Working our way to Lancaster, PA --again

[cdh]

Do try the not-sweet while you're in the vicinity.  You just can't leave without understanding the stuff.  Regular is really yummy.  I think the maker I like is Seltzer's... but try any of the not-sweet offerings. 

[Martin Fisher]

Heck, Wegman's carries Seltzer's Lebanon Bologna up here in NY state.

[Arey]

I never knew they made a sweet Lebanon bologna. Why would they want to? But then, I wonder that about a lot of things food and non-food.

[Tri2Cook]

The food from Annie Bailey's Irish Pub looks might tasty. As does the seafood bucatini and the rack of lamb. A McD's McMuffin isn't as bad as some people like to pretend it is. It's egg and meat in an English muffin, wouldn't be much better most places you'd get the same thing and is probably better than some. I prefer the sausage version myself.

[Anna N]

I will take it under advisement to check out the non-ick Lebanon bologna -- reluctantly though.

Today was not an exciting food day for breakfast or lunch. Kerry went off to the PMCA workshop this morning and I remained at the hotel where I subsisted on cheese, crackers, sour cream and onion chips and ick bologna. Kerry had a catered lunch at the conference centre. So here's a photo for you to enjoy

You may wonder what he has to do with food. Well his name is E. Coli and he is a promotional item from one of the Conference participants who specializes in food pasteurization systems.

Edited to fix typo.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

For dinner we returned to Rice and Noodles.

We shared a grilled pork banh mi

Kerry had a grilled chicken bun (salad)

I had beef pho

I also had an iced Vietnamese coffee. We enjoyed our meal and some serious people-watching.

[Beth Wilson]

Love the little E'coli....who knew those nasty germs were so adorable!

 

Oh how I miss the PMCA Conference.  You always learned something new about the up and coming trends but they also reminissed about how things were done in the "olden days".    I think the last conference I went to they had just approved the sweetener Stevia in the hours before the conference started so all the vendors had stevia sweetener samples and lots of products they were experimenting with.  pomegranate was the next "IN" flavour everyone was working with...so it has been a few years since I have been.

 

What was the new flavour for confections that was promoted  this year?  Any new and innovative equipment or tools that showed up at the vendors show?  I know I scored some good deals on some equipment that the sales guys had demonstrated on the Monday's vendor show.. Of course I had to clean the chocolate out of the melter when I got it home

[Kerry Beal]

There were 3 speakers this morning on the Back to Basics series - the topic this year was Fats in Confectionery.  Of course each speaker entertains questions that the audience writes on pieces of paper. The questions that kept coming up were about GMO, organic and how do I label if my fat has been altered in some way!

 

Funny pomegranate is still in - but sensory is the new thing.  Foods that cool, tingle, etc.  And colours made from natural stuff - nary an azo dye to be seen.  Makes for rather muted colours I find.  And of course the shelf life on them is 6 months to a year.  Great for those selling - not so great for those buying!

 

I will be getting a number of samples of various panning polishes and shellacs from a few different vendors.  Interested in seeing if there are significant differences in them. I seriously coveted an 18 inch belt coater!  It is 110V.  

 

I stopped and had a little chat with the fellow you got the melter from - reminded him of that - he recalls the fun we had getting it into the car.  

 

I had my own little project that I took the opportunity to show everyone who would listen - it's a cocoa butter seed generator that makes tempering a breeze for artisan chocolatiers, bean to bar manufacturers, R&D departments and wealthy hobbyists! People seemed very interested in that shiny thing in my bag.  

 

I collected as many pens as I could for Anna - some even have a laser pointer which should exercise the over weight foster kitty upon our return. 

[Beth Wilson]

So I am guessing if you had this seed generator in your bag it is not too big then?  Sounds very interesting! 

 

Who makes a 110V 18" belt coater?  I was just thinking of the nice sales guys that had a really nice, BIG, shiny enrober that they could give me a deal on, of course it had 3 phase power and all....and I left thinking I better google what 3 phase power is before I talk to the next guy    As I suspected, my little old house on Manitoulin did not have 3 phase power but don't tell those nice sales guys, had some cool swag !

[Kerry Beal]

The belt coater was made by Schebler - the fellow said he was working on a 12 inch coater as well. But given the minimal price difference, the fact that they were both 110 V and the fact that you could do 35 lbs of product at a time - I think the 18 inch would make sense for the artisan level chocolatier.  

 

Seed generator is about the size of a small deep fryer - I was ready to put it down by the end of the day!

[SylviaLovegren]

For really really really good cinammon buns go to the Bird-in-Hand Bake Shop on Gibbons Rd (NOT the B-I-H Bakery on Phil. Pike).  Absolutely amazing.  Their pecan sticky buns are also to die for. 

 

Best PA Dutch buffet is Diener's on Rt. 30 just across the alley  from the (terrible) Dutch Haven in Ronks.  Farm fresh food cooked by Mennonite and Amish cooks.  Cheap, too -- all you can eat breakfast is $8 (or was, two years ago, last time we were there).  Dinner is equally cheap...but it caters to farm families and the last seating is 6:00 PM!    Their mashed potatoes are fantastic, excellent scrapple, ham, fried chicken, pot pie (PA Dutch style), and the vegetables in the summertime are fresh picked.  And where else can you get pistachio pudding complete with baby marshmallows, all you can eat? 

[Anna N]

So we packed up our goods and headed back to Canada today. We stopped for breakfast at Lumberjack's Kitchen along the Susquehannna Trail (how poetic does that sound?)

Kerry ordered the philly steak omelet

I ordered two eggs and crispy bacon with white toast

The drive home proved to be long and rather boring. We stopped once because I wanted a Coke and was surprised to find that I could not get the Coke that was less than 16 ounces .

I have never seen such a large can of Coke and was only able to finish part of it.

Late in the afternoon we stopped in Batavia and were able to find the diner that has eluded us until now. Called Miss Batavia it ticked all the right boxes for an old-fashioned diner. From the decor to the cheerful if loud waitress, from the menu to the other diners it met every expectation.

Kerry ordered pork chops with a baked potato:

It included chicken noodle soup

Salad

And a bun

The baked potato apparently was not good and so was not served. Kerry was offered alternatives but decided that the pork chops after the soup, salad and bun would be more than enough.

I had a hot beef sandwich

Thank you for traveling with us in this short adventure. We always learn something and we hope give you a bit of fun in return.

[Smithy]

It was a fun trip. Thanks for taking us along!

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Thank you Kerry and Anna for sharing your adventure. It means a lot to some of us who aren't so lucky to travel much anymore.

 

I really enjoyed it!

[demiglace]

Yes, thank you both..I enjoy your trips.

[Shelby]

That hot beef sandwich looks good!

 

I always enjoy traveling with you guys 

[gfweb]

me too

[rotuts]

Excellent.

 

and thanks.

[suzilightning]

Sweet is vile.

Regular is wonderful.

You can toast  or fry it too and put it in a rye bread sandwich with cole slaw.

Get Kunzler's sliced thick.

 

NOT SWEET.

 

Just back from the shore and tried this product for the first time.  I was schooled by the deli attendant to say "Leb - non" and she let me try both.  The sweet was interesting but weird.  The regular was truly like a good summer sausage.  It was served with some garlic bread sticks, pesto cheese, 7 year cheddar and some vegetable pickles to a bunch of the condo owners with their beers.  I also fried it a bit then made a toasted sandwich with the bologna and some Mr. Ron's coleslaw(creamy)on swirled rye with the last of Rea's Farm fresh tomatoes.  It was wonderful.......