Foodie Traveler: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg Pennsylvania is one of my favorite places in the country, which is kind of funny because I’m not a huge Civil War buff. I AM a history geek though, and of course, I love food. So when Stephan and I were deciding where to have our super quick honeymoon, it didn’t take long to decide. This trip, we went to some old favorites and tried a few new places as well.
First up was Appalachian Brewing Company. There are two locations, but we like the one on Steinwehr Avenue best. In fact, it’s usually our first stop when we get into town. We actually went twice on this trip because it’s so good! We had the amazingly good Cheddar ale soup on both visits because I’m kind of addicted to it. On the first visit, we had green bean fries as an appetizer, bowls of the cheddar ale soup, and we shared an elephant ear for dessert. Then we rolled ourselves out the door because we were so full!
The second visit, we had the cheddar ale soup again, I had the Fire Jumper burger with a turkey patty, pepperjack, jalapenos, chipotle sauce, and onion straws, and Stephan had the Pierogies and Beer Brats with caramelized onions, garlic mashed potatoes, and brewhaus mustard. He’s had this several times and it has never disappointed him! My burger was spicy, and sloppy, and really, really good. Our only issue was having enough room to finish everything, as well as our excellent beers!
On our second day, we had ABC for dinner, but decided to try the Blue and Gray Bar and Grill for lunch. We had heard excellent things about both the burgers and the wings from multiple people. We decided on blackened tuna bites for an appetizer (which were so awesome that we snarfed them down before we remembered to take a photo!) and narrowed down the huge number of wing choices (which are all named after various regiments) to two: the 15th Alabama, which had a spicy white sauce, and the 1st Minnesota, which had a honey horseradish sauce. The wings were fried extra crispy, and the sauces were delicious and two-napkin worthy.
We also stopped by Garryowen Irish Pub for an afternoon snack of Magners cider and a cheese plate. The selections on the plate change regularly, but this time included four cheeses that were all from Maryland and Pennsylvania. There was a chevre, bleu, gouda, and a fourth that neither of us can remember. There was also tomato jam, pickled onions, and Guinness mustard. As usual, we ate every crumb on the plate. It’s a nice way to spend an hour or so pretending that we’re civilized–ha!
On our last day, we headed up to Abbottstown and surrounding areas to visit some antique stores and the Christmas Haus for a German Smoker that we were looking for. We decided to give the Hofbrauhaus a try.
There is a bar and a separate dining room–we opted for the dining room. It’s not the prettiest place, but the server was very nice and the food was decent. We were brought some lovely, large rolls–one onion and one rye, then a cheese spread with crackers. The cheese spread kind of reminded me of the cheddar spread my dad used to receive as a corporate gift from the Swiss Colony when I was a kid.
There were a handful of options that I could have that weren’t beef or pork-based, and I decided on the Zurich sandwich. It’s an open faced sandwich of toasted cheese, tomato, and onion on rye bread. Simple and tasty. Stephan had the Kasseler Rippchen, which was an order of smoked pork chops. There are a lot of sides to choose from, so I had the spatzle, and Stephan had the hot potato salad and the red beet salad. My sandwich also came with an awesome, garlicky pickle spear, and Stephan’s plate came with applesauce. A simple, hearty last meal in Pennsylvania.
Of the four places we visited, we’ll definitely go back to Appalachian Brewing Company and Garryowen, will likely return to Blue and Gray to try the burgers and more wings, and might return to Hofbrauhaus if we’re nearby.