Where to sip, savor, and shop. Who to depend on for health, beauty, home, and even more new categories this year featured in our Best of Lancaster 2019.

Best Ice Cream

Fox Meadows Creamery

This ice cream shop offers local, natural ingredients in all their food. Fox Meadows uses fresh milk right from their own small on-site dairy farm to make handcrafted ice cream treats. The creamery features a giant window looking right into the store, so you can see every step in the entire process of how your ice cream is made. The farm also has a restaurant that is open for lunch and serves fresh food, cafe drinks, and other dessert items to perfectly complement the frozen treats.

2475 West Main St., Ephrata, PA | 717-721-6455 foxmeadowscreamery.com

Best Cooking Class

Zest! Cooking School

Inspired by their travels through France, Italy, and the US, owners Sharon and Jim Landis created Zest! to explore their culinary passion. They test everything the store offers themselves and are dedicated to customer satisfaction and community building. Because of this, they offer in-depth cooking classes at their new Quarry Road location, where you can learn to make Pennsylvania Dutch classics, beautiful cupcakes and pastries, and delicious party and picnic staples to entertain and wow your guests. They offer hands-on experience for almost all of their classes, some of which even include young aspiring chefs.

1180 Erbs Quarry Road, Lititz, PA 717-435-8890 | zestchef.com

Best Nutritionist

Nicole Keever, Mid Atlantic Nutrition Specialists

Specializing in personal dietary plans based on body type and individual lifestyle, Mid Atlantic Nutrition Specialists strives to get the best results for each client.They have a central mission to help you obtain a healthy view of weight loss and body management: “we believe being truly well is based upon more than numbers; therefore, we reject diets and focus on empowering each client to establish a kind and body-honoring relationship with food.” Nicole Keever started her business after working in the field as a nutritionist in Arizona and the Lancaster area, and she has a passion for working with people to help them live a healthy life.

Olde Mill Court, 101 W. Main St., Salunga, PA | midatlanticnutrition.com

Best Personal Trainer

Wayne Mutata

Wayne Mutata created the iTrainStudio in 2014 to help people achieve unparalleled fitness results in the gym. Wayne’s mission is to provide “individuals with a warm, welcoming fitness space in which they can truly be themselves.” Instead of perpetuating fear about trying to figure out free weights, he wants to create a community environment where everyone is seen as family. The iTrainStudio has a spacious, state-of-the-art gym right in the heart of Lancaster City, where clients work closely with professional and dedicated personal trainers.

315 W. James St., Lancaster, PA | 717-826-5407 | theitrainstudio.com

Best Tattoo Studio

Addictive Expressions

Addictive Expressions offers a professional, clean, and welcoming environment in which to plan and get a tattoo. As a female-owned business, they make it a point to be a judgment-free zone where sexual harassment and embarrassment about your tattoo ideas won’t happen. They also provide body piercings and laser tattoo removal, all from personable and educated staff, so there’s no need to second-guess their professional commitment.

834 PA-41, Gap, PA | 717-442-3303 | addictiveexpressions.com

Best Independent Film Theatre

Zoetropolis

The perfect mix between movies and food, Zoetropolis is the place to be for indie film showings. After recent upgrades in 2019 to make the theater more comfortable and different from the rest, it offers films, spirits, food, and music in a spacious atmosphere. You can order food at the counter or right in your seat as you enjoy your movie. The building also contains a distillery in-house, meaning you don’t even have to leave for booze. The team at Zoetropolis aims to “bring films to the screen that expand your thinking, create opportunities for connection and conversation, and remind people that the experience of being in a theater can be a treasure.”

112 N. Water St. Lancaster, PA 717-208-6572 | zoetropolis.com

Best French Fries

Mad Chef Craft Brewing

Despite the name, there seems to be only enjoyment and good times at Mad Chef. With their goal to “create a space where the local community can enjoy high quality, craft-brewed beer and simple but elegant food in a relaxed environment,” there’s something for every beer lover. The owners Greg and Francisco have years of experience in the culinary field, which helps them create perfect beers, a few of which have won home-brewing awards. Currently, they offer 16 different beers on draft and high quality modern pub food to perfectly pair with all of them. Order a bucket to share with the table; just don’t miss Lancaster’s best fries with an array of dipping sauces from pesto aioli and ghost pepper ketchup to Parmesan peppercorn and Mac Daddy sauce.

2023 Miller Road, East Petersburg, PA | 717-690-2655 | madchefcraftbrewing.com