Prairie Wind Family Farm Pizza Night is such a treat for Chicagoland. We are so lucky to have a Pizza Farm just under an hour drive from the city. They even serve on Sunday evenings. Many times, getting out to a pizza farm on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday is a challenge that requires lots of planning and shifting around of normal weeknight routines. Sunday evening tends to be a time when more people are available for a little adventure outside the city. In fact, every time I have visited I have been able to bring new folks and Pizza Farm first-timers. Without having to compete with school, work, and rushed weeknight dinners, many people are willing to check out a Pizza Farm. And without having to compete with weekday traffic, the drive out to Grayslake is a breeze.
This Pizza Farm was a family event for me. My parents invited their cousins that live in outside of Chicago and we ended up with 4 generations of central New York Italian-Americans that had migrated west to Illinois. It was a fun reunion for my parents and I and their cousins as well as a first meeting for several of the younger crew. And everyone’s first introduction to the expanse of my Pizza Accessories collection.
Prairie Wind Family Farm is still new to the Pizza Farm world and they seem to enjoy trying out new ideas. This season they expanded to include a Farm Taco Night in July. They also provide live music, extra treats and produce at their farmstand, extremely informative and fun farm tours, and this time, a wagon ride out to see some of the new improvements they’ve been making. Farming is not easy, so I can truly appreciate the innovation and adaptation that Farmers Jeff and Jen show making Prairie Wind Family Farm such a special place. Pizza Night, Taco Night, and wagon rides are ways that they get the community involved and make the farm and the nutritious food they grow accessible to those around them. I also know that they are innovative and adapting with their growing practices. Every time I visit they are trying new things to produce the best crops, to adapt to the changing weather patterns and climate shifts, and to make the best use of their land.
And they have some great food connections. I can’t speak to the Taco Night, because I didn’t make it out in July, but I love what Pizza Chef John, another New Yorker that has made his way west to Illinois, does with the local harvest to make delicious Pizza Pies. His mobile Pizza Oven from Pizzeria Deville may soon need to expand to keep up with the pizza demand.
The wait for the pizza was a little longer than predicted, but you are encouraged to bring in your own beverages and snacks, so we had plenty to hold us over while we waited. We also had a chance to walk around the grounds a little. Behind the lawn seating area, the working areas of the farm stretch out. Fields, hoop houses, and all kinds of equipment appear once you cross behind some of the buildings. And, to the chagrin of my co-worker, who has a long-standing dislike of chickens, but enthusiastically enjoys goats, the two animals share a pen, eagerly waiting for farm visitors to feed them some greens over the fence.
Our cousins had arrived before us and ordered their pizza first, so we ended up with two rounds of pizza. But between all the snacks, cookies, and beers that we consumed as well, we ended up with a significant amount of leftovers. I, of course, love having leftovers. It is one of the ways I can extend the Pizza Farm experience for myself, or if I am feeling extra generous, I can pass it along and share part of the experience with someone who wasn’t able to join us on the farm.
Thanks again to Prairie Wind Family Farm for putting together such a unique and special way for us city dwellers to get out to the country, meet up with family and friends, and share a delicious meal in community with dozens of others.
