During my lunch break today, I stopped in at the (newly reopened) Collinsville Farmers Market and…read moreso glad I did. Wow, the place looks great after being remodeled. Clean atmosphere, quick service, super friendly staff, ample parking and conveniently located. They have a large selection of seasonal items - pumpkins of all sizes and the most beautiful mums. Homemade, ready to eat items in the cooler - salsa, fruit salad, cucumber salad, coleslaw, and pasta salad. Great selection of deli meats and cheeses. Along with Million Dollar Pickles (reasonable priced at $5 bucks), candies, and seasonings. Plus all the essentials - milk, eggs, bread and of course fresh fruits and veggies at good prices. Bonus... locally owned and operated for over 45 years.

Had a random craving for some kind of fruit spread for my morning toast and wanted to support a…read moremarket instead of going to a big store. Found this place online and saw their wide variety of fresh produce and was on my way! It's a cute shop with a lot to offer! Fruit and veggies greet you at the door. The nice man behind the counter gave me plenty of info about when they get more products and when business is in season. I probably will be coming back next month to try the other flavors of preserves! Parking is a little bit of a squeeze but nothing to worry too much about. You won't regret coming! I tried both spreads as soon as I got home and LOVE THEM BOTH!!

Very very nice gentleman that checked me out. I seen the sign heading to Bruce's auto repair, so…read moresince it looked new and is a local business I decided to make a quick stop in and ended up grabbing more produce than I expected ( I was like a kid in a candy store but with produce).The man inside (I didn't ask his name) was super nice and pleasant during my store visit, Now my only bad experience was parking. Though I was in there a short 10-15mins if that caused a bit of a conflict with the woman in the bakery next door. As there is minimum parking available in the lot and street parking well I wasn't sure if it was allowed. The bakery lady went out of her to inform me that next time I visited I can't park in front of her trash cans because it's a fire hazard. I told her ok I just ran in and the man inside said it was ok. She said no it's not you're blocking my cars and my trash cans so it's a fire hazard. I just told her don't worry about it I was going to go into her bakery to spontaneously buy goodies but now I'll never give her my business!! Better yet during business hrs she should park her vehicles on the street so customers know they have a place to park! With that being said if there's no parking in the lot you'll have to park on the street but you'll then understand why I didn't. So Produce store is a good place to stop in and support a local small business

The friendliest family with delicious fruits and vegetables at very reasonable prices. When…read moreavailable, you can go out and pick the fruits yourself. My grandma loves to come here and insisted that I needed to come here while on my trip, and I am so glad I did! They also sell soaps, honey, and other products in their little shop. The farm animals are all very friendly and sweet. We even got lucky and got to buy one of the last bunches of strawberries! I am so excited to eat my fresh raspberries, cherries, strawberries, and zucchini. Biggest thanks to the Kern family for a memorable visit!

Delicious fruit! It's way better than what you can get at the grocery store and the family that…read moreruns it is very friendly and accommodating.

Whenever I want a really good steak, I head straight to Mileur Orchard. The produce is excellent as…read morewell especially their tomatoes. One of my favorite meals is one of their steaks, a sliced tomato and a baked potato. Major Yum! Wendy S

This is a nice, little road side stand type spot. It's a small local orchard, and I think has…read moreseasonal hours. So call to check before driving out. It's not like the big family destination spot orchards - so check your Eckert Family Farm expectations at the door as you drive down the blacktop highway. There is a small food kitchen connected to it that was cooking and selling food, but I didn't try it. This is one place you can sometimes get Mutsu apples -- the BEST apples for baking! And they're so delicious! During my latest visit I got apple butter, fresh apples, cider, peaches, and an apple pastry to go. They had pies and donuts, but they were already sold out - good sign, right!?! It was a nice stop as we drove through the southern Illinois area. I feel fortunate when we can time it right, driving through, and get some good ol' southern Illinois orchard goodies! YUM!

This is a great historic place and a local gem. The farm stand is a friendly family-run business…read morewith great produce and the best apple cider around.

I love this place. It's in the middle of nowhere and the peaches are So. Damn. Good. I mean, I…read moredon't even mess with grocery store peaches anymore, this orchard ruined them for me forever. I dream of these things. And on a hot summers day, their frozen peach slushie is the most perfect thing you could wish for. I think the only thing it's missing is some bourbon .. but hey, nobody's perfect.

Good place for veggies and other small garden related items and plants. Just about the only place…read morewith decent avocados in town. Also cilantro and other herbs and more specific items like that

We have been to this locally owned orchard several times and have enjoyed it every single time. My…read morekids absolutely love the free playground and the animals you can pet, and honestly, I love them too. The free tractor ride is such a nice bonus and always a hit. All of the picking spots are wonderful and make for such a fun family outing. The bakery on site is also amazing and always has the best goodies. Overall, this is one of our favorite places to visit and we always have a great time.

A nice alternative to some of the bigger and more popular orchards around St. Louis and across the…read moreriver in Illinois, Braeutgam Orchards is definitely a place you'll want to visit in the Fall for your annual pumpkin and apple picking traditions. Crowds were manageable and any line we stood in (whether it was for the tractor to take us to the orchard or in the bakery to buy goods) didn't take long to go through. Loved that there was no additional fee to ride the tractors to the orchards. The one downside is that while there is a bakery, there is no food stall to buy lunch or snacks like chips or hot dogs. If you plan on spending a portion of your day there, you'll want to be sure to bring a cooler with food. We made the mistake of assuming there would be things to buy for lunch and we left starving after snacking on a couple of apple cider donuts.

Great farmers market they have a great selection never disappointed I always go for their fresh…read morefruit

I've been visiting the Farmer's Market for years, more than a decade, and it's long been my first…read morestop for buying local produce, honey, and things like that all this time. But on a recent visit, I was there when a young man came in to drop off an application. He was neat and well-groomed, but he had long hair. The owner took his application and berated him -- that's really the only word I can use -- on his hair and told him he'd have to cut his hair before he'd even consider hiring him. The boy acknowledged that he'd do it if he was hired, thanked the owner, and left. And this is why I'm writing my review -- once the boy left, and he couldn't have been more than 16 or 17 so literally just a kid, the owner began mocking him and talking about how he'd never have such a "trash excuse for a human being working behind MY counter and representing MY business." I might understand that kind of attitude had he been talking about a particularly disheveled and sloppy person, but this was literally just a kid with long hair. He was wearing pressed pants and a polo shirt. He was neat and clean. He was completely respectful in all his interactions with the owner from the time he arrived until the time he left. There was absolutely no reason to talk about him like that -- *especially considering this was just a kid. The trash talk did not end there, but since my order was complete and I'd paid, I left while he was still ranting to anyone who'd listen -- customers and employees alike. As much as I've made the Farmer's Market a part of my life all these years, that is the last visit I will ever make. I get that he's the owner and can make whatever choices and decisions he wants, but to be so grossly unprofessional like that and about a KID who is looking for a JOB and not being the least bit rude to him at all? Yeah, I'll take my business elsewhere, thanks.

Have you ever been surrounded by sunflowers? The Sunflower Experience at Eckert's is the perfect…read moreplace to do it. Mom and I chose the Flower Power Sunflower Pass, which included admission, a single cut-your-own sunflower, a souvenir mason jar lemonade (booze optional) and a pretty faux flower crown. It added a fun, whimsical touch to the day and made for even better photos! There was an option to fill a cut-your-own vase in the field for $10. The ride to the fields is part of the fun. Slow your mind and enjoy the journey. Once in the field, we skipped the walk up lookout, but took advantage of some of the unique photo opportunities throughout, including a flower arch, bicycle, oversized wicker basket and giant branded watering can, to name a few. The one downside was the mud. The previous day's rain made the ground soggy, and my sneakers sank in amongst the stalks once immediately off the main trail. Eckert's spread hay on some of the muddier areas, which helped absorb some moisture. Waterproof shoes or rain boots are a smart choice if there's been rain. I also recommend sunscreen, bug spray, hats and sunglasses. Pro tip: buy your tickets online ahead of time. I recommend going as early in sunflower season as possible. Quite a few of the blooms immediately alongside the trail had already been cut, despite signs asking visitors not to do so. There were still PLENTY of beautiful sunflowers to enjoy, along with a gorgeous field of colorful zinnias, but access was muddy overall. I know - it's a farm - and there will be dirt, but I hadn't recalled the field being so wet on previous visits over the years, so just tossing out a heads up on proper footwear and such. :) Although our wristbands gave us access to the peach trees also, we opted for picking them up from the Country Store instead! We finished the day with lunch at the restaurant, where I had some of the BEST fried chicken I've ever had. Perfectly coated and fried. It was a great topper on a wonderful day out with my mother. PS Because we were stuffed to the gills, we opted to take two slices of peach pie to go and that was one of the best decisions I've made all year. It's got a delicious homemade quality that is increasingly hard to find. It was stuffed with the freshest, sweetest peaches around. Don't miss out, dude.

Eckerts store is huge. From foods, to wines, to souvenirs, to nursery, to hayrides they cover…read moreeverything. Fruits, veggies, deli, plants and bakery. Household items as well. Staff were friendly. Store is pricey. Plentiful parking and plenty of picturesque areas. Store is well lit, and spacious.