Amish Market, Graber?

The Lancaster County Dutch Market in Germantown is a funny, yet wonderful place.

The market is in the inner corner of an L-shaped strip-mall on what appears to be the edge of Germantown, Maryland.
It looks small from the outside, but it is actually pretty big. The first thing you see as you enter is the booth for homemade soft warm salted pretzels. The line was long (10 people?), and I'm sure for good reason.

You can choose either to turn left or right (but you feel strongly compelled to go Right, since that is the "flow" of the place.
As you walk around what is really just a huge circle, booths surround you on both sides. Each booth is run by a real-life Amish person, dressed traditionally. The women have homemade dresses and homemade full-body white aprons and white, transluscent bonnets. The men (or man, since we only saw one) had on traditional clothes, a beard, and a slight unidentifiable accent (Amish?).

The booths that I can remember are:

-Spices, jams, and pickled stuff (I bought pickled okra and ate half the jar today- YUM!)

-Chocolates and Candy (huge chocolate rabbits for easter, homemade chocolates. This booth is called Lapps Candies)

-Butcher/Deli/Meat

-Flowers (the selection I noticed had mixes and by-the-breed selections. Nice gerbera daisies.)

-Handmade amish furniture

-Cheeses (called Zooks cheeses, this is where the one Amish man we saw worked. He was cool.)

-Produce

-Bakery

Each booth has its own check-out. There are 3 places to get prepared food that you can eat right away or take home-- the pretzel place, a place with pre-made salads (potato salad, etc.) and a place in the far corner that had ribs, homefries, and stuff like that-- long line though.

We went on Saturday afternoon at 2 pm. It was pretty crowded, so it may be best to go on a weekday if you can.

Here are the hours:

Thurs. 10-6
Fri. 9-7
Sat. 9-3 (early closing!!!)

Lancaster County Dutch Market
12613 Wisteria Drive
Germantown, MD
20874

301-916-4039

Each booth has its own number, but this is the main line. When I called a friendly girl answered and told us the hours.


I really don't know what the Lancaster County association is, cause the Market is in Montgomery County. All I can think is that either they want to evoke the Pennsylvania Dutch Amish by using the county name OR they actually live there and commute.
The cheese guy said that they close early on Saturday because it takes them so long to get home, and they want to have some weekend away from the market. So maybe they do commute. But do they do it in buggies? I didn't see any parked out front or anything. Do they take a bus? Does that conflict? Does the electricity in the building conflict?

I think that this particular set of Amish are unique: they belong to two worlds, but at the same time, are outcasts of both. They belong in neither Amish or American society. They are far too liberal to be good, traditional, conservative Amish.
But they are far too out there to be normal Americans.
Its like being an immigrant in your own country. I can't imagine. I really wish I knew more about how they live and how different, if at all, it really is back at the farms they live on.

Well, regardless, they sure can deliver the goods! God bless the Amish Market!

-Shorty