An Evening At Allandale
We are busy excitedly preparing for our third annual dinner at Allandale Farms, presented by the Mei Mei Dinner Club team. While we’re busy planning our menu and preparing all the necessary ingredients we wanted to give everybody a bit of history and backstory about our relationship with one of our favorite local farms.
Allandale Farm, with a grounds of approximately 130 acres resting between Brookline and Boston, was originally purchased by William Fletcher Weld in the mid 1800s. Since then five generations of the family have lived and worked on the farm, using it to sustain both the family and staff who helped to work the land. Due to rising property taxes and an increase in the price of heating oil the family commercialized the farm in order to ensure the land would stay in the family. Luckily changes in tax law in the 1970s meant Allandale and other smaller family farms would be taxed at a rate lower than the residential property rates, allowing them to continue to farm the land as opposed to being forced to sell it off to eager developers. The farm continued to grow and commercial operations expanded as the years went on. The property eventually ceased being the primary residence for the family as some of the siblings moved away from Boston but the siblings all agreed that they wanted the farm to remain intact, and to not receive any personal income from the farm. Today Allandale continues to produce high quality food for the community, and to use their own words, “practices that prioritize the long term health of our land, employees, and customers.”
Our connection the farm began with the Li family purchasing pumpkins and Christmas trees at Allandale as young children and continued with Mei Mei’s official opening as a food truck in 2012. As long as we as Mei Mei have existed we have been purchasing some variety of produce from the nearby farm. We purchase a variety of produce from the farm depending on the season but primarily we use large amounts of Allandales potatoes in our longtime restaurant staple, the pierogi dumplings. Our relationship with the good folks over at Allandale grew over the years and eventually led to our first farm dinner just three years ago. Initially a small gathering of family and friends seated on blankets outside, the dinner has grown into a ticketed event with tables and chairs set up in one of the several greenhouses on the grounds.
With a staff filled with over achievers we’re continually seeking to one up ourselves and this upcoming Dinner Club meal at Allandale Farm is no exception. We’ve sold out all of our previous dinners at Allandale and expect to do the same this year so make sure to get your tickets in advance. We look forward to seeing you at one of our favourite yearly events.