Two Must-See Locations in Lancaster County, PA

Lancaster County, PA, is a great place to take the family on a vacation. Whether you're looking for a chance to experience farm life, or take in dinner and a show without the fret of going to a big city, chances are that you can find it there. While smack in the middle of gorgeous rural countryside, in recent years this area has bloomed into a wonderful smorgasbord of entertainment and activity. The first place for any tourist in this area should be the PA Dutch Visitors Center, where you can find a free guide booklet, detailed map, and information on upcoming shows and events. However, I would strongly suggest exploring places which are not necessarily listed in any tourist guide. Lancaster is a place rich in variety, and if you go off the beaten path, you may find wonderful experiences you never would have heard about in any guide book. Here are two must-see recommendations to get you started.

Dienner's Country Restaurant isn't mentioned in any guide book that I know of, but it should be! This restaurant, located on Rte 30 in Ronks, PA, is an incredible sample of regional cooking. Don't go here expecting prime rib or broiled salmon; this is PA Dutch cooking at its best. That means dishes like rotisserie chicken, beef tips in gravy, ham, stuffing, and other such things. Everything except the fruit pies is made in the kitchen, and the pies are local as well, coming from the bake shop a couple of miles away. Their prices are incredibly low for the level of quality and variety of food available, which might explain why there was a wait both times we visited, despite never having seen it advertised anywhere. The wait was more than worth it.

The highlight of the restaurant is undoubtedly the buffet. This is the perfect chance to get a real taste of what food from this area should taste like. For lunch, it was $7.89 for each adult, and $0.60 cents per year for children 2-11. At prices like this, it made little sense for us to try anything but that. There were three buffet tables, with the one in the center being taken up entirely by soup and salad items. Their pickled beets were quite good, and the chicken corn soup was absolutely incredible. All of the dressings were well-done, but the house dressing was fantastic.

The second table was made up of main-course dishes, with the beef, chicken, and ham taking center stage. There was a wide array of vegetables, all farm-fresh and cooked to perfection, and a lima bean dish that made me actually want to eat them. The mashed potatoes, while undoubtedly cooked from fresh potatoes, were smooth, creamy, and incredible. The stuffing was the best I've ever had, either from a restaurant or home-cooked, and even the buttered noodles had a little extra touch to them that made them taste better than good. Their cooked beets were so good that my husband, who normally won't touch them with a ten-foot pole, went up for seconds.

The third table was entirely devoted to desserts. Everything on this table was made right there, and there was an amazing variety. There were several puddings, the most memorable being pistachio pudding. The texture of it was more like a mousse, and it featured miniature marshmallows. It was heaven made physical. Other wonderful desserts were a cherry tart, a fudge cake, a dish called 'chocolate éclair' which was shaped like a rectangle cream pie and absolutely wonderful, a delicious apple cobbler, and too many other delights to list. They also had a refrigerated area with pie slices as part of the buffet, and soft-serve vanilla ice cream.

My children, ages three and five, also managed to find plenty of food to enjoy. Normally, eating out is a hassle to say the least, as my children are young, have limited attention spans, and because my oldest cannot have any gluten-containing foods, which include wheat, rye, and barley. Nevertheless, they not only enjoyed themselves, but I was impressed with the amount of food they ate. Both of them loved the hot, sliced ham, and my oldest was more than happy to eat the chicken, carrots, and rice. The younger one filled up on ham, chicken, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, rolls, and what seemed like half of the dessert table, being especially fond of their vanilla pie. (Think shoo fly pie). My oldest wasn't able to eat much from the dessert table, but he was happy to have a bowl of ice cream with a delicious strawberry topping.

We went on a Friday for a late lunch, and it was so good that we came back on Saturday. Happily, the quality was excellent on both days, and while we had to wait, it was less than the stated time each day. They are open for breakfast and dinner as well, from 7 A.M. to 6 P.M, or 8 P.M on Fridays. Keep in mind, however, that they are closed on Sundays.

The other place that is a true must-see is a shop set in a farmhouse on Route 741, also in Ronks, PA. Located at 3223 W. Newport Road, known on the map as Route 741, Amos and Sadie's Meats is more than it would appear at first glance. There are no billboards here, and indeed you will want to write down the number and look for it on the mailbox, because the sign noting the shop is very small. Being located only a mile or two north of Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, however, it's definitely worth the trip, and it's worth going to the farm first.

When you get there, drive up the driveway, and turn right immediately after the barn, following the driveway up to the outside of a lovely, old farmhouse. You will see a door with a small, red sign, hopefully one that says 'Open' instead of 'Closed'. You may see a barn cat or two lazing in the grass as you walk up to the door, and don't be afraid, step inside. A bell will note your presence, and within a few minutes, a kindly older woman will come over to greet you.

Her shop area is filled with beautiful, hand-crafted quilts, oven mitts, children's clothes, and the like. She also sells quillows, which are simple quilts which fold up into a pillow, the front of which is more elaborately done. In addition to these crafts, she and her husband, grandparents to more than twenty children, sell fresh eggs from their own chickens (free range, grass-fed), beef jerky, sweet bologna, ham, bacon, several kinds of cheese, ham, and other foods. Not all of these may be in stock at any given time, since everything is made locally, from either their farm or a couple of farms neighboring theirs. There are also fruit preserves, pickles, and homemade soap.

We first found this farm about four years ago, which was shortly after she started the shop in her home. Don't go on Fridays, since she still goes to market day at the Green Dragon Farmer's Market, as she has for forty-five years. It's probably also a good idea to not go on Sundays. We make it a point to go back on Saturdays, every time we're in the area. Last time we were there, we let our oldest son pick a quillow to take home with him. It was such a hit that, this time, we let our second child, three, pick his. He liked it so much that he spent the entire weekend cuddling with it, and now has it on his bed when he isn't carrying it all over the house.

Some of our favorite purchases from there are the sweet bologna, better than any of the other meat shops we've found, the bacon, and the cheeses. My husband has complained about every cheddar we've ever gotten, except that which comes from this farm. We also both love their horseradish cheese, and the farmer's cheese. They have their own smokehouse, which uses hickory and apple wood, and you can really tell how hard they've worked at it, from the undeniable quality. If you've never had really fresh eggs, you might not think that it's such a big deal, but I can't encourage you enough to pick up a dozen from the farm and cook them for breakfast. While you're at it, get a pound of bacon. We only got half a pound this time, and it was gone all too soon. My husband saved some for breakfast, but used the rest to flavor some chicken he cooked for dinner, and the taste was unbelievable. We also bought the black raspberry jelly, and the taste was very much like homemade jelly that I used to eat as a kid, made by my father's cousin. It brought back memories of childhood which I'm happy to be passing on to my kids, who have happily helped devour every single bit of food we bought there.

The prices for food are much less than you're likely to find in a deli, and the food is superior. Not only that, but by visiting this farm and buying something, you'll be helping to fulfill this old woman's earnest hope; that she will someday have enough customers coming to her home that she will no longer have to go to market every Friday.

These are surely not the only places that are out there, waiting for explorers to find. The next time you visit Lancaster County, I encourage you to avoid the highways, filled with tourist traffic, and venture down the small roads listed on your map. Enjoy the sites of the fields being worked by equipment pulled by donkey, delight in the quietness and solitude, and stop to pick up some produce at some of the many farm stands. Try some of the fresh baked goods as well. You'll not only be helping out the local farmers directly, but you'll get to experience some kind old-fashioned hospitality from these people, as well as some truly incredible products.