A Bitter State of Mind in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
"Hello, yeah, it's been a while. Not much, how 'bout you?"
My “Bittersweet” Weekend in Lancaster
Over the past six years I’ve been visiting Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at least twice a year. So much so that most people now assume that’s where I hail from. Beyond being a creature of habit I’m continually drawn back to this small city in Pennsylvania Dutch Country for its regional foodways, restaurants, bars, and friendships I’ve developed over the years.
In Fall 2016 I was on the last stop of the book tour for Amaro at Abe Fisher in Philadelphia. People still talk about that packed-house, sold-out event. In addition to an extended 13-amari tasting there were at least half-a-dozen full-size cocktails served and platters of rich snacks of smoked beef sandwiches. The bacchanal vibe hit around around amaro seven with the sound of broken tasting glasses and by the time we got to the book signing there were people making out in the signing line.
But during that event a bartender at LUCA, a new Italian restaurant in Lancaster, DM’ed me to invite me to stop by and check out their amaro program while I was in town. I soon realized Lancaster was more than a quick Uber away but filed away the information to one day check out.
When I was back in Philly in the summer of 2017 I rented a car and drove to Lancaster on my way back to Brooklyn and had dinner at the bar at LUCA. Over the course of a two-hour-plus dinner I was impressed to see at least a dozen amari flights sent out from the bar, each one served on a stainless steel tray along with the featured bottles. Taylor Mason, the chef and proprietor of LUCA, later came over to say hello and since that fateful night I’ve returned to Lancaster again and again, always stopping by LUCA (often joined by friends from New York, Philadelphia, and Boston) and continuing to explore Lancaster. (While Southeastern Pennsylvania is known as the “breadbasket” of America, it’s also home to the widest (and some of the best) regional potato chips you’ll ever encounter.)
Starting in 2018 the team at LUCA invited me out each spring for an annual amaro presentation (which I insist on calling a “residency”) consisting of a talk and tasting with bittersweet cocktails and plenty of snacks from the LUCA kitchen. And after a three-year gap that tradition returned this past weekend.