When I travel, there are usually two kinds of trips. Some are bucket-list experiences I spend months putting together, and others are more casual excursions—usually a night or two away from home at most. One of those casual trips I find myself doing at least once or twice a year is a visit to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Amish Country—specifically, to the tiny town of East Earl.
That’s where I made a pilgrimage for the first time in 2021 to Shady Maple Smorgasbord, the largest buffet in the United States and home to delicious country-style cooking for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The sprawling complex is also home to a massive gift shop that’s more of a department store. However, what’s made it a regular visit for me is actually across the parking lot: the best Amish food in Pennsylvania.
Shady Maple Farm Market is a huge supermarket-style building selling a combination of every grocery staple you could need, combined with hundreds of farm-fresh items directly from local farms. Every time I visit, I discover something new I can’t wait to try, so it’s no wonder I find myself taking the Amtrak over to Lancaster at least twice a year these days. I always come home loaded with snacks, jars, fresh fruit, and anything else you could imagine at this huge Amish market, and I’m always left wishing I could carry more.
It was really surprising to me just how large the Shady Maple complex is, especially since it’s in such a rural area of Lancaster County. The land contains the Shady Maple Smorgasborg building, the Shady Maple Farm Market, and the Good’s Hardware department store. All three buildings are massive and easy to spend a lot of time exploring…