Going to a pizza farm has always been a social event for me. A large part of the fun is sharing the experience with friends and family. Yet as I planned this trip a few days in advance, I realized I might be going on my own. In some ways, I was able to relax a little more and not have to worry about coordinating with anyone else’s schedule or location, and so I decided to make a day of it on my own. Known by some as an extra-extrovert, a day to myself isn’t something you’ll find me looking forward to very often. But I love fall and I love fall pizza farms and I went ahead and planned my day trip to Wisconsin.
I left early in the afternoon to avoid traffic and made my way to Apple Barn Orchard and Farm. To be honest, I chose this apple orchard based on the location and because they had a picture of a donut on their bakery page of the website. I don’t eat apples very much and when I go to an apple orchard, I am most excited for the cider and donuts. I was quite disappointed when I saw the bakery case completely empty of donuts. I searched the entire farm store in case there was some little side area that served the donuts, but to no avail. In the end I settled for a pumpkin scone (because it had frosting) and an apple cider donut muffin, which was as close as I was going to get to a real donut. I missed having a real donut, but the stop was still worth it, because the farm was cute and full of pumpkins and apples and changing colored leaves.
I left the orchard and drove toward Earth Fresh Acres pizza farm. It would be my first visit to this farm and I 
was excited, as I always am, to visit a place for the first time. At almost every junction along the way, I saw signs for Aztalan State Park pointing in the same direction that I was going and my interest was piqued. It was a beautiful fall day, I was dressed warm enough, I was a little early for dinner, and I love visiting parks. It turns out Aztalan State Park is just two minutes down the road from Earth Fresh Acres! Of course I had to stop. At this point in the afternoon, my friend from Madison had left me a voicemail. Some of their weekend plans had fallen through and it looked like he would be able to make it to the Pizza Farm after picking up his son from childcare! I had enjoyed the solitary afternoon, but I always prefer to have a friend at the farm, so this was great news. The drive to Earth Fresh Acres from Madison is about half an hour and Matt wasn’t quite ready to leave, so that still gave me plenty of time to walk around the State Park and learn about the Native American city that once stood there at one of Wisconsin’s most important archaeological sites. Wisconsin is always full of surprises.
I almost drove by Earth Fresh Acres. In fact, I had driven by it the first time on my way to the Aztalan State Park and I hadn’t noticed. The sign along the road was small and there weren’t many cars in the parking 
area at the time to draw my attention. The pizza oven and seating were set off the road and down a hill a bit, so I didn’t see them right away. Once I parked I saw that the fire pit was already going, there was some live music playing, the Komboocho Brewing taps were set and Sassy Sweets, LLC had a dessert table. I knew that despite my earlier purchase of a scone and muffin, I probably still needed a cookie or a bar to complete my daily intake of treats.
I started off with an Original Kombucha, talked with a few people, made sure my table and chairs were set up and ready to go, checked out the menu, and roamed about the farm to get some pictures before sunset while waiting for Matt and Isaac to arrive. Once my kombucha was gone, I refilled my cup with some Chicago beer that I had brought a long just in case, making sure to save one for Matt,and continued my pizza farm research.
Earth Fresh Acres has been having a pizza night for 8 seasons now. Many of the people gathered there for the final night were from very close by. One family walked down the country road to get there. Another 
group included the family of neighbors that lived just over the hill. So there were the regulars, but I also met a few people that were coming for their first ever visit. I hope that, like me, they were drawn in to the magic of pizza farms and will look forward to becoming regular visitors next season. Earth Fresh Acres did a great job of making it enjoyable. There was a play structure and plenty of young people running around. The kombucha and sweets were a fun addition. The fire pit was a great community builder on a chilly October evening. Some chickens were out and about until the sun started to set. And three very tolerant farm cats enchanted just about every person there.
I had asked the pizza maker for a recommendation and he suggested the Farmer Bill, a seasonal variety with squash, jalapenos, feta, and chicken. I ordered that along with the Fall Special made up of kale, mushrooms, alfredo sauce, and chicken. When Matt arrived, we decided to add on the Bambino, pepperoni and pineapple. All of the pizzas tasted great. The squash, jalapenos, and kale were all right from the farm. Once they came out of the oven, the crew would slice it up and hand deliver it. This became more difficult as the sun set and it was dark out, but the young pizza delivery people did their best. We got our orders in just before it really got dark. And the pizza table cloth and my pizza hat usually make me easy to find.
The pizza was delicious and we ate quite a bit, saving only a few pieces of leftovers for Isaac to take home to his mom. As I had expected, I needed a peanut butter cookie and Mississippi Mud bar from Sassy Sweets before we left. We were the last to leave, gathering all of my pizza farm accessories in the dark as the crew cleaned up.
It was a great season finale for the 2018 Pizza Farm Season. I was able to experience 8 farms for the first time this year and revisit several of my old favorites. Now, we enter the Pizza Farm off-season. There is plenty of off-season training and conditioning to do to stay in Pizza Farm shape and maybe there will even be a winter pizza farm pop-up in the near future. I’m already planning for 2019.
