From the parking lot, it looks like any other strip-center storefront on S Military Trail in Delray. Walk inside and you're in a retro candy shop and ice cream parlor. Keep going, out the back, and there's a whole farm waiting for you, with goats roaming the paths, mini horses, a parakeet aviary, a little train looping the garden and, right now, a pumpkin patch.

It's The Girls Strawberry Patch, and this fall the star isn't the pumpkins. It's two baby Highland cows you can cuddle for $5.

Five Dollars, Five Minutes, One Baby Highland Cow

Boots and Big John are miniature Highland calves born last fall, and the farm calls them the heart of the place. Boots is the calm one who melts right into chin scratches, and Big John is the playful one who wants every bit of attention you've got. Five dollars buys five private minutes with them, or $10 gets you ten, and that covers cuddles, brushing their shaggy coats and dressing them up in bows and hats.

There's one rule. They're still bottle-fed, so the farm asks you not to feed them.

Everyone Else Is Happy to Eat

Your petting zoo ticket lets you hand-feed goats, miniature horses, donkeys and sheep, and the baby bunnies come swaddled in a soft blanket so you can hold one. The goats and bunnies are all born right on the farm. Look for Angel, the tiniest and sassiest of the mini horses, and Romeo and Juliet, two miniature donkeys who've lived there for more than 15 years.

The pumpkin patch is included with petting zoo admission, so your fall photos don't cost anything extra. Beyond that, you can buy a millet stick and step into the parakeet aviary, where the birds may land right on your hand. The Strawberry Express train is a separate $5 ticket and rolls through the garden, and there's a gem-mining station for sifting out stones and minerals.

When the kids hit their limit, Bambini's Garden Pizzeria is in the same building, serving New York-style pizza, subs and stromboli, with tables out in the garden. The shop side has old-school candy, the ice cream parlor, bubble waffle sundaes and acai bowls, and the outdoor smoothie bar blends fresh fruit smoothies and colorful shaved ice.

The Insider Move

Do the animals first. The shop and Bambini's stay open until 8:30, but the petting zoo and pumpkin patch close at 7 PM, and the last entry is 6:30. Show up at 6:15 for a "dinner and pumpkins" night and you'll barely get through the gate. Plan to eat there, too, because no outside food or drinks are allowed on the property. Leave the dog and the balloons at home as well, since pets (other than certified service animals) and balloons aren't permitted. And skip Mondays, when they're closed.

What People Are Saying

WPTV featured The Girls in its Hidden Gems series a few years back. One of its own staffers summed it up well: pull up and it looks like a plain strip mall, but walk through the building and there's an entire garden and petting zoo behind it. She also called their strawberry milkshakes the best around. Families still describe it the same way on TikTok this year, and grabbing a slice at Bambini's after the farm is basically part of the visit.

Strawberry picking is seasonal, so in the fall it's all about pumpkins and animals. Follow @thegirlsstrawberrypatch to find out when the berries come back, and to catch the last day of the pumpkin patch.

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