Yellow Rock Cafe at Indian Ladder Farms

What a wildly inconsistent place, and not in a good way.

First time there for breakfast, it was superb.  Fantastic.  5* experience hands down.  It was so good, I was surprised to find something of this quality in the region.

Second time there, the cook called in sick, so the whole thing shut down.  It's a bit of a pisser when you drive out to the farm for breakfast, and you are limited instead to donuts.  As good as they are, sometimes I'm in the mood for a savory breakfast.

Third time there, their egg delivery didn't come in.  So no eggs - which are one of the best things on the menu.  Oddly, they would still make french toast and had some quiches already made (but I'm not a big quiche fan).  

Plus, the third time, before making the drive, we called just to make sure the restaurant was open for breakfast.  One might think, the staff would take the time to mention the lack of eggs.

Also this third time, the home fries were not nearly as good as i remembered.  Plus, they were tepid.  And the side plate I received for $2.50 was criminally small.  On top of that, there was not even any hot sauce to perk them up.

Not to mention, two sets of our flatware were sticky (even though they were wrapped and sealed in a napkin).

I'm done with this place.  It's really sad.  To go from loving it so much, to walking away from it entirely.  Sigh.  I will be mourning the loss.

Let me know if it gets better.

The positives: I love the brunch here. The food is really, really good and worth the drive. They use a lot of local, organic and seasonal ingredients, which I think is great. Eggs from local farms almost always taste a thousand times better to me than the generic storebought ones. The applewood-smoked bacon is really good and their toast is made from locally-baked artisanal breads. Their homefries are also extremely tasty.  The coffee is also really good and the cream for the coffee is also from a local farm.

This brings us to my complaints:
Whenever I've gone here on a weekend, there's only been one waitress and she doesn't seem to be able to handle all of the tables on her own. Perhaps adding another waitperson would be helpful. We almost always get terribly neglected, and end up sitting with empty water glasses and cold empty coffee cups.

The thing that especially bothers me about this is that it seems like people with children always get more attention and better service, even when they came in after us. I don't think that's fair. I realize that children can be impatient but other customers should not be neglected as a result.  

My other complaint is with the clientele. Because it's located at a farm, a lot of diners bring their children. And that's totally great, except for when customers allow their children to be loud and obnoxious in restaurants. i just don't understand that. I know plenty of children who have been taught proper decorum and are not allowed to disrupt other diners by screaming.

<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indianladderfarms.com%2Fmenu.html&s=653c53a9f83aea7701217e27a07021c1e23664dd2dc8c74c5e12d6538ef26d90" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.indianladderf…</a>

If you have friends visiting from out of town, take them to this touristy, yet not-touristy country farm with a petting zoo and an awesome cafe serving breakfast and lunch.  It's not overly toursity because, let's face it, what tourists would ever come to Albany and Altamont?

Freshly fried, warm little cider doughnuts.  Stuffed french toast.  Free range egg omlettes.  Everything is good.  Great prices on soy candles in the large country gift shop.  You pick apples and berries.  Farm store selling apples, cider, produce, and other things.  Make a quick day trip.

Actually, I have to say that this is my favorite restaurant in the Capitol Region.  Dissing on the Capitol Region aside, this place brings together everything that's great about the Capitol Region and why we want to live here.  A lovely, semi-rural setting, fantastic value for the money, fresh local ingredients, super nice people, laid back atmosphere.

Big metro areas have places that imitate this place, but they are just hokey and depressing.  Indian Ladder Farms is touristy enough to be fun, while remaining fresh and natural.

UPDATE:  They have this new drink called a "shrub."  It's some kind of Olde Tyme drink from the colonial era or something.  It is shockingly yummy.  I say "shocking" because it's made of vinegar and you wouldn't think that would be yummy to drink.  But it's awesome.  I was inspired to make one myself at home, but it's not as good as theirs.  Be bold, try one!