up with the incredible idea of calling up a good friend, whom we will refer to as "B" from the awesome couple of "B+B" (not sure how they feel about being mentioned in a blog. :-D) He suggested that we go to his friend's farm, which has been selling pumpkins and such on the honor system for a year or two (just getting off the ground), so the three of us high-tailed it over there.

For some reason, it gives me a sense of satisfaction in mankind that the honor system is still used. Heck, I'm sure that there are many people in our area that rely greatly on the income from the produce that they grow, but the system still exists. It's. Awesome. And, no, of course I didn't gyp them. I think I threw in an extra dollar or two for good measure. After all, their prices were crazy good.

Upon arrival, we were met by some incredibly creepy, wicked papier mache monster ghoul thingies. One might also describe them using the term du jour, "awesomesauce". Awesomesauce, indeed.

Flying pumpkin dude. Consider me freaked out.


Freaky pumpkin-head on stick. *shivers*


"Who ya gonna call?" Am I right?


Pumpkin-sitter. This guy was gnarly. Definitely my favorite.

But, these guys seriously brought the goods. (The farmers, not the monsters.) And I may or may not have ran around like a dorky idiot choosing the proper gourds and pumpkins, muttering a running cost total to myself while the guys discussed much cooler things. I was happy that they knew enough to think, "Pay no attention to the weirdo in the black Converses and purple scarf."

Poser.

Did I MENTION how insane the prices were? $2 for a bundle of Indian corn, $1 for three gourds?! Yes, please.

I ended up with 4 small/medium pumpkins, along with an extra white/peach-ish one, a handful of gourds, a bunch of Indian corn, and several strange pumpkin/gourd hybrids.

I guess the honor system isn't completely true here.
This dude was watching us. He wouldn't take our money, though.

I suppose the best part of our treasure hunt was that it led to an impromptu visit with B+B, along with a visit to the Ommegang Brewery. If you've never been, it's an amazing place with equally amazing Belgian-style beer (and other products) in the middle of absolutely nowhere. It's a destination in itself. Why have we not brought more friends there? Sheesh. Honestly, it's strange, but I an fond of every one of their beers in a different way. I'm not a connoisseur (how much French can I fit into one post without completely translating?) or anything, but I couldn't often say that I could test a complete run of their beer on tap and enjoy every. Single. One. If you like Belgian, you must go.

They've recently renovated to include a completely new cafe, gift shop and tasting area - and was PAAAHAAAACKED (ie "filled to the brim", if I wanted to be punny). Luckily, girl B was an expert at grabbing seats (belly up to the bar, folks), so I got to try their infamous fries with several dipping sauces (if you must know, garlic aioli, truffle-soy aioli, Witte Ale mustard and a suspiciously un-spicy spicy chili aioli) and a smaller-serving-than-expected plate of cheeses and charcuterie (camembert, Jersey Girl colby, and prosciutto...but who could pass up the perfectly-heated camembert?). It was delicious, although the conversation and company was just as good as the food and beverage.

Don'tchya love when an impromptu pumpkin hunt turns into an unexpected brewery visit?