More than 15 years ago, I sat at a long table at the Queens County Farm Museum for my first Outstanding in the Field dinner — an experience I chronicled in my October 2010 Amsterdam News column, “Dining in the Green.” Last week, I returned to the farm for a different dinner rooted in food, farming, and community.
Cultivated since 1697, the 47-acre Queens Farm was a well-suited location for Tractor, the farmer-founded organic beverage company whose drinks you may have enjoyed at Chipotle without knowing their name. Tractor gathered a small group for dinner with Chef Will Coleman, founder of PLATED Studios, celebrating people preserving and telling the stories of Black food and farming. I have known Will for years, and watching him step out on faith, create boldly, and deliver is always a joy.
After more than an hour of stop-and-go rush-hour traffic from Harlem — much of it spent lying in the back of an Uber — I arrived late and nauseated. I walked the equivalent of two city blocks into the farm, past fields and farm animals, before coming upon the oasis Tractor had created beneath an open-air pavilion near the annual Amazing Maize Maze. Worried that I had missed the start, I was welcomed by Tractor Community Connector Adjoa Kittoe, who assured me I was right on time. She then offered me a drink from the colorful lineup. I had to choose the Citrus Ginger Haymaker, hoping the ginger would settle my stomach and prepare me for the meal ahead.
Tractor’s Citrus Ginger Haymaker and Chef Will Coleman’s cornbread with whipped honey butter at Queens County Farm Museum.(Kysha Harris photos) 
Chef Will Coleman’s September tomato-and-stone-fruit salad at Tractor’s dinner at Queens County Farm Museum. (Kysha Harris photos) 
Chef Will Coleman’s Green Goddess coleslaw at Tractor’s dinner at Queens County Farm Museum.(Kysha Harris photos) 
Gatas small-batch flan served for dessert at Tractor’s dinner at Queens County Farm Museum.(Kysha Harris photos) 
The entrance to Queens County Farm Museum in Queens.(Kysha Harris photos) 
Erykah Badu and The Alchemist open their LIVE tour performance at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens.(Kysha Harris photos) 
Erykah Badu, The Alchemist and four DJs perform at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens.(Kysha Harris photos) 
Amsterdam News Food Editor Kysha Harris at Forest Hills Stadium for Erykah Badu and The Alchemist’s LIVE tour.(Kysha Harris photos)
Adjoa welcomed the table to the event, introduced Will, and invited us to introduce ourselves. Our circle included Kenya Crumel of the National Black Food & Justice Alliance, Amanda Everich of Black Farmer Fund, and Oko Farms founder Yemi Amu, alongside others in food and media. The intention became clear: to create fellowship and connection among people cultivating land, protecting foodways, and carrying their stories forward.
Will opened the meal with warm cornbread and whipped honey butter, then invited us to dig into a September tomato-and-stone-fruit salad — bright, spicy, and tasting of summer’s last freshness. Brown-butter miso corn and sweet-chili-roasted potatoes brought smoke, sweetness, heat, and umami. I helped myself to Green Goddess coleslaw, its herbaceous crunch a welcome foil for the cider-miso-glazed salmon and Tractor-brined herb-roasted chicken thighs. Will later appeared with the aromatic herbed rice he had forgotten to serve. It folded into the meal as easily as the conversation. We ate, talked, and kibitzed while Will effortlessly moved between chef and consummate host.
Gatas, a Brooklyn dessert company making decadent, small-batch flans, closed the dinner with beautiful individual boxes of its signature flan for us to enjoy. To walk it off, I wandered among fields of produce and the farm’s livestock with a fellow diner who works at the farm. Our path led back to the site of that long-ago Outstanding in the Field dinner — a lovely full-circle moment.
Soon after, we rallied to head to Forest Hills Stadium for Erykah Badu’s LIVE tour with legendary producer The Alchemist, supporting their new album, “Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment.” As we approached the stadium grounds, I heard De La Soul performing and hoped to catch the end of their set, but they finished just as we reached our suite — ironically, the same suite I had for the Rauw Alejandro concert. (Apologies again, Pos and Mase. R.I.P. Dave.)
When the lights went down, a single spotlight found The Alchemist rising from his bed. He made a “call.” As the phone rang, the second spotlight appeared across the stage where Erykah Badu arose to answer it. The crowd went wild. They chopped it up for a minute before she said she wanted to share something she had been working on. And just like that, the show had begun. We were all in. It was dope!
This audience felt different, too. All my Gen Xers came to represent. For the most part, rather than experiencing the show through raised phones, people danced, sang, and stayed present in the moment. When thirst got to me, I was happy to step inside the suite for a Tractor Passion Mango Haymaker over ice — the other flavor I wanted to try. Then Erykah Badu tapped the opening notes of “On & On,” and the crowd exhaled with reverence.
Somewhere between the farm and the music, the evening restored something in me. Food, farming, fellowship, and music carried me across Queens and through the night. By the time I headed home, I felt inspired — not only because of Will’s excellent meal, but because I had seen talented people create boldly, preserve culture, and continue setting the table for each other and for their community.
Thanks for reading and happy eating!
Kysha Harris is a chef, culinary producer, and food editor for the NY Amsterdam News. As a consultant and owner of SCHOP!, a personalized food service in NYC for over 23 years, she remains on the hunt for the city’s next great bite. Follow her on Instagram and on Facebook, @SCHOPnyc.
Questions, comments, requests, feedback, invitations! Email us at AmNewsFOOD@SCHOPnyc.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, @NYAmNewsFOOD.
