If the town of Lancaster conjures images of rolling hills and horse and buggies, you have the right picture. But just beyond the bucolic countryside is the city of Lancaster, a chic yet quaint urban enclave rife with restaurants, nightlife, boutique shopping and LGBT-friendliness.
While the wider Lancaster County encompasses Amish culture that is certainly worth checking out, the city itself defies outsider conceptions of Lancaster, and boasts an abundance of offerings for LGBT travelers.
Downtown Lancaster is definitely different from downtown Philadelphia, but the difference is what makes the city such a standout. While Philly streets are shadowed by skyscrapers and big-name businesses, Lancaster thrives from its quaint, occasionally cobblestoned streets lined with rowhomes and brownstones, and peppered with more than 300 boutiques and businesses — from art galleries to vegan eateries to vintage thrift stores galore.
While Lancaster could be a day-trip visit, there’s so much to see and do in the city and the surrounding area that it makes a perfect weekend getaway.
On a recent trip to Lancaster, we stayed at King’s Cottage (www.kingscottagebb.com), an eight-room bed and breakfast rich with both historic charm and modern luxury.
Built in 1913, King’s Cottage is a sprawling establishment, with hardwood floors throughout and stained-glass windows that harken so vividly to turn of the century that King’s Cottage has been honored for the quality of its historic preservation; the venue is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a member of Select Registry, Distinguished Inns of North America and Mobil-Excellent.
Guests are invited to make themselves at home in the first-floor common areas, which include a living room adorned with plush sofas and an airy Florida room, where midday snacks are served and which offers ample space to enjoy a quiet read. A wide, centrally located staircase leads to the seven guest rooms situated in the main house; an adjacent Carriage House is also utilized for guests looking for added privacy and romance.
All rooms include televisions, DVD players and access to free WiFi — but a true B&B experience, especially at King’s Cottage, can be best appreciated by disconnecting.
Most rooms have ensuite bathrooms, and those that are separated are non-shared.
All rooms have their own fireplaces, and several offer Jacuzzi baths, such as the Princess Room, whose oversized whirpool tub is as impressive in size as it is in its capacity for immediate relaxation. The Princess Room also opens onto a balcony where guests can enjoy morning coffee or evening wine overlooking the B&B’s grounds.
Supporting and enhancing the cozy atmosphere conveyed at King’s Cottage are innkeepers Ann Willets and Janis Kutterer, who, with dog Sampson, are there to help guests navigate every step of their stay in Lancaster.
Each morning, they serve a sumptuous breakfast in the elegantly adorned dining room — on our stay, a mouthwatering Lancaster County apple stuffed with oatmeal, walnuts, cloves and butter; a broccoli and Swiss cheese frittata; and locally made apple-glazed sausage — and then help guests with their daily and nightly plans, including offering menus of and personalized directions to your selected restaurants. The innkeepers are ever-ready to lend a hand, yet they encourage guests to make themselves at home in the inn, which encourages a familial and relaxed atmosphere.
Willets and other assistants also offer massage therapy for guests looking for an added touch of luxury.
And, King’s Cottage is less than 2 miles from the hub of downtown Lancaster, so if you venture out to explore the city and are looking for a touch of relaxation, you can also stop in to Restoration Spa (www.restorationspa.net).
Owned by Rose Linken, the business specializes in massage and bodywork, as well as facial services, with a strong concentration on aromatherapy. Linken doesn’t deliver a cookie-cutter massage that’s the same for all clients; instead, she works with each individually to identify pain or discomfort and pays special attention to problem areas.
With highly reasonable prices and with decades of experience under her belt, Linken’s business is a great go-to for a touch of pampering while out on the town.
Once you’re loose and limber, you can head out of the spa and to the nearby block of 300 North Queen Street (downtownlancaster300block.com). The street is home to a diverse assortment of galleries, retro thrift stores and antique shops — many of which carry LGBT publications by their doors. The shops make for a fun afternoon of perusing and purchasing and, if you happen to be in town for First (and Third) Fridays, the block is swarming with arts-minded audiences.
While on your shopping excursion, stop by Mio Studio (www.miostudio.com) to check out the vast collection of handmade jewelry, as well as fine art. The gay-owned business features a large selection of items made largely from precious metals and wood, and which have an architectural element to them sure to impress jewelry and art lovers of all stripes.
If you want to try your own hand at an artistic venture, The Bead & Pottery Works (www.thepotteryworks.com) is a great spot for a couple’s or a girls’ (or guys’) night. Visitors of all skill levels can handpaint pottery — ranging from teacups to Christmas décor — selecting their own colors and styles, or can also try their hand at beading,
If you’re looking for a dose of education while in town, head to North Museum of Natural History and Science (www.northmuseum.org), whose three floors offer just enough to keep the history and science buff enthralled, yet not too much to bore the non-museum type. The museum’s lower level offers an impressive collection of taxidermy birds, as well as a vast mineral exhibit. The first floor features everything from a live-animal room to weather stations to a dinosaur gallery, while the upper level explores the museum’s 60-year history.
The museum is also home to a planetarium that features a changing roster of programs exploring the solar system.
While the museum is largely youth-focused, even if you don’t have kids in tow for your Lancaster trip, as we didn’t, a visit is a great way to feed your inner nerd with some interactive and accessible educational activities.
If your sweet tooth is aching while in town, stop by Miesse Candies (www.miessecandies.com), which has been making and selling sweets in the Lancaster area since 1875. Customers can take a tour of the company’s factory (and won’t need to curb their chocolate obsession for too long, as samples are given out generously), where workers still use vintage equipment and hand-dip their wares.
You can also add to your dessert stash at the Lancaster Central Market (www.centralmarketlancaster.com). The country’s oldest farmers’ market, open Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, brings the country into the city, with a vast selection of locally produced foods good for on-the-spot noshing or as a take-home treat.
Speaking of nosh, ForkNSpoon Café (www.forknspooncafe.com) can get your day off to a satisfying start. The gay-owned venue offers breakfast and lunch Wednesday-Friday, as well as weekend brunch. The locale features gourmet comfort food, with an emphasis on organic and a twist on traditional — with menu items such as wheat-berry bread, toasted-herb baguettes and pecan wood-smoked bacon.
If you’re looking for a more formal feasting spot, the gay-owned Belvedere Inn (www.belvederelancaster.com) is it.
Opened in 1998 in a 19th-century mansion, Belvedere offers contemporary American cuisine with an upscale-casual feel. The decoration fosters a cozy, comfortable atmosphere, supported by the dark, rich woods and ubiquitous candles, which make Belvedere the ideal spot for a romantic dinner. The venue is home to two dining rooms, a first-floor bar and a second-floor piano bar and lounge, with live jazz on the weekends, and a terrace open for dining and drinks in warm weather.
For a cold-weather visit, you can warm up with Belvedere’s pumpkin-spice sangria or the apple-pie martini. Both embrace the taste of the season with a new and satisfying twist on the drinks.
The menu is also seasonal and offers selections to whet the appetites of all diners. The appetizers shined in their fusion of several components: a rib eye that was impossibly tender laying atop polenta with lobster sauce, and fried eggplant smothered in goat cheese, the right combination of crunchy and smooth.
The entrees included staples from fish to pasta to pork chops, each of which was a unique take on the dishes. The free-range chicken breast was juicy and flavorful, while the filet mignon, brushed with marrow butter and candied onions, was cooked to perfection. The accompaniments — a heaping spread of fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes and asparagus that was the right match of tender and crispy — added a welcomed flair to the dishes.
If you have room for dessert, don’t pass it up, as all are made fresh on the premises. Especially memorable was the cranberry cheesecake, made with goat cheese and offering a compliment of soft sweetness with a crunchy, crumbly base.
While the restaurant’s award-winning dishes speak for themselves, a visit to Belvedere Inn is about much more than food, as the top-notch service, enchanting décor and sophisticated yet welcoming setting make for an unforgettable dining experience.
Another gem of the Lancaster food scene is FENZ (www.fenzrestaurant.com), which puts a chic touch on casual comfort food. Situated in a former factory building dating to the 19th century, FENZ is anything but dated. The two floors are the epitome of urban-chic in décor and setup, and each is home to its own bar. On a Saturday night visit, both were bustling, and tables on both floors were filled with couples and parties that illustrated the diversity of Lancaster.
A night at FENZ can include drinks and a sampling of the restaurant’s small plates, or you can enjoy the full entrée menu, conceived around the notion that traditional comfort foods can use a contemporary update — a satisfying proposal.
The wild-mushroom bisque was the perfect complement for a warm night, smooth and silky, yet brimming with tender mushrooms.
The vegetable also made a welcome appearance in the winter risotto, which fused wild mushrooms and mushroom consommé with truffle cream and Locatelli cheese, the result of which was a creamy dish where each component stood out on its own. The grilled filet mignon was fall-apart tender and accompanied by a clever array of onion rings, mushrooms and fingerling potatoes.
Perhaps the most impressive element of the meal was the warm apple crisp; the apples, cinnamon and caramel literally melt in your mouth and are perfectly complemented by the locally made vanilla ice cream — a perfect ending to an exemplary meal.
From the food to the shopping to the cultural offerings, Lancaster defied expectations at every turn — and showed this city dweller that the “country” isn’t that far from home.