For the last several months, I’ve been hitting Lancaster County eateries, snapping photos of appetizers, posting them to social media and tagging them with #LanCoTizer. The search was not all-encompassing: I wanted to find a few places offering something other than wings, mozz sticks and jalapeÑo poppers. Not that there is anything wrong with those, but there is just so much more restaurants have to offer.
The first German immigrants to Lancaster County settled Conestoga (1709), the fourth such settlement in Pennsylvania. They brought with them hope for religious tolerance, a yearning for a better life and specific, unique tastes for food and drink. As German families began to flood the area, a new demand was created. German-Americans wanted beer!
At any given time on Lancaster County back roads, a driver can spot as many plates from states like New Jersey, New York and Maryland as those from Pennsylvania. It is an understatement to say tourism plays a significant part in Lancaster County’s economy. According to analysts at Tourism Economics, nearly 8 million visitors came to Lancaster County in 2013, spending more than $1.9 billion while here. And while it is easy to give the credit for a massive influx of tourists to the plain sector, Tourism Economics reports: “The fundamental motivation driving a visit to Lancaster County … is the destination and the overall experience the area has to offer.”
Brightly colored houses. I’d seen them on film and maybe in books as a kid, and I had forgotten about them; when I caught my first up close glimpse of Bermuda the deck of Grandeur of the Seas those island homes flooded back into my mind. I was immediately more excited to come ashore.
For years, inventive cooks have been trying to marry food with drink.
The expansion of the micro- and craft-brew market has opened the eyes – and taste buds – of the thirsty and hungry.
Sure, foodies have been using beer as a recipe ingredient for some time. But the days of beer-butt chicken on the grill or just sloshing a Budweiser over sizzling burgers are in the past.
