Working our way to Lancaster, PA – what to eat in Amish Country!

[Kerry Beal]

It's been two years since I last attended the PMCA (Pennsylvania Manufacturing Confectioners Association) meeting. Up until two years ago these were held yearly in Hershey - then because of a little screw up it was moved to Lancaster - a situation which has worked out well all around.

I somehow managed to convince Anna N to come along - and so far we haven't managed to kill each other.

We crossed the border yesterday am, quickly ran by Brian from Tomric's place to grab some supplies for the Chocolate Workshop then hit patris's house for breakfast. And a very satisfactory breakfast it was!

She had made some wonderful sweet rolls - the center containing a goodly amount of fresh ginger and lemon rind.

Fried polenta, eggs, a really nice tomato jam and fried mushrooms.

Patty has taken up pottery - and has become extremely good at it in a short period of time.

Anna and I left each with a beautiful bowl and a mug - mine is enough to hold an entire tea pot of tea - Patty knows my habits!

[Kerry Beal]

We stopped for a bite of dinner in Williamsport, PA at the Jasmine Chinese and Thai Cuisine.

We opted for apps and soup.

Calamari and su mai.

Spring roll.

Tom yum

Tom gai

[Kerry Beal]

Breakfast this morning at the Neptune Diner. I'd had a little chat with RobertM on the phone this morning and he'd asked if I was going to have scrapple for breakfast. My last experience with it was less than stellar - so I told him it was unlikely. He reminded me that it's so much better if ordered crispy.

Omlet - beef tips and cheddar cheese.

Crispy scrapple.

Eggs up, sausage, home fries.

Biscuits and gravy - had to be tried.

[Kerry Beal]

On the advice of Lancaster Mike, we hit the Giant Grocery store this morning. Only took in two bags - cause we really didn't need anything. Came out with about 5 bags full. Good's potato chips (cooked in lard), pretzels, all manner of other odds and ends that can't be bought in Canadian grocery stores or that can but for a much higher cost.

Some Sassafras tea concentrate caught my eye - into the cart it went! And one of the most exciting things - powdered peanut butter. I'd tasted this at the Canadian Food and Restaurant Association show - hadn't gotten around to calling for a sample - had to have it - into the cart it went! Oh yeah - Ak Mak crackers - they are simple but good.

[Kerry Beal]

Dinner this evening at the Saigon Cafe.

Iced vietnamese coffee.

Jasmine tea.

Fresh Spring rolls.

Shrimp with tamarind sauce - this was the point at which we realized we had ordered too much food.

Pho with rare beef.

The fixin's

Pho with rare beef, brisket and beef balls.

[gfweb]

Good eats! I grew up in SE PA with scrapple and fried mush (wouldn't call it anything foreign like "polenta") and never acquired a taste for it unless drenched in ketchup or maple syrup and fried crispy.

[Kerry Beal]

Well - I've got to say I enjoyed this scrapple more than the last time. It was apparently deep fried - so the ultimate in crispy surface area. Still has that underlying livery taste that takes a bit of getting used to.

There was apple butter in the condiment rack - probably should have topped it with a little of that.

[gfweb]

Scrapple is kind of like a haggis cake, but without the stomach and served too early for scotch.

[curls]

Looks like you and Anna N are having fun again. Beautiful pottery at patris's house. Have fun with Bob at PMCA.

[Beth Wilson]

Wow! Some new places you found on route I see. Sorry I couldn't make this trip. You will have more room for pretzels this time!

Powdered peanut butter in a grocery store, who knew! Got any ideas what you plan to do with it?

[Kerry Beal]

Not sure what I'm going to do with the PB powder. I suspect it might make a great dusting of flavour on the top of a chocolate - also would boost the PB flavour in a filling without throwing the fat balance out at all.

[chefmd]

It's 2 hour drive from Washington DC;). You have a place to stay...

[Kerry Beal]

Bob's making that drive right now! He apparently didn't want to stay the night in Lancaster.

[rotuts]

Crispy Scrapple Yum! pan fried in very little oil. you can tell it its crispy enough when you tap on it it has a firm crust.

keep trying! the best in the world is in that area.

[Prabha]

Nice food pics, Kerry! Patris's pottery and that tomato jam both look wonderful. Have fun at PMCA.

[SylviaLovegren]

One of my favorite parts of the world. We used to take trips there every year when we lived in NJ. For a real Amish-country experience, go visit Diener's on Rte 30 in Ronks (about 10 miles east of Lancaster). They stop serving at 6 PM, so be sure you get there on time (they cater to farmers). It's an all-you-can-eat buffet but not one of the touristy ones that cost an arm and a leg. Last time we were there, dinner was $9.99 and filled with rib-sticking PA Dutch food made locally and the customers are Amish and locals -- along with lotsa church tour buses. There's usually a line but it's worth the wait, unlike some of the more touristy and expensive Amish buffets in the area.

There's also a wonderful food store on Rte 340 about a mile west of Ronks Rd -- can't remember the name. If it comes to me, I'll come back, but it's a German name, Kaufman maybe, or something like that. It's run by Amish and has a huge variety of bulk food and local products and the prices are unbelievably low. Check out the beef Lebanon sausage made locally -- I prefer the non-sweet variety but the sweet is interesting. And there are huge tubs of a local yoghurt that are delicious, the fresh peach is my favorite. The variety of grains and cooking supplies are mind-boggling, as well. I bought toasted corn meal once and absolutely bombed on what to do with it -- would love to be able to get out there and try another batch!

[SylviaLovegren]

Forgot to add: Diener's may be even better for breakfast than it is for dinner (or you can do we what used to and have breakfast and dinner there, using lunch time to digest...). They have scrapple and grits (PA is close to the South) and creamed chipped beef, along with all sorts of bacon, eggs, breads, etc. Excellent. BUT the best part is the breakfast sweet rolls. We try to get there early enough to buy a dozen of the pecan rolls to go -- they sell out fast, they are so delicious.

[Kerry Beal]

A busy day at the PMCA today - started early. The GPS seemed to have a rather different idea about where we needed to go than we did - so we were a little late showing up.

As always lots of candy on the tables - this plate had been rather picked over.

For lunch we met Lancaster Mike at Annie Bailey's just around the corner from the Convention Center.

Anna opted for the Shepherd's Pie.

The Caesar salad for me.

Mike opted for the Chipotle Chicken salad.

Bob - the Buffalo chicken salad.

[Kerry Beal]

Dinner tonight had us checking out the other Vietnamese restaurant that had been closed yesterday.

We shared a grilled pork bahn mi. Yum!

Anna had the rare beef pho again to compare.

I opted for the bun.

[lancastermike]

Dinner tonight had us checking out the other Vietnamese restaurant that had been closed yesterday.

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We shared a grilled pork bahn mi. Yum!

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Anna had the rare beef pho again to compare.

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I opted for the bun.

Rice and noodles is one of our favorite places to eat. Friendly family owned business with good food. Kerry and Anna had Vietnamese two nights in a row. Growing up in Lancaster it does not seem that long ago to me that there were no Vietnamese or Thai places here.

It was my pleasure to meet up with Kerry, Anna and Bob for lunch.

Safe travels for Bob back to DC and Kerry and Anna back across the border. I hope the border agents don't confiscate their lard cooked potato chips

[Kerry Beal]

I hope the border agents don't confiscate their lard cooked potato chips

They will be prying them out of my cold, dead hands if they do!

[RobertM]

My thanks, and a tip if the hat, to Kerry and Anna for allowing me to infringe on their day. A special thanks to Mike for hosting an amazing luncheon. I continue to learn and sit in amazement at the simplest lessons that come roaring in.

Thank you everyone!

[Darienne]

The bun in post #19 has me almost drooling on my keyboard. So crispy looking. I am a sucker for crisp.

However, I am not for Scrapple. Friends from DE brought two...not one...but two IMMENSE packages of said item to delight us all at an Annual Dog Weekend a few years back. I think almost all of it was slipped under the picnic table to the awaiting dogs who ate very well that morning. Aaggghhh. My mouth twists into an agonized grimace just recalling the taste of that stuff. I will never eat any meat thing which is grey and square.

[rotuts]

Its interesting how Scrapple has its Pros and Cons.

to me its about the filling taste as long as the outside is crispy and pepper-y.

the filling I think and have not looked into this might be cornmeal based.

I also love " bangers " the Across the Pond " sausage that has ' filler '

English or Irish Yum !

I used to think the filler was caard booard. or saw dust I guess its not that. but Yum!

[Kerry Beal]

Breakfast this morning at Angela's Diner - somewhere along US 15.

Sunny side up for Anna.

Over easy for me.

They were out of scrapple!