|
| |
PA Dutch County - Part 1
Written by: Janet Pope
Photography by: Donald
The Pennsylvania Dutch know how to cook…and eat.
My husband and I both have wandering souls -- we love to travel, meet new people and explore new places. Though I have been known in the past to be a reluctant and worrisome traveler, I always end up loving the adventure once I am there. With so many unseen places out there, we rarely revisit a destination. So even though we went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania last spring, we were once again lured back primarily because of the food. Our sole purpose for this trip was to sample and enjoy the unique Pennsylvania Dutch fare. Ah! A gastronomic purpose--what could be better! To be honest, after seeing so many American cities, one old house begins to look like another, and as Donald is always quick to point out, how many knick-knacks can you buy from souvenir shops? Donald never thought he would tire of old houses, and I certainly never thought I would grow weary of shopping, but eating never loses its appeal.
This time we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast called After Eight, run by new owners June and Robert Hall. This B&B, with nine bedrooms, can actually accommodate up to 26 guests. Each room is private, cozy and spacious, and our hosts made us feel like we were their only concern. With individual thermostat, telephone, cable TV and hairdryer, you literally have all the comforts of your home in their home. Our room was called the Candlelight Room, aptly named for the candelabra in the fireplace. We peeked into other rooms and each seemed to offer something special. Some have Jacuzzis, one has its own deck, and some have outdoor entrances, but all were warm and inviting.
Breakfast here is a real treat, served in the Garden Room. Decorated with flowers and six bistro wrought iron tables and overlooking an Amish farm, it is the perfect setting to start your day. Our first morning we enjoyed a baked omelet, home-made muffins, fresh fruit cup and, of course, juice and fresh brewed coffee. Here, our eating binge began.
On our first afternoon, we browsed through downtown Lititz, a town filled with an eclectic array of craft shops, antique stores, cafes and art galleries. Don reminded me that our goal was not to purchase, but just to work up an appetite. On East Main Street, we checked out the Sturgis Pretzel House, located in a 150-year-old bakery. Our tour guide let us in on a little history as we noshed on some free samples. Julius Sturgis at the age of 15 became an apprentice bread maker, and in 1861, he opened the first commercial bakery in Lititz. By accident, Sturgis left bread pretzels in the ovens too long, causing them to become hard and crispy and thus one of our most popular snack foods was born.
Pretzels are still made in the 150-year-old brick ovens, which started out as wood burning, then coal and then natural gas. Theses days, the Sturgis bakers make about 34,000 hand-twisted pretzels a week. The quaint pretzel shop has an adjoining antique store, but the true star of the show here is the simple pretzel.
Not far away is the Wilbur Chocolate Company. Our taste buds looked forward to going from salty to sweet. The smell of fresh chocolate overwhelmed us as we entered the store. I felt like a kid in a candy store, probably because I was in a candy store, and this time thankfully, I had more than a quarter to spend.
The front of the store is lined with every chocolate confection imaginable, while the back contains an historical display of antique candy making items-- metal molds, cocoa tins, ceramic chocolate pots, etc. There is even a short video where we learned that Wilbur made the famous "Wilbur Buds" before Hershey even made his "kiss." Personally, I found it hard to focus on the unique history of this company when all I wanted to do was find the chocolate covered pretzels! Family members had each given us their personal chocolate preferences, so after loading up, we were off.
Dinner tonight was at The Hershey Farm; definitely, “No diets allowed here.” This restaurant has an accompanying 57-room Inn, a large gift shop, a bakery, fresh plant stand, baby animals to feed, and a two-mile walking trail around the property, which everyone should be required to do after dinner. The buffet consisted of two very long stations of both cold and hot food, but unlike other buffets, every item posed a hard decision -- everything looked so good. This time looks were not deceiving, and everything tasted good too. My personal favorites were the chicken corn soup, "ham" balls, corn fritters, fried chicken, bread stuffing, sliced turkey, warm raisin bread, and the Whoopie Pies. Ham balls, for those who don't know (and I was one of them), is ground ham formed into a meatball. It has a deliciously sweet taste. I was trying to pace myself while eating, but what put me over the top was the Whoopie Pie. For me this was another first. It is two chocolate cake-like cookies, filled in the center with vanilla crème. It was outrageous!
We tried to taste a few more things, but we had to surrender and say no more. It was then that we again decided to do something we have never done on a trip -- we decided to come back the following night and sample everything we missed. So tomorrow in Lancaster was coming fast and there was more food to consume.
Part 1
Part 2
|
|
|
|
|
|
