It is peak Pizza Farm Season in the Midwest and Red Barn Farm was hopping last night. It was sunny and hot, but with a nice breeze and shade that spread over the lawn as the evening continued. Gigi and Robinette were back at it and we brought a new friend, Mike. Mike was intrigued by the concept of a farm that grows pizza and we were excited to introduce him to the world of Pizza Farms.
We arrived early enough that the line wasn’t too long. In fact, it was so short that we struggled to make a decision before it was our turn. Since Mike was under orders to bring home leftovers, we broke our standard ordering formula of Pizzas Ordered = Total People – 1 and ordered three pizzas for three people. It was the right choice. The weekly special, The Popeye, caught our eye at the last second and I am glad it did. With an olive 
oil base and topped with spinach, broccoli, onions, and cheese, it not only added a beautiful green to our pizza display, it was also probably our favorite of the night. We also couldn’t resist the Greek and the Margherita (despite being misspelled as the drink, Margarita, a very common, but frustrating mistake to me) and so we ended up ordering all olive oil based pizzas. And that means we have to go back some other day to try the red sauce. Win-win.
Since we were on the early side, our pizzas took only about ten minutes to make. We strolled about the grounds, enjoying Red Barn’s fields of flowers, vegetables, and grapes, the bordering farms’ rows and rows of corn, as well as the resident horses and chickens, and a local musician playing guitar and singing.
The pizzas looked gorgeous, particularly with the green of the Popeye, and they tasted wonderful. The broccoli was cooked perfectly and had just the right amount of crunch. Some of the pieces were all stem; one of the bests parts we agreed. I never understood why broccoli has a reputation of being unpopular with children. It has always been one of my favorite vegetables. But considering that stereotype, the Popeye was an adult pizza, and considering that we seemed to be one of the few groups at Pizza Night without children, it was appropriate that we enjoyed it so much. The Greek and Margherita also did not disappoint. The fresh mozzarella on the margherita and the whole garlic cloves on both of them were two highlights.
As I said before, it is peak season, so the night was full of extended sunshine, bugs, children, laughter, balls being thrown, bare feet (despite the signs prohibiting bare feet on the farm), amazing pizza smells, the occasional farm animal smell, blankets, chairs, fold up tables, music and singing, and, of course, great tasting pizza.
