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| - Anyone who posts an outlier-- a really negative review when everyone else posts good ones-- has an obligation to explain themselves. You should convince readers that you aren't a jilted ex, or a Yelp ad salesman using a phony persona to ding a merchant for not buying ads.
So let me qualify this pan very carefully.
1. I don't have kids, don't do fall festivals and am pretty much allergic to fun. Every word written about the hay rides, corn mazes and pumpkin-related escapades might be 100% true.I wouldn't know. As Alton Brown put it, "I'm just here for the food,"
2. My folks are from Geauga County; my wife's folks are from Portage County. Both sides of the family make trips to the farm markets in Amish Country. I've spent a lot of time in family farm markets and will not be easily impressed.
With that said, blah. Red Wagon Farms is 20 minutes away from where I live, so I would REALLY like to like their produce.It would save me three hours of round-trip driving to see the fams It's just not impressive.
For one thing, the prices are high. I don't mind paying premium to support local farmers, or for really good stuff. I never got anything worth the money-- or even that I really wanted to eat again.
I tried the strawberries and the tart cherries (they make better pies). The cherries were more sour than tart. The picked strawberries were underripe and underflavored.
The apples were OK. I got decent apple butter and an adequate pie. Nothing I couldn't get from the produce in at, say, Shaker's IGA in Olmsted Township. (Didn't try the cider, since I wasn't impressed by the raw materials.)
The slicing tomatoes were hard and tasted mostly of water. The romas were hard and didn't improve when I roasted them for sauce. Same with the green peppers. (I didn't try the hot ones; they looked unappealing. I don't like banana peppers.)
I tried the green beans steamed, baked and southern-stewed. None of the ways provided much.
And the corn is simply a waste of time. If you like it, drive to Dussel Farms in Brimfield or Rufeners in Suffield; Heinens deals with a couple of good providers.
I have no complaints about the selection or the service. I just wouldn't want to eat anything they grow.
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