Columbus Foodie

One of the things I love doing when we come to Lancaster County is making the requisite stop at Kitchen Kettle Village, for both the smoked meats and cheeses, and also the canning kitchen.

Upon entering, you’re greeted with a carousel of different jams to try, a couple dozen at least.

With all of the canning we’ve been doing this summer, I’ve developed a new appreciation for the work these ladies do, day in and day out. You can watch them at work, but no pictures as many of them are Amish (Amish don’t like to have their pictures taken, as their religion dictates “no graven images”). In addition to all of the jams, they have wall after wall of different items, like relishes, chow chows, salsas, sauces, so many things, way too many to mention.

We found quite a bit to get, and ended up with a sampler and a few other items. If you’re in the area, it’s worth the stop. There are shops here to suit just about every taste.

If you’d like to go: Kitchen Kettle Village, Rte 340 (Old Philadelphia Pike), Intercourse, PA 717.768.8261

One of my favorite things about travelling is the oppportunity to get what I call “road food”, i.e. cheap but filling regional specialties that I can’t get at home. Often, you have to go pretty far off the beaten path to find them, but once you do, you’ll go out of your way with glee just to go back.

This egg, cheese and scrapple wrap ($2.99) at Stoltzfus Meats in Intercourse, PA is one of those items. Granted, it doesn’t look like much to sing the praises over based on the picture above. But oh, my god was it good. I’m not a huge scrapple fan all on its own, due to the dubious nature of its contents (and the fact it takes a bit of skill to prepare well when you’re cutting into slabs and frying it), but in this wrap, the other ingredients turned it into something truly special.

Imagine, if you will - scrapple on a buttered grill, chopped up and fried. On a separate part of the buttered grill, 2 eggs fried, but chopped a bit during cooking to firm up the yolks. Both items put together and slathered with American cheese. Then everything wrapped in a tortilla and grilled on yet another part of the buttered grill. Swoon.

Paul and I ended up splitting one. And hopefully on the way back home, we’ll be out of here early enough to get one (they stop making them at 11am). Either way, we’re stopping at Stoltzfus for other items, and scrapple is definitely on the list. Theirs has great seasoning, and freezes well.

While you’re there, hit the Intercourse Pretzel Company next door for some of their brown buttered soft pretzels.

If you’d like to go: Stoltzfus Meats and Deli, Cross Keys Village Center, 3614 E. Newport Rd, Intercourse, PA, 717.768.7287