Lakeside Farms — Restaurant in Town of Ballston

Lakeside is a country store mainstay, and makes what are arguably the best cider donuts in the greater Capital District! Those donuts get shipped and flown cross -country, and are the first food item requested when someone comes home. This is family owned place, which creates lasting family memories for their customers. I've been going for breakfast every Sunday since 1986, and worked there summers during my high school years.

Shown here are apple and raspberry turnovers, which are airy and melt in your mouth. Just a touch of course sugar or drizzle on top brings out the natural sweetness of the fruit filling. Also shown is their very dense, very moist chocolate slab cake with buttercream frosting. Not for the faint of heart! This piece could be shared by 3 people, and is an annual birthday request by my mother, who swears she doesn't "do" wheat or sugar 😉.

Lakeside bakes their pies fresh daily, and always have a nice selection to accompany their daily lunch specials. My favorite is the strawberry rhubarb pie, or the seasonal peach shortcake, to go with my Lakesider sandwich ( grilled roast beef and bacon and Muenster, with slaw and Russian dressing on top, served on your choice of toast). The dining area and country store invoke homey imagery of a century ago, with a woodstove, farm tables, locally crafted home goods and food items, penny candy, local maple syrup and honey, deli counter and bulk produce baskets.

In the autumn, head outside to the Apple Barn for fresh picked apples and pressed cider, made right on site. Catch the Apple Witch in October, and enjoy fresh, hot cider donuts and mulled cider from the donut trailer while soaking up the last of the Indian summer sun and delighting in the fall colors around you. Relatively new is the Old Farm House, which has been turned into a local artisans' gift "emporium," so to speak. If you're heading in or out of the Adirondacks, you must take exit 11 and spend an hour or two here for breakfast, lunch, dessert...

Due to another bakery nearby changing its operating times, I decided to try Lakeside Farms as a backup option for some sweets.

Arriving on site I found the locations to be pretty busy, but not overly so that parking was a hassle or getting up the counter to put in my order took over 5 minutes.

While waiting I did notice that there were quite a few flies in the cases bussing around the baked goods, and even a wasp in the pies case. A bit gross, but I've seen worse at the grocery store doughnut cases or even at a DD.

That said they did have quite the selection, and I ended up with couple lemon bars, a molasses cookie, a sugar cookie with sprinkles, a ginger snap, a pumpkin cookie, and a special Half and Half that was half apricot jam and half raspberry. Got it all packed up, paid less than $10, and was on way way home.

When did get home to give everything a taste, I found that the half and half cookie did not fair well during travel. Not suited for being wrapped in wax paper, the jam stuck to the paper and tore off when peeled back. Very sad. The lemon bars were tangy with just a hint of sweetness, just how I like them. And the smaller cookies were good, but nothing that blew me away.

Overall, a great price for the quantity, but perhaps not the...

The Apple selection is outstanding in the autumn. They only have the best there for you eat directly, or in some limited cases there are some which have fallen off the trees and are considered possibly bruised but are much less expensive if you are getting apples to bake. The largest amount of apples which don't look quite perfect turn into apple cider, which is also good and fresh right there at the Lake.

There is a small selection of very good food both vegetables and baking inside, and there are tables for eating inside as well. It is very much a farm selection and you order it and when it is ready you pick it up. It is sometimes a little bit crowded at that time, and there are some tables which probably are not a good choice for people with wheelchairs. There is some selection of the tables which are fine to use so you make your own choice. If you buy the baked Donuts right there while they are too hot to hold without a napkin, they are the best anywhere anytime. They are also available during the summer at fairs, such as the Altamont New York Fair where you can get them right as they come out...