Monday, October 4, 2010

Larriland Farms: Focus On Apples & Pumpkins, Then Run That Straw Maze With A BBQ Sandwich

Pick your own spinach!!  It's pick-your-own spinach season!!  And broccoli.  It wasn't ripe this weekend, but it's coming soon.  Cauliflower too!

Nothing beats pick-your-own caulifower except . . . . well, except for apples, pumpkins and the best food from an amusement park.

Larriland Farm has moved into fall, and the weekends are there to squeeze the best times of our this season.    Rows of apples -- 17 varieties over all -- to load up on sweetness and bake yourself a pie.  Fields of pumpkins.  (Sorry, we took the perfect four on Sunday afternoon.)  And great food.

Larriland has gone two ways for weekend food this October, and it's absolutely worth the drive our I-70.  First, eat a real meal from the folks at Towne Grill in Lisbon.  They have a stand selling burgers, hot dogs and my favorite, the pulled pork and chicken.  They also had smoked turkey legs, which were absolutely hilarious to watch little children eat.  Picnic with some sandwiches and fries.

Then, get some treats at the fritters and cider stand.  Apple fritters -- being peeled, chopped and fried right in front of you.  Hot cider mulled with honey and spices.  It's all reasonably priced.  It's all fun to eat.  You can buy all kinds of vegetables in the barn store, but you should treat yourself to barbecue and some apple fritters before winter sets in.

All that food comes on top of the pick-you-own produce.  The spinach, broccoli, etc. are healthy, but the apples and the pumpkins are easy ways to celebrate the season.  They're selling a dozen varieties of gourds and pumpkins at the store.  Weird enough varieties -- warts on a pumpkin! thin gourds that look like a snake! -- that people were photographing themselves with them.  But you can hunt your own big pumpkin out in the fields.  We pulled four beautiful ones ourselves.

And the best part of Larriland is free -- photos, photos, photos.  You on a ladder in the apple trees.  Kids running around the straw maze.  Everyone walking around the pumpkin fields.  I don't know why pumpkins make great pictures, but they're hilarious.  Click here for all of the posts about Larriland.

(Update: Tanya, who blogs at From Cleveland To Charm City, was at Larriland as well on Sunday.  I recognized her from her blog, but it was a step too geeky to interrupt her group of friends and say "Hey, we're bloggers!)

5 comments:

indigo_tide said...

How awesome! :D Thanks for the link :)

I've had those weird "blogger" encounters before. But this means next time you have to say hello. And maybe I'll not be dressed in something that stands out quite so much. But we were having a good time!

charlie said...

As a weird blogger myself, I appreciate it when recognized by fellow afflicted ones. You should have said "Hey".

Nice blog. I found you in the Baltimore Sun's blogroll. I was in Baltimore for the weekend and wish I'd seen this pots then. Would have been a great stop on the way home.

Great work.

Anonymous said...

Anyone else shocked by the price of the hayride? $3.75 per person! We have been going for years with the kids and were shocked to see how much a 20min. ride cost. We love going in the Fall, it is always a tradition...just not the ride anymore:(

sherringham said...

We went to Larriland, Town Grill, and a night-time corn maze in Thurmont this past Friday. I had the BBQ Sundae at Town Grill and haven't stopped thinking about it since. Corn bread, topped with bbq pulled pork, topped with coleslaw, and topped with a fried pickle. I ate the whole thing. I really enjoyed the smoky quality of the pork--something most pulled pork doesn't have. Lisbon is quite a hike from Hickory Ridge in Columbia, but I'm already looking for another excuse to get out there again soon!

Anonymous said...

We went to Larriland today and it was great. Must try the apple fritters - it's one of those foods you can't get everywhere so take the opportunity. The main food line was long but the food was decent. I agree that the hayride seems overpriced but the ticket sellers were being generous w/the "kids under 2 are free" rule and let many 3 yr olds ride free w/a "let's just say you're still a litte guy" wink. It was a beautiful weekend to be outside.