I always return to popular places that I didn't connect with in the same way super fans do…read more Sometimes, I think I got it right. And sometimes, I have to admit I got it wrong. In the case of Tulmeadow Farm and Lacroix's Homemade (I'm posting the same update for both), I have to admit that I had it somewhat wrong. Both Tulmeadow and Lacroix's made @cticecreamtour's Top 15 CT Creameries. My original reviews for both Tulmeadow and Lacroix's were both good btw. I just didn't initially connect with the flavors I tried in the way that I did with my other CT favorites. Since those initial reviews, everything I tried at each has been a banger. At Tulmeadow, I recently had Red Raspberry Chocolate Chip, Marshmallow Toasted Cornflake, Chocolate Raspberry Raspberry Curd and the best flavor I've had this year -- Double Raspberry Crumbcake. The flavors all popped. The use of intensely flavored raspberry curd in a couple of the ice creams was next level. The colors were right on. The texture was top tier. Service was friendly and the farm setting adds to the experience. Tulmeadow is 5 Stars and I'm upgrading my earlier review.

While yes, it did taste like carrot cake, it didn't have any pieces or texture. That alone wouldn't…read morehad been a big enough deal to knock off stars, but the milkshake was also on the thinner side and we were charged an additional $2, in tax? Eh we go to many shops so maybe we just have different expectations.

"When I get home tonight I'm gonna hold her tight…read moreI'm gonna love her till the cows come home" (Lennon and McCartney) Another reason why I love Yelp! When I saw my Yelp friends Ana and Kim both review this very cool place, well I kind of made my mind up that I'd check it out too. I mean, how can you resist going to a store that has no employees, and you pay for whatever you buy on the honor system, either electronically or putting your dinero into a cash box. The store is small, but jam packed with frozen foods, ice cream, fudge, honey, jarred goods, coffee, goat and cow soap products, clothes, jewelry, a full dairy case of milks, eggs, and cheese, and more. We ended up buying a frozen portion of ground veal at a great price- just $7 for close to a pound. The purchase came at the perfect time for us because we needed it for our Thanksgiving meatballs recipe. So go take a ride to the country and check out this unique place. You'll have a blast poking around and looking at the many cows next to the store. In fact the whole experience is a pretty cool one.

The Cow's Coop is an adorable, tiny farm store in Canton. Upon arriving on their property I first…read morenoticed some cows, there were around five cows laying down catching the sun and one was eating. There were also some hens. In the center of the property is the store. There's no one working here. The store is completely self assist. Now, don't think of trying anything funny, there are cameras watching you. This store is precious! Here you can find cheese, milk, ice cream, local meat and eggs. You'll also find their own branded, handcrafted soap, candles, and skin care. Their soaps are beautifully made and smell delightful, and make excellent pairings with their candles. How do you pay if no one is working here? Well, first it's good to be honest, and trustworthy. They're trusting you to be alone in their tiny store, with their carefully curated and handmade products. By the door, there is a notebook, in which you can write what you're purchasing. You can pay by inserting cash into a red box, or you can pay on Venmo. Their prices are a bit higher. I truly enjoyed browsing through this little store. There are so many tasty looking and smelling items. Please take the drive and check them out for yourself.

I came here for a birthday party and it was the first time visiting this farm. It is pretty cute…read moreand the birthday party was held in a small building with its own kitchen. The kids had fun feeding the farm animals. I will have to admit I had fun too. There are all sorts of farm animals, such as chickens, cats, dogs, goats, horses, bunnies, pigs and more. I am a cat person and I enjoy looking for the barn cats. The place is pretty clean for a farm and the kids enjoy the tractor ride. All the employees were nice and friendly. If you're planning a fun kids party, this is a great place for them.

You can't miss the iconic large red barn that has the word EGGS, but backwards on it. Flamig Farm…read morehas been in existence since 1907; located in West Simsbury. First visit, I got there around 4:40 and they were closing at 5; it was a short trip because I just wanted to get some eggs. The employee said they were closing soon and so was the petting zoo when I first walked in; I mentioned I was going to be quick and just wanted to get some eggs. I didn't know they had a petting zoo so I made a plan to go back again another time. The store was your typical farm stand, they had eggs, honey, cookies, apparel, and various of other knick knacks. They were having a sale, buy one dozens eggs ($7) and get one dozen free. The chickens were laying too many eggs and they wanted to get rid of as many as possible. The second time, I got in earlier in the day and purchased petting zoo tickets; $8 per person over 2 years old/under 80 years old and for an additional $2, you can purchase feed. I highly recommend getting the feed, the animals loved it. The petting zoo was bigger than I thought. There's even a playground with benches and picnic tables. The place seemed clean and the animals seem well taken care of. We saw pigs, llamas (my favorite), sheep, goats, alpacas, peacocks, cows, ponies (another favorite), donkeys, bunnies, chickens, and a black cat.Inside the shop, there were baby chicks, birds, and guinea pigs. There were signs explaining what type of animals, facts, and their story/names throughout. They also offer pony and tractor rides for an additional fee. There's a huge pavilion with picnic tables; you can bring your own food in. Also, there is an Airbnb onsite and people book their weddings there. There are many events hosted there as well; children programs and summer camps are popular ones. My kids and I had a blast petting and feeding the animals. I highly recommend!

We came to this farm in September for the tractor ride and apple picking. After, we bought a 4-pack…read moreof the Bear Essentials hard ciders and sat at one of the picnic tables to drink it. The ciders were enjoyable. Bushy Hill Cidery is located in Clark Farms. They make apple wine, cider, and hard cider from 20 different types of apples they grow. They have 4 types of hard ciders: 1. B.N.D (dry) 2. Ruddy Wild (dry-cranberry) 3.Jump Start (ginger flavored) 4.Bear Essentials (local honey blend-sweet) And 2 types of apple wine: 1. Citron 2. Apple Blossom They serve those in house and you can purchase cans and growlers to go. They also serve local CT craft beer and mimosas. There's a porch, patio, and indoor area to enjoy those drinks. They also serve food from a limited seasonal menu. I look forward to going back to try out some more of their ciders and food!

The Bushy Hill Cidery is located on the same property as the Bushy Hill Orchard. The Cidery is only…read moreopen on the weekends. It is so adorable, homey and inviting on the inside. I got the Jump Start Cider! This is a ginger cider, it is light and invigorating and truly had all of senses ready to go! I love how refreshing and crisp it is! They also sell some locally made soaps, baked goods, and preservatives! I got a large jar of locally made honey. They also have ice cream, which I didn't try this time. I wish there was some live music here. They have board games you can play. I'm not familiar with a lot of Cideries in the area. This one is a lot of fun. Everything about The Bushy Hill Cidery is local and homemade. I cannot wait to go back and try more of their menu.

Casual farm stand/store plus cafe that offers baked goods, sandwiches, small selection of novelty…read moreitems, farm fresh produce, and ice cream from Tulmeadow Farms. They offer indoor seating. Staff is friendly and courteous. Ice cream selections include about a dozen flavors with options for cup, cone or waffle cone along with an array of toppings. Options to get soda floats and milkshakes too. Great option to get Tulmeadow ice cream year round.

We stopped in for breakfast one morning and it's a very cute shop. They sell products from local…read morevendors as well as their own. There were fresh veggies and fruit. They make their own salsa, ham, sauces, etc.; will purchase that to try out next time! This was before Christmas and they had a small Christmas tree up decorated with handmade ornaments from local artists; zip codes with bells and signs with the town names on it. I thought that was cute! I ordered a breakfast sandwich, coffee, and apple cider donuts. Those were delicious! They also have soup, pies, handmade soaps, honey, etc. If you can't make it inside, they do have a drive thru. There were a couple of small tables inside and outside. I am all for supportting local small businesses! Can't wait to go back.

"But now when I'm lonesome, I always pretend That I'm…read moregetting the feel of hickory wind" (The Byrds) Sweet Wind Farms has been operated by the Case family going back into the 1940's. From June to October, they sell naturally grown (no chemicals or fertilizers) fruits - strawberries, blueberries, Raspberries, apples, rhubarb, and melons. During the summer, you can buy cut flowers, bouquets, and garden plants or even attend a class or workshop. Some of the flowers they sell are cosmos, zinnias, dahlias, and sunflowers Year-round maple products are their specialty - pure maple syrup made on-site, maple sugar candy, granulated sugar, maple cream, maple jelly, and maple lollipops. Their sugarhouse was built in 2005, and the first bottles of syrup were made in 2006. We visited yesterday, because yesterday was the second Saturday in March, and that meant for the 19th time it was time for their Annual Maple Festival. Admission was free, and let me tell ya, the Sugar House was packed. We saw how pure maple syrup was made, sampled some maple syrup and maple cream, checked out their big selection of maple products, and enjoyed their warm hospitality and some live music. They were selling pancakes, sausages and (of course) fresh maple syrup, and I peeked into their open kitchen and saw a young lady diligently cooking sixteen perfect pancakes on their grill. The Maple Festival is a fantastic look at a New England tradition! Mark your calendars for next year, but feel free to visit anytime and take home a bottle or jug of pure sweet maple goodness.

The man who was working was very kind. We bought some maple candies and blueberries. They have a…read moregreat selection of plants and berries. It was a very good experience.

The Garlic Farm is a small family owned farm and farm stand located in West Granby. They specialize…read morein, you guessed, garlic and other vegetables. They have been open for three decades. They offer German white hardneck garlic, seed garlic, garlic bulbs, and garlic braids. The farm stand is in an old tobacco barn. I went a couple times and thought it was awesome. The prices were great and they had a huge variety of produce. One time, they posted on social that the flowers were free to pick. If you love fresh produce and supporting a small business, I highly recommend.

"This is the end Beautiful friend…read moreThis is the end Of our elaborate plans, the end" (The Doors) The Garlic Farm's season will end on October 12th, when their doors will be closed for the winter and reopen in the spring. But the end of their season comes with a fantastic bonus for anyone that can get over to West Granby before October 12. That bonus is as many flowers as possible that you can cut and take home from their acres of flower farms. For Free. We saw people out there today with shopping bags, and laundry baskets scooping up their share of gorgeous flowers. Although some of the flowers (especially the sunflowers were way past peak), rest assured there were a ton of gorgeous fresh flowers representing every color of the rainbow still available. We cut and took home enough to fill three vases, of which we kept one and donated the other two to the local Senior Center to brighten the desks of two administrators. So, if you are in the area and have a hankering for some free flowers, set your navigation system to West Granby and enjoy. Just do it before October 12.

This 75-acre farm opened as a U-Pick farm to the public since the 1980s. There are about 15,000…read moreapple trees which are no more than 6 feet tall due to the way it was planted. They planted it this way so people can reach it when the fruits are ready to be picked, genius idea. They also grow peaches, plums, nectarines, blueberries, various vegetables, and Asian pears. We went in September for apple picking. The parking lot was spacious, a nice farm stand, a patio area, and a picnic area. This year, apple picking started on 8/31/2024 and ends in late October. You have to check in at the window to purchase a ticket; they give you a bag and ticket for a tractor ride to the apple orchard. The farm stand has donuts, ice cream, cider, slushie, and a cafe. The tractor ride was fun; you can buy a ticket just for the tractor ride alone for $5 or $18 for a bag and tractor ride. We waited about 30 minutes for the tractor; it was the last tractor ride of the day and it was a busy Saturday. We went late in the season so most of the apples were picked over. We were able to get a bag full though. The property was amazing and the view of the hills from the orchard was lovely. After, we sat at the picnic table area and which had fire pits too. They had toys for the kids and there was live music. We tried out their hard cider (4-pack $24) and it was good. Overall, it's a fun place to do a fall festivitiy.

Great place for fall festivities- they have expanded the farm a lot with various activities for…read morekids. Enjoyed apple picking ( less apples then usual this year sadly) and gone up in price but overall great experience. Large farm and hay rides. Also was able to sit and enjoy cider and donuts. There was a line during peak season but goes pretty quick if towards the afternoon. Overall very nice

This historic farm is located in West Granby and is over 300 acres. The land has been farmed on…read moresince 1756. There are trails on the property open to the public, they also offer CSAs (community supported agriculture). They sometimes hosts classes and events. There is a seasonal farm store onsite. The store was lovely; I enjoyed shopping there. There were fresh produce as well as some dairy products, cookies, pickles, and more. They were offering free samples of watermelon in the summer. It's definitely worth a visit once they open again for the season!

Jamie and the entire team at Holcomb Farm are AMAZING!! They were so on top of planning, details,…read moreday of coordination, the list goes on. We did our rehearsal dinner, get ready, ceremony, and cocktail hour at Holcomb Farm. The venue is absolutely breathtaking from every angle. It's beautiful while still being rustic and charming. The prices are so reasonable for what you're getting and I couldn't have imagined a better place to get married. Jamie was helpful the entire time, even fluffing my train before I walked down the aisle! I cannot recommend the location, venue, and staff enough. If you're looking for the perfect wedding/reunion/shower/party location possible, look no further!