The Dutch Family Restaurant: A Local Must-Try

This Amish Restaurant offers a variety of home-style delectables that are fresh and tasty.

• By Katherine Russo
• Email the author

   

Photos (3)

 

The Dutch Family Restaurant sits right in the center of The Lancaster County Dutch Market has been attracting market-goers and foodies almost 13 years. The restaurant has been owned and operated by Ruthie Stoltzfus for the past five years. I decided to head over and see what The Dutch Family Restaurant is all about.

When I arrived, I was greeted by Annie Lapp, who has been working at the restaurant for almost two years. She told me that while breakfast is the most popular thing people stop in for, her favorite is the Chicken Salad Melt. I later discovered it to be a definite must-have.

Ruthie’s Sister, Lin Biler, has been working at the restaurant for four years. Biler said her favorite are the biscuits with sausage gravy from the breakfast menu. With the popularity of the breakfast menu, The Dutch Family Restaurant has taken the liberty of serving it all day Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jean-Claude Marshall has been coming to the market for three years. He said his favorite thing to order is definitely the Hamburgers.

“They are well done and moist. The meat tastes very good; much tastier than you might get at Whole Foods,” Marshall said. All the meat products come from Morton’s butcher shop, a butcher stand just inside the market.

Once you enjoy any one of the selections they have to choose from, like the homemade chicken pot pie or pork with sauerkraut, you can finish off your meal with one of their sweet treats like peanut butter pie, homemade chocolate cake or raspberry tapioca.

I was pretty full by the end of my entree, but with this selection I had to opt for just one more tasty item. After glancing over my choices I settled on the coconut cream pie and was not disappointed. With a flaky crust, creamy filling, fresh whipped cream and shaved coconut I definitely would have regretted skipping desert. The meal was so enjoyable that before I left  I made sure to order some chili and a side of coleslaw, just in case I needed a late night snack.

So next time you have a craving for Amish-style county food, head over to The Dutch Family Restaurant and enjoy a sit-down meal where the staff is friendly, the food is tasty and dress code is casual.

Click here to see the restaurant's full menu.

Source: Germantown Patch

URL: http://germantown.patch.com/articles/the-dutch-family-restaurant-a-local-must-try

From Maryland to Munich: A Look At The Kentlands Oktoberfest A local shares her opinion on the difference between the Kentlands festival and the Munich original

The second part of a two part series:

Okay, to be fair this is only the 19th year the Kentlands has been putting on the Oktoberfest. The population here is mostly families, so it's really not going to be the same as the one in Munich; I get that. But the Annual Kentlands Oktoberfest, which took place on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., was quite unlike the week long festival I experienced in Munich in September.

My first stop on Saturday was the food. The main German food was in the form of Bratwurst, but there were also some American additions like hot dogs and funnel cake. The meat was different than the patent German Braut' I was used to, with its soft meaty inside. There was no marjoram or caraway mixed in with the meat, and the sauerkraut, I'm sad to say, was served on top, but it was probably better this way.

After my first edible experience, I encountered a delightful upside to my Kentland's eats; the Crab Cake. Now, clearly this is not German, but it was a treat. Sprinkled with a little old bay and packed between two soft buns it definitely made me happy to be home.

My happiness didn't last long as my thirst kicked in and I had a hankering for a good beer. Much to my dismay there was only one tent serving Coors, Coors Light, and Sam Adams. After ten minutes of standing in line I reached my verdict; "Diet coke it is"!

A short stroll over to another vendor and I had some Taiwanese pork and chicken with mustard greens. It was yummy, but I couldn't help feel it was an odd thing to eat at an Oktoberfest.

My apologies King Ludwig, the foreign food at this festival just so happened to be better than the German food; please forgive me. The one parallel here that did make me smile though was the band Alte Kameraden.

Playing traditional Bavarian music I heard a familiar tune. "Ein Prosit", the song they played every 30 minutes in the Munich tents was blaring through the speakers! I closed my eyes and for the first time all day I could almost pretend like I was back in the Lowenbrau tent. "Ein Prosit"- a toast; and I would have loved to if only the line for the beer tent wasn't a mile long and there was more than one of them.

What this festival lacked in beer it made up for in jewelry booths and hand-made head bands. So I came to grips with the fact that this would not be like Munich and decided to stroll around and enjoyed the sights and sounds of this festival.

A lovely day outing with the family, absolutely, but a glimpse of the original; hardly.

 Like my dad said, "It's like comparing a youth football game to the Super Bowl" and I couldn't have agreed more.

Who knows though, maybe if we give Uncle Sam another 184 years he just might catch up to the party across the pond.

Source: Bethesda Patch

URL: http://bethesda.patch.com/articles/from-maryland-to-munich-a-look-at-the-kentlands-oktoberfest

From Maryland to Munich, A Local Visits Oktoberfest

Comparing the German fest to the Kentlands festival; the first in a two part series

• By Katherine Russo
• Email the author

   

Photos (9)

 

From the time I was 4 years old I can remember my dad coming home from Germany. Of course the memory stuck then because he brought back gummy bears, amazing chocolate, and Winnie the Pooh shirts with funny writing, but as the years went on it transformed.

What was this place Germany like? What made it worth going to for 20 years? What exactly was the Oktoberfest and just why was their chocolate so much better than Hershey's?

 Well, this year marked the 200^th anniversary and as it was my dad's last year attending, he decided to let me tag along to see what all the fuss was about.

Prior to take off, my dad sat me down and lifted the veil that was all my Oktoberfest misconceptions.

The festival takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. It is not a festival that has anything to do with the actual month, but King Ludwig's marriage to a commoner.

These tents we were staying in? They are not actual tents but giant wooden structures built and ripped down every year by the German beer companies that host the event.

Armed with my new knowledge I felt prepared; I was not.

Walking into the worlds largest fair with 100,000 visitors in just one day I was overwhelmed by the sights and smells. This fair's fare was packed with hundreds of places to drop by for hearty traditional eats such as Hendl (chicken), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Schweinshaxe (ham hock}, Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Würstl (sausages), and the Bavarian Weisswurst (a white sausage), these salted meats are staples here.

Oh so sorry vegetarians; you might want to stay in the states for this holiday.

As for sides I am all about the cabbage! Red or white it's nothing like the stuff back home. The German take produces a taste with infinitely less vinegar bite. Served lukewarm it melts in your mouth.

Now I like to think I'm quite the foodie. So when someone offered me some, Radieschen, I figured, "What the heck. It's not every day I get to go to Germany." 

Salted radishes are not for everyone, but a light treat after heavy meats pairs well with the beer.

Of course, the main event to this festival was the beer. German liquids only beware; they taste so good I was tempted to empty my glass. The alcohol content ranged from 5.8 to 6.3% alcohol by volume and came by the liter. So to avoid becoming a Bierleichen or Beer Corpse I took some sage advice from my dear old dad.

 "Kate," he said, "Keep in mind this festival is a marathon, not a sprint. It's not like some college party or something."

Advice duly noted, I was able to enjoy to the fullest extent the beer, the food, and the amazing German affinity for table dancing. All thanks to the key advise, of go at your own pace and enjoy the sights and sounds.

Although certain sounds struck me as a bit out of place and after 2 days of listening to German bands repeatedly play American tunes such as "Sweet Caroline" and "Country Roads", I finally had to ask.

"Why do you guys like this music? Of all the music to play, why this?"

Fully decked out in lederhosen with a thick German accent a fellow Oktoberfester replied, "Because, this is good music."

Good music, that goes well with good people, good food, and good beer.

So, if you are looking for a good time stumble on over to Germany for a liter or five.  Don't forget to Chow down on some emperor's nonsense with apple mush (a pancake with spiced apples and powdered sugar), hop on 100ft high spinning swings, and PROST.

But what if you can't find a sitter, flights are too expensive, and perhaps the ambiance of one of the world's biggest parties isn't quite what you are looking for?

 The Kentland's is hosting their 19th annual festival this Sunday from noon to 4. This Oktoberfest, hosted by the city of Gaithersburg, has a German band, German food, performances, and hay rides.

So this Sunday I will be hopping in my car, buckling my seatbelt and, sans jetlag, seeing what this festival has to offer.

Of course I will be attending once again with my dear old dad, but this time my little sisters might even tag along. Judging by the by the fact that not many adults paint pumpkins these day by themselves  I imagine this Oktoberfest will be a bit more for the whole family.

Good clean family fun can still fun though, right?

Source: Bethesda Patch

URL: http://bethesda.patch.com/articles/from-maryland-to-munich-a-local-visits-oktoberfest