Who Says You Can't Have Both?

On Friday Ali and I took a roadtrip to Amish country. I'm always filled with mixed emotions about going to that part of Ohio. I love the beautiful, rolling countryside dotted with beautifully kept farms and ribboned with dark colored clothing flapping in the breeze, drying on the clotheslines of families living without electricity. I respect the Amish way of living in the world and I hate that their small towns have become full of tourists with cameras, snapping pictures of people who don't even look at their own images.

I live with myself by not taking any photos of people who wouldn't want their image reproduced in film. Also by hitting every quilt shop we find and supporting the local quilt artists of the area!

Around 11:30 we were in Kidron, inside a friendly small shop that specializes in selling world crafts, with all the proceeds returning to the artists and their local economies. The two older ladies volunteering in the store were so kind and outgoing that we confessed we were getting hungry and asked for a recommendation for lunch. They gave each other a funny little look and then one asked, "Do you want good food or do you want ambiance?"

My assumption was that they were really asking, "Do you want your servers, dressed in Amish clothing, to hand you a plate of generic fried chicken or do you want some real home cooking?"

We quickly replied, "Good food!"

They sent us around the corner to the local grocery – The Town and Country Store. We must have had surprised looks on our faces because they quickly assured us, "Don't go in the door to the grocery. Go in the door on the right and then go down the basement! There's a little restaurant down there! The food is wonderful!"

I have to admit, we were a little dubious. Lunch in the basement of the local grocery store? Suddenly ambiance wasn't looking so boring. . .

. . .until we walked in and saw this:

If that's not ambiance, I don't know what is! The place was gorgeous – right out of an era all but gone. It smelled even better than it looked. The menu board promised the following:

We decided to order "light" so as not to miss the homemade pies on display behind the counter.

Ali ordered homemade chicken noodle soup. Even the noodles were homemade. Her pie of choice was peach.

I ordered the hot Trail bologna (locally made!) sandwich with Swiss cheese (also locally produced!). My pie choice was chocolate/peanut butter cream.

The peach pie was so gorgeous, it required another shot! It doesn't object to having it's picture taken!

To say that we were happy with our lunch is a trivialization of the art of simple, local food cooked and served with love. And if you ever find yourself in Kidron, Ohio anywhere near mealtime, find the basement of the Town and Country Grocery Store.

Ambiance. Good Food. Who says you can't have it all?