Succulent beef tips in gravy, rotisserie chicken, ham, authentic Amish brown butter noodles, and PA Dutch bread filling are only a small number of the tasty items you will find at the best smorgasbord in Lancaster County. While nowhere near as large as Shady Maple Smorgasbord (the largest in the US), Dienner’s Country Restaurant offers tasty and authentic PA Dutch cooking.
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There are three buffet sections. The first one offers hot food. Here is where you will find your choice of meats (chicken, ham, and beef, plus a nightly special) and cooked vegetables. You will also find hot side dishes such as PA Dutch bread filling (which is a cross between stuffing and mashed potatoes) and Amish brown butter noodles (noodles cooked in chicken broth and browned butter). I had never even heard of browning butter (cooking it until it starts to brown) until I stayed with an Amish family for a week back when I was in college.
The second buffet section is the soup and salad section. They have two types of soup and numerous salads, as well as ingredients for your basic green salad. And since you are in Amish country, they of course have pickled eggs. For those that might not be familiar with PA Dutch cuisine, pickled eggs are hard boiled eggs that are peeled and soaked in a mixture of red beet juice, vinegar, and sugar.
The last section of the buffet is the dessert section. There are always many tasty looking options in this section but I skip the dessert buffet line and head instead to the pie refrigerator. If you are new to PA Dutch cooking you must try shoo-fly pie, a pie with a gooey molasses bottom and tasty crumb top. Legend is that it got its name from the fact that as it sat and cooled it attracted flies that would have to be shooed away from it. My favorite pie though is the peanut butter cream pie. This pie has a peanut butter bottom and a rich, creamy top. There is also a soft serve ice cream machine in the dessert section.
Dienner’s often has a wait, especially if a show at Sight and Sound Theater has just ended but the line usually moves quickly. Like a lot of places in Lancaster County, they are closed on Sunday. Dienner’s does offer a menu but I’m not sure why you would want to order from it when the buffet is so tasty and reasonably priced. Dienner’s is Mennonite owned and you know that you are getting tasty and authentic Mennonite cooking when you see Amish and Mennonite families enjoying a meal here.
My Takeaway
Dienner’s Country Restaurant is a Lancaster County restaurant that you won’t want to miss!