The Temple to Gluttony

    

     That's the way the Shady Maple Smorgasbord in Lancaster County has been referred to by more than one person.  Their claim to fame is that they are "Lancaster County's largest smorgasbord" with "200 feet of deliciously authentic Pennsylvania Dutch cooking."  After all, they do have 46 salad bar items, 3 soups, 8 different meats and 14 veggies served up daily.  And if you are still hungry after as many platefuls as you can handle, you can stroll back to fill up on the 10 cold and 3 hot dessert items, to say nothing of the 8 different pies and 6 cakes available along with the cookies and ice cream bar.

 

     Shady Maple is open from 5 am to 8 pm Monday through Saturday and begins the day with a belly buster breakfast that includes eggs any style, omelets, quiche, sausage, ham, scrapple, bacon, pancakes, french toast, mush, puddins, oatmeal, waffles, biscuits and baked goods too numerous to mention.  There is an evening dinner special featured each evening, too.  Steak,  prime rib, wings, ham, crab cakes, seafood, and Cajun catfish are among the featured entrees.  They are augmented by the likes of corn fritters, potato cakes, kielbasa and pizza.

 

     Paying a visit there last Friday for lunch I must admit that the food is good, all 3 platefuls that I enjoyed.  There is nothing shabby about the quality of the food which is kept at the proper temperature.  The hot food is hot and the cold food is cold, just the way it should be.   And the prices are quite reasonable: breakfast $9.99 ($8.98 for seniors 60+), lunch $13.49 ($12.14), and dinner $18.49 ($16.65).  If you are 90 or older there is a 50% discount.  And there is also a special discount for recent gastric bypass customers, too.

     Then after your meal you can waddle down the stairs to the gift shop in the basement with 41,000 square feet of retail space to peruse.  That should help to walk off all those calories!