On the Farm — Restaurant in Town of Colonie

The Ryan Family 2024 Christmas Tree selection process:

“All good things must come to an end.”

My family and I have been going to On the Farm in Latham for many years to pick out our Christmas Tree and we have always had a wonderful experience. Picking out the ‘most important of Christmas symbols” has become one of our most cherished family traditions. We are a bit like Clark Griswold regarding our selection process. We circle and evaluate and critique each specimen carefully inspecting and mentally measuring. It is quite the process, and some years can be quite time consuming. “Good height, but too skinny,” “Nice and round, not tall enough,” That thing wouldn’t fit in our yard… but it’s a beaut,” “This isn’t one of the ones where all the needles fall off?” These are some of the critiques and quotes that can be heard from our family during this selection process. This year, we searched and laughed and enjoyed the family tradition. Even laughing and joking with one of the gentlemen that worked there when he saw us eyeing a behemoth of a tree; my best guesstimate of its height was 12’ tall… honestly it would not have even fit in our yard. Nope, unfortunately, we don’t live like that. We need a more modest, humble height. Although we had a handful of finalists in mind, we spotted laying near the entrance some of the ‘next up’ trees. Laying there waiting for their turn in the spotlight, we observed a couple contestants that had great potential, we asked if we could pick them up to see if maybe, one of them was the one. One of the friendly gentlemen said, ‘Absolutely, go for it.’ As I and our 18-year-old son stood there each with a tree while the wife and youngest made their critiques and selected their favorite, we then switched roles, then again… even some of the other customers stopped by to give their advice and offer up their critiques… again, we were having fun. Not harming anyone, not in the way. If someone was coming, we quickly maneuvered the trees and our judging panel to not interfere with others (we are very courteous and go out of our way to be respectful of others). As we lay the runner-up back into its pile, it was then, right then when we were approached by an unfriendly, rude, grinch of an employee. The woman approached with a snarl and a sneer and indicated that we should NOT be picking up the trees ourselves and they will do it for us. Also, we are in the way and needed to move. As she snatched our selected tree out of my hand, slammed it to the ground and dragged it over to the side, leaving a trail of needles and sad faces in her wake, we couldn’t help but have our spirits dampened. Even if it is ‘policy’ we would have been happy to oblige, all that was needed was a little bit of courtesy. Just a touch of politeness. This woman was just mean and unfriendly. Honestly, we still can’t figure out what we did that made her so angry… perhaps that is her everyday mood? We ended up purchasing our tree, not the one that was mercilessly dragged across the ground, but another one. We debated on just leaving, but there really was a couple of top contenders just itching for a spot, center stage in the Ryan family living room. In the end, this story doesn’t mean anything to anyone and won’t stop people from going there. I am sure there are 100s of people that will get their tree there this year and be perfectly happy with the experience. However, this was our experience. We have a great tree and a bad memory. We enjoyed going to On the Farm for the many years, but as I stated at the beginning… All good things must come to an end. Merry...

I don't know if they have new owners but my experience this year hasn't been great. The older guy at the menu wasn't friendly. I ordered chili cheese fries a hot dog and a chocolate milk shake. The chili on the cheese fries didn't look right and they put a small amount of cheese on the fries, a teaspoon amount. Unfortunately the bottom was all grease mixed with cheese. All together I paid 16 dollars and change. The best part was the shake i took two bites of the fries and the chilli was gross and didnt look good. The hot dog was look warm needed more time on grill.

So sad because my experiences before this time have been great. It seems like its going down hill with its food. It seems as prices go up...

This is my go-to place for Ice Cream. You can deal with the lines at Sonic if you want but you'll be much happier going here. There are plenty of options to choose from, my favorite is a flurry with M&M's.

You can also get other food too, if you're looking for some place to have lunch. I can definitely recommend their bacon cheeseburgers. Their onion rings are also pretty good.

There is plenty of outdoor seating. Each table has an umbrella, and there is a covered section with multiple tables. It's the perfect place to grab lunch or ice cream on a nice sunny day.

Overall, I would highly recommend checking this place out. Especially if you like supporting family-owned and operated...