Ohio Amish Country: Savor Life in the Slow Lane

Tag : Hardware Assortment
Both inns are under the umbrella of Dutchman Hospitality Group,Inc., which also includes five restaurants, four bakeries, and awholesale food supplier. The family enterprise began in 1969 whenEmmanuel Mullet, his son-in-law, Robert Miller, and Dan Lehmanopened Der Dutchman, a 75-seat restaurant in a renovated hardwarestore in Walnut Creek with a goal of serving homemade meals in theAmish tradition. The children of the founders now operate thecompany. Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury, Ind., is a sistercompany. So what is there to do in Ohio Amish country? Driving from town totown on the country roads is a common pastime. Visitors tend todrive at a slower pace, perhaps because of the horse-drawn vehiclesor just to drink in the beautiful landscape. One choice is tofollow the main routes to Sugarcreek, Walnut Creek, Charm, Berlin,and Millersburg to zero in on gift shops and restaurants. Berlin,in particular, has a lot of shops and seemed to be the busiestcommunity. Or visitors can study a map to take the back country roads to seethe impressive farms en route to their destination. One of the mostscenic farmland routes that we took was out of Sugarcreek on StateRt. 39, to County Road 93, and to I-70 west to Charm for dinner atGrandma's Homestead. Amish/Mennonite entrepreneurs have learned that food is a mainattraction for the English - their term for visitors - and make itavailable at every turn. Lehman's Hardware in Kidron has added acaf. Lehman's is the giant hardware store known for nonelectrics,and is a popular tourist destination. There also is a sizablerestaurant in the basement of the Kidron grocery store patronizedby locals, and another at the Keim Lumber Co., in Charm. The best-known restaurants seat 200 to cater to the region's largetourist industry and offer a choice of buffets, family-styledinners, and menu service. Most have gift shops, bakery counters,and canned good displays. While shops featuring handcrafted goods are numerous in the townsthere also are opportunities to buy at private homes. Roadsidesigns announce quilts, honey, furniture, and bulk foods for sale.There are more than 30 furniture stores in the region featuringwork by local craftsmen. Takeout food has a whole new meaning in Amish country. Reasoningthat it's a practical souvenir to take home, visitors stock up onall manner of foods. We came home with a trunk load of Amishsamples. We bought cheeses from Heini's Cheese Chalet, at Berlin. Amegastore where people sample hundreds of cheeses before decidingwhich ones to buy, it also has a demonstration window where you canwatch cheese being made. Yogurt cheese is claimed to haveoriginated at Heini's. Chocolate and other sweet cheeses are amongthe sweet, dessert varieties set out for sampling. I couldn't wait to buy Trail bologna, an Amish country specialtymade in Trail, but also available at other stores in the area.Fried pies and cinnamon rolls from Der Dutchman Restaurant are inthe freezer. Ginger and chocolate chip cookies were a must choiceat Troyer's Bakery in Apple Creek, and now I wish I had broughthome one of Troyer's angel food cakes. It's wise to take a cooler to store take-home foods. The Amish maynot have refrigerators but they do sell ice. I should have put thebag of chocolate chips purchased at a bulk store in the cooler.They melted into a large clump on the way home. The bulk food store in Berlin, one of several in the area, was funto visit and gave an insight into local food preferences as well ashow the shopkeepers are abreast of current trends. Packaged bulktapioca, arrowroot, oatmeal, cake mixes, and always licorice with alarge assortment of candies are mainstays. Herbs and spices run thegamut and, generally, are less expensive . Liquid rosemary was areal find. Poppy seeds were a bargain. A bag of peanut butterpretzels made good snacking in an automobile in the fast lane asthey perhaps do in a horse-drawn buggy on a country road. Contact Mary Alice Powell at: mpowell@theblade.com If you go: •To learn more about the Amish and Mennonite lifestyles visitBehalt, an exhibit at Berlin, featuring a 10 by 265-foot circularmural. •Visitors have a choice of tours that include narration onAmish people, buggy rides, and a visit to Amish artisans. ContactTour the Backroads at 330-893-3248 or visitwww.AmishToursOfOhio.com •Two home tours are available in Holmes County. Yoder's isbetween Trail and Walnut Creek. Schrock's farm and home are nearBerlin. The Schrock farm also has a quilt barn, summer kitchen withice cream and coffee, a pottery shop, and other local artwork. •Breitenbach Wine Cellars, near Sugarcreek, has a publictasting room. •Horse Progress Day will be held at Mount Hope on July 4 and5. A farming event that draws 10,000 people, it featureshorse-powered machinery and 27 breeds of horses. •The annual antique festival will be held in Millersburg onOct. 4 and 5.