The Pennsylvania Dutch know how to cook
What better way to start the day than with another great breakfast? Don and I live very busy lives, and for the most part, breakfast for me is a banana in the car on my way to work, and for Donald it's a cup of oatmeal. So to be served a calorie-laden breakfast is a real treat. Today Robert and June whipped up banana stuffed French toast, a yogurt parfait and sausages. Life couldn't get better than this!
Our plan was to drive into Intercourse. There's a joke there somewhere, but I'll continue. Since the bulk of pretzels made in America are all made within Lancaster County, we stopped at another pretzel factory, Intercourse Pretzels. This is one of only six companies that still twist pretzels by hand, continuing to make over 100 pounds a day. Our guide, a true pretzel aficionado, told us that this is a specialty product, as opposed to a store bought product. Here we found a vast array of pretzels to choose from--plain, herb, cheese, brown butter, chocolate covered, and lots more. The factory has always had Amish help, and some were working on the day we visited. A young girl was demonstrating the spin and drop method of forming the pretzel, which I tried and failed at miserably. She worked so quickly and with such ease that I would have sworn it was a cinch to master. This time the hand was quicker than the eye.
Right around the corner is Intercourse Canning Company-- they sure love the name of their town. Sticking with our food theme, we perused the aisles of every canned product you could imagine: from Pepper Relish to Harvard Beets, from Peach Butter to Sweet Mustard, from Peanut Butter Schmier to Pineapple Mango Salsa. This company has been here since 1997, and everything is made on premises. The canned goods are so fresh you can still hear the popping of the cans as they settle. Most of the items are traditional Lancaster fare, with a few newer items thrown in. Little sample cups are everywhere, so you can taste test before you buy, which of course we did. A big seller here is Chow Chow, which is basically "the end of the garden," a little bit of this and a little bit of that. When my husband once had a large vegetable garden, we used to take everything that was left and make a big pot of vegetable soup, but here they can it and eat it cold as a side dish.
Over 600 tour buses stop here during peak season, so the store gets very busy. When we were there, it seemed to be the calm before the storm. Then a bus pulled up and 45 eager buyers descended upon the aisles of cans. I grabbed my Chow Chow and ran to the counter.
We ate lunch at Auntie Anne's, a chain of cafes also known for their pretzels, but which also serves salads, soups and sandwiches. We were saving room for dinner, so we ate light and decided to browse the area. And what goes better with good food, but good wine. Mount Hope Wine Gallery was hosting a "cooking with wine" tasting. On the day we stopped by, we tasted raspberry chicken made with raspberry wine and apple crisp made with Vidal Blanc. This winery is home to over a dozen blends of wine and worth checking out.
I know this trip was not for shopping, but down an old country road we happened upon Riehl's Quilt and Craft shop. Located on a working Amish farm, Sam Riehl runs a large craft shop in between raising corn and alfalfa. It was here that I first saw a "quillow"-- a blanket that folds up into itself to form a pillow. Mr. Riehl carries many Amish hand crafted items all made by local people-- quilts, table coverings, dolls, candles and lots of good homemade food items to buy.
You can spend days in this area going from one interesting shop to another, but Donald again reminded me of our singular goal. We actually went back to our B&B to rest up for our evening meal. Refreshed and wearing stretch pants, we headed back to the Hershey Farm Restaurant. This night, we focused on every entree we missed first time around: vegetable beef soup, the salad bar, sliced prime ribs of beef, buttered brown noodles, chicken pot pie, fresh baked rye bread, and shoo fly pie just to name a few. The food is home cooking, and because of the restaurant's constant high volume of customers, everything is fresh.
After dinner and a short drive away, or a walk if you're up to it, is located the Sight and Sound Theater. With its 300-foot wrap-around stage, a colorful multi-media presentation, live animals, and a battalion of actors, I was impressed. The audience was too-- their cheering was unbelievably loud at both the intermission and the finale. The large scale of the production is handled with obvious skill and professionalism, with music cues on time and blocking that included an almost 200 foot run across the stage and up a mountain. To top it off, holiday and show mementos were sold at very reasonable prices. Entry and exit from parking to your seat was quick, efficient and friendly. Crowd control was handled effortlessly by the "Lobby M.C."Mike.
That, in a nutshell, was our two days in Lancaster. We enjoyed some of the area's best food, and when we were full, we feasted on a great show. This is an area that you can visit over and over again, and we look forward to our return. Just remember-- No Diets Allowed.
Part 1
Part 2
