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Bird-in-Hand Bakeshop

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Reidie
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4 out of 5
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2
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Editor Pick

The Best Bakery in Town!

  • January 14, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Troobabiee7 from Brooklyn, New York
The Best Bakery in Town!

On our second day in Lancaster we were planning on checking out the Amish attractions, villages and shops in the area. We were going to go to Kitchen Kettle Village, a small village of stores and bakeries that we always went to when we were younger. When my dad ran into the lobby to get a map of the area, though, the Concierge told him that there was a nice bakery in the nearby town of Bird-In-Hand so we decided to drive over there. It was a fifteen-minute ride through the back roads of Amish country and it was absolutely gorgeous! Although we had been to Lancaster many times before, I was always too young to really acknowledge and appreciate the Amish culture. The past few months I had been watching "Amish in the City" on UPN, a reality show in which a group of Amish kids were on Rumspringa, their right of passage to experience the world before deciding whether or not to live the rest of their lives Amish. They lived with a group of city kids in Los Angeles and both groups had to learn each other's ways and adapt to all the changes, and I absolutely loved it, regardless of how ridiculous it was! Now getting to see everything first hand amazed me. It was really nice driving through the back roads of the Amish country and seeing Amish men and women riding in their buggies while children zipped through the streets on their scooters and roller skates. I was in awe of the beauty of the countryside and the peace surrounding the children playing in front of their modest homes, while cows grazed a few feet away and horses galloped in the distance. It's one of my favorite places in the world - so peaceful, magical and truly amazing... it's like stepping into another world!

The Bird-In-Hand Bake Shop was located directly across the lane from an Amish farm, and when we arrived many Amish men were working the fields both by hand and on tractors. The bakery was pretty crowded since there was a big bus in the parking lot that had dropped off a tour group. We parked and walked over to a small playground on the grounds where Alison pet some ducks and went on the swings, before she started to play with a little girl on the slide and small jungle gym. My mom, Aunt Stacy, Alison and I then all sat on a large, four-person swing which had a table in the middle. We took a few pictures before Michael watched Alison and my dad waited outside with Oreo while my mom, Aunt Stacy, Alan and I went into the bakery. There were homemade Dutch pies, cakes, cookies and more, as well as Lancaster souvenirs. The shop was run by teenage Amish girls, all around my age, who were interesting to listen to. They were telling everyone about their lives and lifestyle, and it was pretty amazing.

After ten minutes the tour group finally left and we were the only ones left in the bakery. My dad carried Oreo in and Alison and Mike came in, too. We looked around and had a good time looking at the hand-made wooden puppets which I got to annoy Mike over since he has an hilarious doll phobia! Mike was psyched that they had Snickerdoodles - cinnamon cookies that my Aunt Lynda usually makes for him. They're his favorite! We bought a box of those and some pumpkin bread which is mine and my mom's favorite. I also got a key chain of an Amish family holding hands and walking in the road along with a Lancaster pen.

The pies and cookies from here were absolutely delicious. We have a lot of New York bakeries in our neighborhood with great cakes and pastries, but none of them compare to the Bird-In-Hand Bakeshop. Everything was fresh and delicious, whether we ate it out of the box or heated it up first. The girls running the store were also friendly, knowledgeable and always willing to help, while the grounds surrounding the bakery were gorgeous. No trip to Lancaster is complete without picking up some Dutch pies, cakes and cookies from the Bird-In-Hand Bakeshop!

From journal Lancaster, Pennsylvania: The Return to a Childhood Favorite

Bird-in-Hand Restaurant

  • July 16, 2003
  • Rated 3 of 5 by Reidie from Myersville, Maryland
A family restaurant with its own bake shop featuring Amish shoo-fly pies. Locally-made jar goods, jams, jellies, and honey also available. There is a gift shop with local handcrafted Amish dolls, crafts, etc. There is a buffet available or you can order off the menu. Sometimes it is very crowded because of the many bus tours that make this a stop on their Amish tours.

The Bird-in-Hand Restaurant is located next to the Little Red Schoolhouse, which shows how Amish children were taught.

From journal Amish Country

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