This was one of those wonderfully accidental finds. While in Lancaster, PA recently, we found ourselves looking for somewhere to eat lunch on SR 30 east of Lancaster.
Nestled in among the numerous chain restaurants, the name can be seen from the highway and stands out in a subtle way. So much so, that we were going to settle for something basic, until we saw the sign for Lancaster Brewing Co. Tap Room & Grill and on a whim decided to eat there. Journey Moore Often loves supporting local businesses, and this one certainlly looked intriguing.
Lancaster Brewing Co. is a local brewer in Lancaster County, PA, with a few locations in the area. They have quite a variety of home brewed beer with the typical expectations (IPA, Ale, etc.), but also have some surprises. Even their signature IPA (Hop Hog IPA which we had) was different. It was lighter with notes of citris (but not overly so) and no bite like a typical IPA, very good.
They also have local distilled liquors for those who like something stronger.
We got there at 11:55am, and since they don’t open till noon, we spent a couple minutes entertaining ourselves by perusing the menu posted by the door. Once we were allowed in, we were greeted warmly by staff, and were seated quickly in an empty taproom…but not for long.
It wasn’t long before almost the entire dining area was full.
This spectacularly beautiful day (one of the first for several months…) brought a group riding Harley Davidson motorcycles from the Delaware Water Gap area of Pennsylvania who decided to sit in the outdoor area. When I asked them where they were from, they said “We traveled 115 miles just to come here!”.
Our server Cassie, was on top of things from the beginning. She was not only very pleasant, she knew when to come to the table, including bringing our drinks and food with perfect timing. After a short time, the three of us decided to have the Caesar’s Salad with Salmon, Wings (hot – with blue cheese and celery), Beef and Cheddar sandwich (which was explained as more upscale than other places) and the Cheddar Bacon Fries.
All the meals were not just really good, but were definitely much better than a “tap room” fare, turning out to be a delightful surprise. The salmon salad, chedder bacon fries, and hot wings were better than most, but the Beef and Cheddar sandwich, whoa. The meat was so tender it basically melted in your mouth and the flavor topped every other similar creation at other places by a longshot.
We weren’t going to have dessert, but when the server described it, Pumpkin Creme Brulet sounded pretty interesting. Unfortunately, they had sold out the day before, so they so kindly offered to give us the Pumpkin Cheese Cake for free.
They can be found on Facebook by searching for Lancaster Brewing Co. Definitely a good watering hole with good food!