Amish country restaurant recommendations

[Chuckanut]

I may be in the Amish part of Pennsylvania later this summer. I'll be staying in or near Lancaster and tour the area.

I would appreciate recommendations for good places to enjoy the famous Amish food for breakfast and lunch. Dinner also, though I tend to eat lightly at the end of the day.

 

[teej1985]

I had no idea Amish food was a thing! Curious to see what people have to say.

 

[braumeister]

I don't know about restaurants, but the Lancaster Central Market (farmer's market in downtown) is one of the best anywhere. Many of the vendors are Amish or Mennonite.

 

[wearefinishedworking]

Shady Maple is the one everyone talks about and recommends!
Lots of the smorgasbords changed after Covid.
There is a little Amish grocer in Strasburg, where the railroad is located.
We enjoy driving the back roads of southern Lancaster county and buying produce from their stands.
Reminder to take cash!

 

[grasshopper]

About an hour from Lancaster. D. G. Yuengling & Son, established in 1829, is the oldest operating brewing company in the United States. Their Black and Tan is oh so good.

 

[Lorenzo]

I would appreciate recommendations for good places to enjoy the famous Amish food for breakfast and lunch.

I grew up in PA and visited the Amish (or Pennsylvania Dutch) country many times, eating lunches at the touristy roadside places, but I was not aware their breakfast or lunch foods were famous. Noodle dishes? Soup with dumplings? Maybe even the Amish and Mennonites have had a foodie renaissance in recent years? I recall lots of advertisements for Pennsylvania Dutch funnel cakes and such--famous, but not typically breakfast or lunch fare.

 

[braumeister]

Oh, just remembered something. Lititz is a tiny town a bit north of Lancaster.
There you will find the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery. Oldest pretzel maker in the country, in the same store since 1861. Best soft pretzel you will ever eat.

 

[Dtail]

Had some great fried chicken and mashed potatoes at one of the well known touristy places, but just don't remember which one as it was many years ago.

 

[wearefinishedworking]

Most definitely try a slice of Shoo-Fly-Pie!

 

[jollystomper]

One place we have eaten at in that area that we enjoyed: Millers Smorgasbord: Miller's Smorgasbord since 1929 | Lancaster County PA

 

[Piper20]

DW and I go to Millers for the Soup and Salad Bar buffet at lunch usually once a year.

 

[MC Rider]

For some reason I thought it was about tipping the server in the restaurant.

Yes.

 

[Chuckanut]

I've asked the powers-that-be to change the last word from "tips" to "recommendation". We've had plenty of tipping discussions.

 

[MdaPetralia]

I go to Millers

+1 for Millers - they also have a bar/serve liquor.

 

[Chuckanut]

Thanks for the recommendations.

It appears that the hype about all the great Amish food is not that accurate. Where’s the best McDonalds in the Pennsylvania Dutch area? Just kidding.

 

[LiveBelowMeans]

This working water powered mill is worth a stop

Visit one of Lancaster County’s Hidden Treasures: Mascot Roller Mills

Step back in time and visit a working water-powered grist mill—one of only two in Lancaster County. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Mascot Roller Mills along the banks of scenic Mill Creek offers a clear window to early 20th-century life. Admission is free.

unchartedlancaster.com

 

[braumeister]

I would appreciate recommendations for good places to enjoy the famous Amish food for breakfast and lunch. Dinner also, though I tend to eat lightly at the end of the day.

I was curious (and apparently so were others) about where you got the impression that Amish food was famous and worth seeking out.
Woodworking, definitely, but food? In my mind it's simple, old fashioned, and very heavily carb-laden.

 

[Chuckanut]

I was curious (and apparently so were others) about where you got the impression that Amish food was famous and worth seeking out.
Woodworking, definitely, but food? In my mind it's simple, old fashioned, and very heavily carb-laden.

Apparently, I have some friends whose pallet is not that sophisticated. I will alter my expectations for my visit to this area.

I do hope there are some good bakeries with good, home baked pies. Not goopy pies made in a factory in New Jersey.

 

[TheWizard]

In ye olden days, there were two great PA Dutch "hotel" dining rooms in Shartlesville, right off I-78.
But they're all gone now.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I live in south central PA , close to Harrisburg, and have never been interested in Amish food. Very carb laden. Chicken pot pie, Shoofly pie, Amish style macaroni salad, pork and sauerkraut, and whoopie pies come to mind. Everyone here makes pork and sauerkraut for New Year's Day. I tend toward ethnic food that I cannot make at home. In Lancaster there is a small Ethiopian restaurant called Awash. I have not dined there, but when cooking Ethiopian I bought my injera bread there-it was good and cheap. Another ethnic group that has settled here is the Nepali community. I've been to a couple of Nepali restaurants and the food is outstanding.

In Mechanicsburg, about an hour from Amish country, there is a Greek restaurant called Hellenic Kouzina. It's family owned and very popular locally. They close for a week in August for a family vacation.

An hour east of Lancaster is Longwood Gardens, though August is probably not the best time of year to visit. It's been very hot this summer.

 

[Chuckanut]

I live in south central PA , close to Harrisburg, and have never been interested in Amish food. Very carb laden. Chicken pot pie, Shoofly pie, Amish style macaroni salad, pork and sauerkraut, and whoopie pies come to mind. Everyone here makes pork and sauerkraut for New Year's Day. I tend toward ethnic food that I cannot make at home. In Lancaster there is a small Ethiopian restaurant called Awash. I have not dined there, but when cooking Ethiopian I bought

Thanks. I’ve had some Ethiopian food. Very Good!!!

OK, I will not strain to find Amish food. But, I still want to find some good home made fruit pies.

 

[Lorenzo]

I live in south central PA , close to Harrisburg, and have never been interested in Amish food. Very carb laden. Chicken pot pie, Shoofly pie, Amish style macaroni salad, pork and sauerkraut, and whoopie pies come to mind. Everyone here makes pork and sauerkraut for New Year's Day. I tend toward ethnic food that I cannot make at home. In Lancaster there is a small Ethiopian restaurant called Awash. I have not dined there, but when cooking Ethiopian I bought my injera bread there-it was good and cheap. Another ethnic group that has settled here is the Nepali community. I've been to a couple of Nepali restaurants and the food is outstanding.

In Mechanicsburg, about an hour from Amish country, there is a Greek restaurant called Hellenic Kouzina. It's family owned and very popular locally. They close for a week in August for a family vacation.

An hour east of Lancaster is Longwood Gardens, though August is probably not the best time of year to visit. It's been very hot this summer.

It’s funny. Some people visiting here in the South seek out Red Velvet cake, pimento cheese, grits, and all manner of fried things (catfish!). To me, it’s mostly trashy food, often fatty and sugary. But I remind myself: to each their own, whatever floats one’s boat, etc. Maybe the word is out that Pennsylvania Dutch food—noodles and sauerkraut and dumplings or whatever—is the bomb? Maybe, like other regional US food, the comfort food factor and the mystique of a “tradition” has appeal?

 

[braumeister]

I remember my parents looking forward to weekend trips to Amish country in Pennsylvania, but the draw for them was the shoo-fly pie. Basically pure sugar.

All the Amish style food I can think of is full of carbs, which is why I don't have any interest in it.

 

[Dtail]

I remember my parents looking forward to weekend trips to Amish country in Pennsylvania, but the draw for them was the shoo-fly pie. Basically pure sugar.

All the Amish style food I can think of is full of carbs, which is why I don't have any interest in it.

And yet they are reasonably thin. They work it off.

 

[braumeister]

And yet they are reasonably thin. They work it off.

Well, the Amish do, but not my parents.