Farmer’s Daughters’ Drive In is on the bucolic edge of Saratoga Springs, almost in Schuylerville. That gets you out of crowded downtown when things get busy — as they will very shortly.
Even though I had GPS, the place was easy to find. A giant ice cream cone on the roof of a low, white-painted building came into view as I drove over a ridge on Route 29.
There are cheerful red-and-white-striped awnings and life-sized, grinning Holsteins out front. Get your photo taken with the ones that welcome you into the dining room.
Inside there are tables and booths for a few dozen, and a dedicated window for ordering.
There is a lot of land around the building, which is used to an advantage. Tables are spread far apart — some on a hill, some behind the store and some under a covered roof. There’s a bench facing Route 29 where you can watch the traffic go by, especially if you like trucks. My niece Ann Marie has a 3-year-old who tells you what kind of truck he sees, every single one. “Dump truck!” he’ll announce.
“This is great,” said Ann Marie as she watched him climb into the bounce house. There are the old-school, coin-operated kiddie rides. “Front loader,” he called from behind the wheel. Some of the rides still work — they take quarters.
Coin-operated rides and a bounce house are some of the attractions for kids at Farmer’s Daughter’s Drive In.
Caroline Lee
The menu is truly exhaustive. Visit the website (farmersdaughtersdrivein.com) if you can before you go or ask for a paper menu when you get there. There are menus posted near the window and around the outside, but it’s a lot to take in.
First, there are dinners. A hamburger dinner ($13.50) comes with fries and mac salad or coleslaw. There’s also a four-piece fried chicken dinner ($15.95), among others.
Choose a sandwich. Wraps, with chicken, burger, Philly, Caesar or veggies are $8.95. Try sausage, peppers and onions ($8.95) or a grilled cheese ($5.95).
Try a famous Michigan hot dog ($4.25) with their homemade Michigan sauce. You can buy it by the pint or quart, or they’ll put it on anything you order.
Sides are wonderful, summertime fun stuff like curly fries ($7.95) and corn dogs ($4.25). Did you ever hear of anyone eating a corn dog in the winter?
It’s hard to overstate the breadth and depth of the ice cream menu. A kiddie cone is plenty big for an adult ($3.75). An old-fashioned sundae includes ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry with toppings of your choice. Kiddie size is $4.75, large is $7.75.
There are shakes ($5.75 to $8.75), floats ($5 to $7.75), flurries ($7.50 to $8.50) and more, lots more — I can’t even tell you. Specialty huge sundaes can be made with fried dough or funnel cake ($13.95), the perfect marriage of ice cream and fried food.
New this year is a huge ice cream sandwich ($7) and ice cream cannoli ($5.50), as well as coffee drinks with ice cream ($5.50) and ice cream nachos ($10.25)
Then there are the daily lunch and dinner specials. Whew.
But wait, there’s more. Ann Marie noted that Farmer’s Daughters’ fries its food in canola oil, great for those with soy and peanut allergies. They offer nondairy ice cream; gluten-free homemade hard ice cream, rolls and cones; sugar-free homemade ice cream; frozen yogurt and Dole Whip. There’s even gluten-free Oreos to swirl into your dessert.
So, truly something for everyone.
We arrived in between nap times, shortly after opening, and put in our order with the nice person at the window with the broken screen. We settled ourselves at a picnic table and were told they’d find us.
A bit later, another nice person carried out a tray laden with good stuff, though Ann Marie had to go back for the drinks.
Ann Marie ordered a fish fry dinner ($14.95) on a toasted hot-dog-type bun. Like all good fish fries, it was way too long for its bun. “Ooh, look at that fish,” she said.
Fish fry meal with curly fries, pasta salad and tartar sauce at Farmer’s Daughters’ on Route 29.
Caroline Lee
She liked the crunchy breading and said the tartar sauce had a nice tang. We were both unsure about the pasta salad (on special). It consisted of rotini noodles with chunks of meat, shredded carrot and black olives. “I think it’s smoked sausage,” Ann Marie said of the meat.
We both liked the curly fries, lightly seasoned and soft inside, like mashed potatoes. There was a mountain of them and we didn’t eat half. Delicious.
I had the lettuce wrap with grilled chicken ($8.95). It came tightly wrapped in red-and-white-checked paper, like the kind you find in plastic baskets. That made it easier to eat.
Chicken lettuce wrap at Farmer’s Daughters’ Drive In.
Caroline Lee
The chicken was pleasantly seasoned and a bit spicy, and the lettuce and tomato were fresh. I took a few bites, but it was no match for the rest of the fried banquet on the picnic table.
The onion rings ($7.95) were awesome — hot and breaded, crunchy, browned and delicious. There were seven large ones, enough to fill your standard paper boat and to share. Don’t miss these.
Farmer’s Daughters’ homemade onion rings.
Caroline Lee
The 3-year-old took a bite of his burger ($7.95 for kids’ meals, with fries and drink) and headed to the bounce house. Ann Marie and I examined the burger.
They left the top off so you could admire the grill marks. It’s a 4-ounce burger, and it was cooked medium well. The meat was almost crumbly, in a good way, and was very tasty in a beefy way. Excellent burger. It’s worth visiting Farmer’s Daughters’ just for this. If you’re not a kid, get a plain burger for $6.
Kiddie meal of a burger and fries.
Caroline Lee
Farmer’s Daughters’ gets ground sirloin from a local farm in Schuylerville. It’s ground fresh daily.
The regular fries (add your own salt, there are packets) are outstanding. Just plain-old fried potatoes, delicious, perfect as they are.
The best part was the ice cream, for sure, though we liked the food. I got a small vanilla shake ($5.75) for the kiddo and watched it being made with their own hard vanilla ice cream. It had great vanilla flavor and was a shake like the best kind you’d make at home, with ice cream and milk.
Ann Marie had heard about the ice cream nachos and wanted to try them. We all shared a big order, made with chocolate and vanilla soft serve, with caramel sauce, whipped cream and a cherry.
It looked fun, and everyone dove in. It’s served on a divided plastic plate, with the caramel sauce in one section, ice cream swirled in another, waffle cone chips on the side.
There were more chips than we could use and the whipped cream was piled high. The cherry brought a little of the maraschino liquid with it and it all ran together. Yum.
You can scoop and dunk to your heart’s content. We liked the soft-serve ice cream so much — the flavor is so much better than average. Next time I’ll get a kiddie-sized vanilla soft-serve cone, plain. It’s that good, and doesn’t need anything extra.
Ice cream nachos with chocolate and vanilla swirl and caramel sauce, with waffle cone chips at Farmer’s Daughters’ Drive In on Route 29 in Saratoga Springs.
Caroline Lee
When we’d finished as much as we could, we picked up straw wrappers and napkins that blew everywhere, packed up leftovers and the kids, and headed out.
The tab for lunch, with ice cream and tip, was $61.84. We were charged for just one soda ($2.50).
The kids were worn out and we were all full and happy. So, a successful trip. We suggest you visit the lovely rolling hills and farmland of rural Saratoga. Have some delicious ice cream and get away from the crowded city.
Farmer’s Daughters’ Drive In
WHERE: 882 Route 29, Saratoga Springs; 518-584-8562; famersdaughtersdrivein.com
WHEN: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, until Oct. 31
HOW MUCH: $61.84 with ice cream, tax and tip
MORE INFO: Credit cards: Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover. Apple Pay. Children’s menu. Parking lot. The dining room is wheelchair accessible.
More from Caroline Lee:
At the Table: Diamond Club Grill in Saratoga Springs
At the Table: Good times, fun food at Milton’s Wind Chill Factory
At The Table: Lucky Joe’s in Saratoga Springs a solid find
Images: Farmer’s Daughters’ in Saratoga Springs (12 photos)
Fish fry meal with curly fries, pasta salad and tartar sauce at Farmer’s Daughters’ on Route 29.
Caroline Lee
Fish fry meal with curly fries, pasta salad and tartar sauce at Farmer’s Daughters’ on Route 29.
Caroline Lee
Chicken lettuce wrap at Farmer’s Daughters’ Drive In.
Caroline Lee
Farmer’s Daughters’ homemade onion rings.
Caroline Lee
The entrance to the Farmer’s Daughters’ dining room.
Caroline Lee
The dining room at Farmer’s Daughters’ Drive In.
Caroline Lee
Ice cream nachos with chocolate and vanilla swirl and caramel sauce, with waffle cone chips at Farmer’s Daughters’ Drive In on Route 29 in Saratoga Springs.
Caroline Lee
Coin-operated rides and a bounce house are some of the attractions for kids at Farmer’s Daughter’s Drive In.
Caroline Lee
The front of the drive-in at Farmer’s Daughters.
Caroline Lee
Coin-operated kiddie rides at Farmer’s Daughters’.
Caroline Lee
Kiddie meal of a burger and fries.
Caroline Lee
Fish fry with curly fries at Farmer’s Daughters’ in Saratoga Springs.
Caroline Lee
