Find all of this and more at S. Clyde Weaver’s regional locations
If you’re from Pennsylvania, you might not realize that some of your favorite (and not so favorite) foods also originated here. You could think that, elsewhere, people enjoy food in the same way you do. Not so! Take chicken pot pie. Our version is not, of course, a pie: rather, buttery “pot pie” noodles are featured. Not a crust in sight.
We definitely have our own style of cuisine. The question is what’s local and what’s just “Pennsylvania quirky?” Let’s have a look, starting with our best-known specialties.
Pennsylvania Dutch cooking is a huge tourist draw, so people usually think of shoo fly pie. Probably, you either love it or hate it. And so it goes with other local offerings, like hog maw. The stuffed stomach of a pig may sound iffy, but think of it as a kind of sausage casing. Toss in some sausage (it is Pennsylvania, after all), and add potatoes and maybe some cabbage. Is it really so different from smushing “filling” inside a turkey carcass?
When it comes to actual popularity, chicken corn soup tops the charts. It’s a regular at fairs, fire stations and church suppers. Lemon sponge and egg custard are stars here too. And what would a Pennsylvania potluck be without red beet eggs? Ham (local faves are Kunzler and Hatfield) and green beans. Lebanon bologna, whose first name isn’t O-S-C-A-R; instead, look for Seltzer’s. Baked beans are made around here with the biggest, fattest lima beans you can find.
Maybe your family has its own hot slaw recipe. Or maybe your uncle grew and made his own horseradish. This is definitely a thing here. And here’s another test: have you always started the new year with pork and sauerkraut? Made peanut butter icing? Brought your own chow chow to your family reunion? (Note: If you Google “chow chow,” you get a picture of a really cute, really furry canine.) Let’s put it this way: if you’ve ever had Amish friendship bread starter growing in your fridge, you’re definitely a local.
Stick to Your Ribs
People around here joke that “Pennsyltucky’s” main food categories are meat, fat, starch and sugar. We can hit three out of four with the uniquely named Pennsylvania Dutch meat roll, the boova shenkel. (Think potatoes AND flour, beef, lard AND butter.)
A seasonal favorite from the highly prized sugar/fat category is the fastnacht, only available—alas—for a few days in spring. So it’s a doughnut, right? Why don’t we call it a doughnut? Past generations found making this fried dough, which means “fast eve” in German, a handy way to clear the pantry of tasty, fattening ingredients before they surrendered some of them for Lent.
Few cookouts here would be complete without some kind of “pulled” meat. The thing you need to understand if you’re not from here is that BBQ doesn’t really mean barbecued. An invitation to a local BBQ doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily find a lit grill. More likely, you’ll end up with what other people call a sloppy joe. Which is pretty delicious, unless you’re set on having barbecued chicken. And then there’s scrapple: a fried brown square of…no one wants to know.
If you feel like you don’t get enough, enter the Reading Fair’s Pennsylvania Dutch eating contest. If you can throw down ring bologna, a hot dog (with the roll), red beet eggs, a soft pretzel, a funnel cake, tripe (yup, tripe), a sticky bun, chips and chow chow all within 30 minutes, you could be in the running.
Food for Thought: Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to show us your other favorite quirky Keystone treats and tell us where to find them!
Whether we’re hunting schnitz und knepp, Amish funnel cakes, or the best Pennsylvania Dutch apple dumplings around, we all have our favorite places to find local, authentic Pennsylvania eats.
Five Places to Get
WHOOPIE PIES
Hershey Farm Restaurant & Inn/Smorgasbord
240 Hartman Bridge Road, Ronks, PA / 800-827-8635 / hersheyfarm.com/the-restaurant
Home of Lancaster’s Famous Whoopie Pie Festival
with over 100 different flavors: September 9 / whoopiepiefestival.com
Perrydell Farm Dairy
90 Indian Rock Dam Road, York, PA / 717-741-3485 / perrydellfarm.com
Root’s Country Market & Auction Inc. (Tuesdays)
705 Graystone Road, Manheim, PA / 717-898-7811 / rootsmarket.com
Brown’s Orchards & Farm Market
8892 Susquehanna Trail S., Loganville, PA / 717-428-2036 / brownsorchards.com
Shady Maple Smorgasbord
129 Toddy Dr., East Earl, PA / 717-354-8222 / shady-maple.com
Five Places to Get
CHOW CHOW
S. Clyde Weaver
5253 Main St., East Petersburg, PA + regional locations / 717-569-0812 / sclydeweaver.com
Kauffman’s Fruit Farm & Market
3097 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird in Hand, PA / 717-768-7112 / kauffmansfruitfarm.com
Markets at Shrewsbury
12025 Susquehanna Trail, Glen Rock, PA / 717-235-6611 / marketsatshrewsbury.com
Kitchen Kettle Village
3529 Old Philadelphia Pike, Intercourse, PA / 717-768-8261 / kitchenkettle.com
Twin Pine Farm Country Store
1428 Seven Valleys Road, York, PA / 717-792-1730 / twinpinefarms.com
Five Places to Get
POT PIE
The Wicked Kitchen
30 S. Market St., Mechanicsburg, PA / 717-590-8116 / thewickedkitchen.org
Oregon Dairy Country Restaurant & Buffet
2900 Oregon Pike, Lititz, PA / 717-656-2856 / oregondairy.com
Silver Spring Family Restaurant (Wednesday special)
3653 Marietta Ave., Lancaster, PA / 717-285-5974 / silverspringfamrest.com
Gordon’s Family Restaurant (Thursday special)
1009 N. Mountain Road, Harrisburg, PA / 717-695-4242
Skyline Family Restaurant
7510 Allentown Blvd., Harrisburg, PA / 717-652-1780
Five Places to Get
SHOO FLY PIE
Dutch Haven
2857A Lincoln Highway E./Rt. 30, Ronks, PA / 717-687-0111 / dutchhaven.com
Plain & Fancy Farm Restaurant
3121 Old Philadelphia Pike/Rt. 340, Bird-in-Hand, PA / 717-431-8400 / plainandfancyfarm.com
Hershey Farm
240 Hartman Bridge Road, Ronks, PA / 717-687-8635 / hersheyfarm.com
Yoder’s Country Market
14 S. Tower Road, New Holland, PA / 717-354-4748 / yoderscountrymarket.com
Good ‘N Plenty Restaurant
150 Eastbrook Road/Rt. 896, Smoketown, PA / 717-394-7111 / goodnplenty.com
Five Places to Get
CHICKEN & WAFFLES
Metro Diner
360 Town Center Dr., York, PA / 717-690-1455 / metrodiner.com
1899 Olde Mill Restaurant
9 Queen Road, Intercourse, PA / 717-768-3637 / amishcountryinns.com/restaurant
Altland House
Served for over 100 years at this location / 1 Center Square, Abbottstown, PA / 717-259-9535 / altlandhouse.com/grill-and-pub
Lititz Family Cupboard Restaurant & Buffet
12 W. Newport Road, Lititz, PA / 717-626-9102 / lititzfamilycupboard.com
Miller’s Smorgasbord Restaurant
2811 Lincoln Highway E./Rt. 30, Ronks, PA / 800-669-3568 / millerssmorgasbord.com
