Soil Friends Farm & Market
1701 N. 33rd StreetI think I’ve talked quite a bit about how much J loves hard cider. The more places we go, the more it grows on me too. I will still always pick beer over cider, but I’m enjoying a lot of these places popping up that specialize cider.
Sunday was another lazy Sunday. We were tossing out ideas about what to do with the kids. It was lunch time and we really wanted to get out of the house. We were all on each other’s nerves at that point in the day and it was so gorgeous out, there was no reason to spend it indoors.
We had kicked around a few ideas until J pulled one out I didn’t even think of…..a farm market that she took the kids to with some friends a few weeks ago that they all loved. It’s not a place we could get lunch but we could get some snacks and a few drinks while we let the kids play.
Soil Friends Farm & Market is about a mile northwest of Galesburg on 33rd Street. It’s situated in an agricultural area with trees and farm fields all around. The public area of the market is down a gravel driveway. There are a few parking spots right near the landscaped entrance but the driveway is big enough to make spots when those are full. A cargo container acts as the rally point with drinks and donuts being served out of one window and the other being used as a cashier.
The market has a really great set up. There picnic tables near the cargo container to sit and relax….which J and I definitely did because there is so much for the kids to do. There is a bounce house that was just added recently. For a buck each, the kids could jump as much as they wanted. There is also a play kitchen set and the owner’s yellow lab was roaming around begging people to throw a tennis ball for him.
There’s a large play structure for the kids as well. B took his shoes off for the bounce house then he just kind of went back and forth between the bounce house and the playground which had sand underneath it. The lack of shoes really helped him with the climbing wall on the back side.
Oh…also, there’s goats. There are cups of feed available near the entrance that are also a dollar a piece. I threw some money in to the glass jar and then headed over with the kids to help them. We must have timed it just right because one of the employees was moving the goats from one pen to another. We he opened the gate to move them, a hoarde of goats rushed L who just got stuck between about six of them. I stood there and laughed as she just looked at me not knowing what to do. The employee threw some food and they all ran away as I continued to laugh at L.
The kids had plenty to do and they were having a blast so J and I could actually take some time to relax and just talk to each other. Soil Friends makes their own hard cider and has five variations on tap. We didn’t get through them all but we each had a couple.
We both started with the Watermelon Hops. This was J’s favorite last time and it sounded good to me. It was sweet but had a little bit of bite from the hops. It was very easy to drink and didn’t last long for either of us.
On the second round, we both did something different. I did the Peachy Blueberry. Again, this is just a really smooth, really crispy, slightly sweet cider. It was a little drier which made it a little bit easier for me to slow down and enjoy it.
J did the other hoppy selection and picked the Strawberry Blueberry Hops. It’s hard to describe the difference between all of these ciders. They’re all very close to the same but they have very subtle differences that makes each one uniquely enjoyable.
Now, we could have just done drinks but there is some delicious snack options as well. The obvious one is the donuts. They make themselves with fryers located just outside of the cargo container. There are four flavors to choose from and all are made with apple cider dough. We did a half dozen of the cinnamon sugar. The donuts are like like oversized munchkins. They don’t have a hole in the middle so they look like big doughnut holes. The doughnuts are were golden brown on the outside and so soft and tender in the middle. There was a very heavy coating of the cinnamon sugar on each of them. I think we each ate one then brought a couple home for breakfast the next day.
We had picked Chicken McNuggets up for the kids in Galesburg on the way so we weren’t too worried about them eating. We just kind of let them go and got each an Apple Cider Slushee to come back to whenever they were thirsty. L drank hers pretty quickly but B was a little slow. A lot of it melted before he could finish it then he got sad “someone drank” his slushee.
Besides being just a great place to relax, Soil Friends is also a CSA and Farm Market. They have their produce for sale out on display underneath an overhang of a metal outbuilding.
In that cooler they have a number of home made salsas. We grabbed one of those to snack on as well. I picked the hot even though J isn’t a super big fan. The super fresh salsa wasn’t very hot at all. It had some spice from peppers but it wasn’t overwhelming. I think J even realized it was a good heat and not a mouth burning one so she eventually ate some of it too.
We weren’t just eating salsa with a spoon. They also have some home made tortilla chips. The owner said they had just changed their recipe so these are fairly new. The chips are amazing. We easily polished off the bag then grabbed a second to take home. The chips are crispy and flaky with just enough salt to let you know it’s there.
We spent about two hours at Soil Friends and the kids weren’t super happy when it was time to leave. All told, we spent a little over $50 on snacks and drinks so two hours was plenty….although we both contemplated getting another cider before deciding to call it a day.
Soil Friends Farm & Market is such a cool place and likely one you’ve never heard of. J found the place with some friends who get together occasionally so the kids can play. I never would have found it on my own but I’ve already recommended it to several friends who I know enjoy cider. It’s such a great place to just hang out on a nice day, have a few drinks, and enjoy conversation with whomever you’re with.
SW Michigan Dining 