If you're a transplant like many of us are, this is one experience you must try.,,, "Pick Your Own"…read moreblueberries!! At a recent July 4th celebration w friends and colleagues, one had the idea of picking blueberries the following Friday. Initially, I thought it was comical as we're all from the west coast and not quite considered farmers per se. Lol. Yet on the other hand, I thought it would be adventurous and exciting to experience Alabama in a unique and new way. So off we went w the idea. LOCATION & PARKING Gin House Branch Farm's address is Decatur, but it's actually in Priceville. So don't be surprised when your GPS routes you to Priceville, near I-65. Parking isn't exactly clear on the field especially if you arrive early. Once you see the green shed, just park near it. You'll know it when you see it. ;D EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM A group of us met up at the farm field early @ 8:30 AM that [9/80]Friday to beat the torturing heat of the sun and humidity and any possible crowds. We came prepared - hats, sunscreen, bug spray, and for some - tikes and teens to help w the pick'n. Who wants to spend their Summer sleeping in on a weekend anyways?! Lol. ;D Let's just say, the teens weren't exactly excited to be there as the rest of us adults were, but that soon changed. It's really all about the experience and creating memories, right?! ;D Upon arriving, we notice one truck already there - a friend of ours, along w his wife, got a head start. The rest of us rolled up, got our hugs in, chatted quickly, then got our buckets from the picnic table out in front of the office (evergreen colored shed) and headed for the fields. HONOR SYSTEM When no one's at the green shed office, Gin House Branch Farm functions on an honor system. Amazing, right?! Signs are clearly posted w what's available for picking (currently Blueberries in July) and the cost. For everyone's convenience, there is a locked drop box to place your dinero in on the way out. GHBF takes checks and cash only. The cost of blueberries is quite reasonable at $13 per bucket. The white buckets are 5 quarts in size and are available to use for free. Be sure to line them first w the available plastic bags (similar to plastic grocery bags) located on the picnic table, especially if you don't plan to keep the buckets. Just be sure to return them when you're done picking. If you do want to keep them, the buckets are an additional $1 each. PICK YOUR OWN BLUEBERRIES GHBF is one of many farms here in the south. This particular farm is considered a "Pick Your Own" farm where you get to pick your own fruits, veggies and such when in season and as advertised. The first field we went thru was the Muscadines which are known to be the native Southern Grapes. These were not ripe at the time, but were beautiful nonetheless and currently off limits when it comes to picking. So we continued on toward the blueberries in the north field. We were welcomed w rows upon rows of blueberry bushes! Since we've never picked blueberries in the past, I researched it, of course, before our farming adventure. ;D The suggested method of picking blueberries is that one has to "roll" the bundles of blueberries in their hand between the palm and fingers. The ripe purple ones easily detach from the stem while the unripened (pinkish in color) remain on, usually. It's best to do this w one hand while holding your bucket w the other underneath to catch the falling blueberries. However, I learned quickly that it is even better to pick only the BIG blueberries so you don't get the wrinkled or overly ripened ones too. This became our "preferred" method vs the suggested. This method also takes longer to fill up a bucket or two, but definitely worth the time and money invested. Whatever way you choose, you'll get some good ones from this field. VERDICT & RECOMMENDATIONS What an experience we had - waking up early, starting off our day in the company of friends, picking our own blueberries, losing each other in the fields, hearing the laughter of children amidst the bushes, and even having fun trying to find one another afterwards. This is by far one of the most unique southern adventures we've tried since relocating here, while yielding us some of the largest and sweetest blueberries than what we normally would find in local grocery stores. As tempting as it can be to be the first to fill up a bucket amongst friends, leave the competitiveness at home and come prepared to have fun in the calm of the morning. I highly recommend it at least once in your lifetime. Pick enough blueberries to fill 2 buckets and freeze some for the winter and off seasons. If you're juicing like some of us are, I'm sure you'll be back before the season ends as we will. Blueberries are high in antioxidants and perfect for juicing and snacking frozen on a hot-humid day in Alabama. Some of our friends will be making jams and even blueberry pancakes out of them. Go there before the season ends!

There's nothing like the sweet joy of coming home with more blueberries than you could ever…read moreimagine. It took two others and me about an hour to fill a bucket, and there are tons of blueberry bushes to pick to your heart's content. Thank you to the farmers that have graciously opened their field for the public to enjoy and share in the goodness of how fruit should be!

Great selection of fresh fruits, veggies, meats, honey, and more. There are multiple small…read morebusinesses that set up shop on Saturday mornings all with different items. Get there early and bring cash. Most will take a card, but if you want to negotiate bring cash. Not everyone shows up every weekend, so if you find a vendor you like, get to know them so you can stay up with their schedule.

My friends and family love to visit this farmer's market. We want to support our Alabama Farmers…read moreand this is where we can find the best and freshest produce in season. The canned goods and crafts are very good and provide excellent gifts to friends and family who love the wonderful "old fashioned" varieties which neither I nor they can make! The Farmers &/or their representatives are true southern "gentle folk" and so nice and friendly. We look forward to the markets seasons and MUST VISITto buy ffresh "home grown food"

This is NOT a restaurant, but a grocer's and bakery...in fact, so far, LEF&FM has the best…read morePanadería I've seen in North Alabama! Our eyes popped, mouths fell agape, and rumors of fainting abounded. The overall shopper's experience here is the best in Decatur. Among the Pan Dulces (Conchas, Ojo de Buyes, and such), we espied something similar enough to Chocolate-covered Doughnuts to make us kill for it. But we had a bag of goodies we'd already purchased and somehow staved ourselves off. Formerly at 6th Avenue, LEF&FM is a must visit. Oddly, four of the other Supermercados are within walking distance and thus in direct competition, a move seemingly both unwarranted and unwise, unless a concentrated Hispanic population in the immediate area ensures their collective viability. I can't say. The first items you'll notice as you walk in are the greens and such in the well-stocked and eye-catching produce area, and the atmosphere was well ratcheted up in our estimation due to the fact that the employees were all friendly. LEF&FM had a wonderful dairy department, stocked with Queso this, Quesillo that, Quesadillo these, and Crema those. Some cheeses had Jalapeno, others, Loroco, which is evidently a flower bud of Central American origin. The popular Cotija Molido, which is merely grated Cotija, was also evident. It's one of the crumbly cheese you'll see in Mexican food...in fact, I believe it's one of the ones of which you might say, "Why doesn't it melt?" In addition to the bakery and dairy areas, the display of "soda pops" (to import a term) and such was better than average. Yes, they have Jarritos, but also have Foco, Boing!, Tiky, and several others, some of which are actually Asian in origin, rather than Mexican or South American. We are already talking about returning here...and that's a thirty-plus-minute trip. And we won't come back empty handed. Possibly in a sugary haze, but not empty handed.

They serve a great capachino in a porcelain cup! We also…read morehad the sausage and egg sandwich on a bagel and it was awesome L Ambiance is very nice!

Friendly service, seasonal drinks as well as usuals. A handful of breakfast options like waffle…read morebites, açaí bowls, bagels. Calm, quiet environment the morning I was there! Feels local and loved that

Stopped in here to carry out some lunch since I had to stop at the building across the street. I am…read moreglad I did! The food was very good and the girl up front was very friendly. I got two chorizo gorditas, though I thought I ordered one of them marinated pork but it didn't matter to me because they were very good. If one was pork it was very close to chorizo in color, texture, and taste..haha. I also got a chicken quesadilla. The gordita shells were crispy in the outside and held together very well while eating. I really liked them. There were two sauces in the box. The red sauce was ok. Not my favorite I ever had but had good taste and ate all of it on the gorditas. It was kinda spicy, but not too spicy for me. My wife would find it hot. The yellow colored sauce: I didn't know what it was. I thought it was butter because of the color, but was not. It had some sweet notes to it and some bites were kinda spicy...or that was leftover heat from the red? I don't know but I ate it on my chicken quesadilla. I worried there may be a language barrier (since I am not fluent in Spanish) or I would have to translate menu on phone, but the menu had both and the girl up front spoke English. I'd definitely come back and try other things here..or the same things since I know they were good.

Review to come...I have several to write. Loved the produce and dairy sections here, and the…read moreowners were very friendly.

Quick Take: BOGO Tuesday, free apple pie with the Ham Panini with Raspberry Jelly..yes please!…read moreFriendly service, food tasted good, decent prices...would come back. The meat tasted good as always. The Ham Panini with Raspberry Jelly was tasty. I have two gripes with it. One, the jelly made that half of the sandwich very soggy. I ate it in the restaurant so it wasn't like I took it home. Two, the ham slices are not too thick, but thick enough where it is hard to bite through at their size without pulling the meat out with the soggy bite. The apple pie was also tasty, but don't heat in your microwave at home as it is in a foil tin. We sat at a high top and all the chairs there were rocking and bent. Be careful. Also, guys, come on...don't pee all over the toilet. Guys have to be better. I don't blame the restaurant but the bathroom could have been cleaner.

The staff are friendly and efficient! The food I receive is always correct. Looking forward to…read moremy next visit!!

Decent prices, produce could be alot more affordable and better packaged for individual sales but…read moremy disappointment comes today after seeing a online public social media police dispatch page post about a 911 call that came in and it was employees from the store who called on a man for simply sitting on the bench out front an asked he be trespassed, when all he was doing was waiting on a manger he aparently knew, most places around decatur the store mangers will give task to homeless individuals who ask to work for some food an it seems that was the case however 3 employees felt it was more important to single the gentleman who was causing absolutely no problems out and call the police no doubt embarrassing the poor man who was already down on his luck an most likely feeling humiliated for begging for work just so he could eat on a cold day during the winter. I hope the post I seen goes so viral that it attracts the attention of the local media and then some, I've had bad experience with the cashiers my self who act as if the job they have makes them better than the customers they serve and I got news for those self absorbed jerks what goes around comes around.

From the owner: Holaway's Food Market, an enduring part of Southwest Decatur since 1957, merged with the Foodland…read morechain in 2018. This merge was established to combine an exceptional meat market with a phenomenal grocery store and create a superior shopping experience that better serves Decatur and surrounding communities. Today, Holaway's Foodland operates on the same principles that were established in 1957 by Larry Holaway, who made the meat department legendary in the area. Our focus remains on providing the community with superior quality meat, the freshest produce available and a wide range of grocery items at the lowest possible price.