Ovis Hill Farm Market and Shuler's BBQ

On a cool day at the end of February we were off once again on one of our outings to support local farms and businesses. After meeting in the parking lot of a neighborhood business, we moved a cooler to one car, got ourselves situated, and proceeded to play "follow the leader" to our destination.

First stop, the Ovis Hill Farm "Farm Market" located next to Naturally Outdoors on West Palmetto Street in Florence, South Carolina!

Ovis Hill Farm is a family owned livestock and certified organic vegetable farm located in Darlington County just west of Florence and convenient to I-20 and I-95. Alice and Charlie Caldwell are currently shepherding sheep, grazing cows as well as pasture raised chickens & gathering eggs from a small flock of laying hens.The Caldwells sell pasture raised, grass fed lamb, beef, poultry, eggs, and dairy products as well as seasonal organic veggies. All meat is USDA inspected, hormone and antibiotic free and veggies are raised organically. A variety of products from Ovis Hill Farm and a network of local farms are at Ovis Hill Farm Markets located in Florence, Myrtle Beach and Hartsville SC. 

Each week a market bulletin in posted on their website with updates. This week's bulletin showed us the following: 
New Veggies from our Grow Foods Carolina Network! If all goes well with our link up we should have several varieties of lettuce, Daikon radishes, frozen organic blueberries and fresh turmeric root form several local farms in the Charleston area. We may also have baby collard greens, Ricky James' sweet potatoes and microgreens from City Roots.

There we met Charlie Caldwell, farmer and owner, and proceeded to look around and explore the amazing selection of products offered. Charlie greeted the group and really wanted to give us a talk about who and what they are, and what they do, but there just was never a good time as it quickly got busy, not just with our 9, but with many others coming to shop.

click photos to enlarge

What is unique is the partnering they do with the other farms ... that provided a much larger selection and the various types of products were amazing. Between the meat selections of chicken, pork or beef, variety of produce, grains and legumes, organic berries and dried fruits, milk, cheese, apple cider, fresh fish, honey and even ground coffee, you could literally shop here for the week for all your groceries. I was amazed! All this under a big white tent with a steady stream of customers coming and going. Charlie Caldwell is a great guy, and I would recommend this market to all my friends. Better yet, it's open year round!

After everyone got checked out, we loaded up our coolers with all the goodies we bought, went over the directions to our next destination, and headed out. So excited we were going for lunch at Shulers BBQ as seen on the popular TV show The Profit. I couldn't wait to see it and experience all of it, after I had watched this episode; I remember saying part way into the show, "hey this is in South Carolina not too far from us." You can watch a sneak peek of the episode here.

Located in the middle of nowhere, Shulers BBQ is a thriving business with lines out the door every day. Since we arrived shortly before they opened (and the lines were already forming), we opted to check out the adjacent General Store. When we first walked in everyone was like "uh oh, we're in trouble now" as each person drifted off to check out this or that. There's even a bakery inside ... trouble, trouble, trouble! We opted to look around, but come back in to shop after lunch (probably so we wouldn't all be toting numerous large bags of purchases with us).

When the restaurant opened we went in and straight up the line to pay for our orders, before we proceeded through the buffet with cafeteria-style trays. Since we had a group of 9, they had set aside a table for us in one of the large rooms adjoining the outdoor deck. The food was as you'd expect "down home country cooking" with pulled pork, fried chicken, every side dish you can imagine, Lynn's famous "little biscuits," and desserts! All this for the price of $8.95 + tax = $9.94 includes drinks and free refills. What a feast! Please be sure to check out their complete menu here.

We got our food, found our table, and proceeded to indulge in what is Shulers BBQ! We absolutely had a great time, eating and talking, and then someone mentioned dessert! Who could eat dessert? I was so full I was stuffed, but hey, it's dessert after all. Ok! So a few brave souls wondered up to get a delicious treat. There was Banana Pudding, Peach Cobbler with Ice-Cream and a Bread Pudding. Delicious! Shulers BBQ is a clean, fun, friendly place, and an experience worth remembering!

After lunch we shopped in the General Store as planned, gathered up our purchases and headed home.

It was another great day out supporting a local farm/farm market and family owned food establishment. No matter where we go, or what farm/market we visit, we always find the most friendly people you'd ever want to meet, and some of the freshest products available. These products didn't travel miles and miles to get to the store. They were picked the night before, loaded up (or sold on-site) and brought to the market or farm store ready for you and I to purchase and enjoy. It really doesn't get any fresher than that!

For more information, visit:

Ovis Hill Farm:
website
Facebook

Shulers BBQ:
website
Facebook

Personally, I'm going to be enjoying the delicious lentils I bought when I make my Linsen Suppe Mit Wurst (German Lentil Soup with Wurst)

Enjoy,
Mary

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