What a spectacular weekend to see some fall colors, right? We took a beautiful drive out to the Landscape Arboretum’s AppleHouse in Victoria last Saturday to do some apple shopping and pumpkin picking.
To our delight, the North Star Donuts truck was parked at the patch selling hot apple cider mini donuts and delicious apple cider slushies. The latter is so refreshing you could suck it down in a minute, but don’t — lest you wind up with a wicked brain freeze 🥶😱 like us.
The North Star truck is stationed at the AppleHouse from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Wednesday through Sunday in October. It’s the perfect pitstop after you’ve swept the shelves at the AppleHouse, which is up to its eyeballs in University of Minnesota-bred apples like SweeTango, Honeygold, Snowsweet, and Regent.
We took a gamble on half a peck of no-name apples (MN #1914) harvested from the school’s agricultural research program and were not disappointed. They were a juicy, tangy, crisp crossbreed of Honeycrisp and Zestar! The AppleHouse selection changes throughout the harvest, so if there’s a certain type you’ve got a hankering for, call the 🍎 hotline (612-301-3487) to check its availability.
Also for sale at the AppleHouse: apple pies, apple crisps, caramel apples, apple sauerkraut, apple-print face masks, and non-apple goodies such as #MNmade salsas, #MNharvested wild rice, and a bajillion decorative pumpkins, gourds, and squash (including some whopping thigh-high monsters to scare away the trick-or-treaters).
A few notes re: COVID-19 protocol: Face coverings must be worn inside the AppleHouse. There’s plexiglass at the registers and hand sanitizer at the door. Cash is not being accepted at this time and workers are limiting the number of people permitted inside the building. Still, it gets busy – so try to be mindful of your own 6-foot bubble.
U of M AppleHouse
7485 Rolling Acres Rd., Victoria, MN; 612-301-3487.
