Route 20 in Lafayette is considered apple valley here in CNY. A quick drive between Lafayette and Skaneateles will bring you by multiple apple orchards, offering apple picking, baked goods and fritters. Most people drive by all the smaller family orchards to get to Beak N Skiff, but O'Neill's has found ways to separate themselves from the local monopoly.
Keith O'Neill and his wife opened their orchard back in 1986. They've spent the last 3 decades running the orchards as well as working other day jobs. They've added fritters, a BBQ trailer and other fruit trees for picking to make themselves stand out.
Now, I'm not a huge fan of apple picking. I find it a tad boring and find most orchards are for the most part very similar. But I go to O'Neill's every now and then for other things and everything is always great.
Their BBQ, which is only served on weekends, is delicious. Their brisket is smoked and piled high on a roll. You can get it Carolina style, topped with their apple slaw, which gives it a great, sweet crunch. Their fritters and donuts are pretty heavenly as well. Keiths son and daughter usually man the BBQ truck and are both extremely friendly, funny and personable.
I also love their pies. I'm not big on pie, but their raspberry apple pie is amazing. Their crust is actually flaky and flavorful, unlike a lot of other pies. Keith has stated that all their jams, pies and other baked goods are homemade by his wife and are fresh every weekend.
One of the other reasons I support them is because I volunteer for a local non profit called Amberations. We do a yearly fundraiser in the fall, and every year, O'Neill's has donated apples to us to make apple crisp to sell. Beak N Skiff, the monopoly right up the road, has always denied our request for a donation.
Good food, good people, and good for the community. Support the smaller family orchards! read more