Published December 15, 2024

Exiting the Lancaster Central Market on to West Grant Street offered even more small storefronts.

FARBO Co | Game Store & General Nerdery

A colorful doorway on West Grant Ave displayed a small sign that said “General Nerdery.” Curious of what a “nerdery” meant, we decided to pop in.

Up two flights of wooden stairs and past a monster mural was the open door to FARBO Co. This business turned out to be a board game, collectibles, and other charms and trinkets store featuring well known anime, video game, D&D, and TV show characters.

I was surprised that adults of all ages — not kids — browsed the board games, artwork, and collectibles. I enjoyed the variety of offerings, especially the artwork, enamel pins, and stickers.

As we checked out, the owner spent time highlighting the local area and sharing a map of their sister stores throughout Lancaster. I appreciated the local insights and tips, and that they spent time talking with us about their merchandise and town. I would definitely visit FARBO Co again the next time we’re in Lancaster.

Lancaster Troll Market

Around the corner from FARBO Co and in a mall-style storefront was the Lancaster Troll Market. The name alone peaked our interest so we decided to stop by and see what they offered.

Imagine stepping into a grey stone dungeon — dark wooden cabinets and wine barrels displayed capes and cloaks, wands, and potions. Faux greenery draped between the shelves with dragon heads, swords, shields, and even an animatronic dinosaur.

The Lancaster Troll Market sold collectible comic books, board games, and D&D materials. Most of the store held fantasy-based costumes and decor. I spent most of my time browsing the massive bookcase of stickers.

Like FARBO Co the Troll Market was packed with adults, which I was happy to see other nerds enjoying the magical world that this business created. A pedestal with a tome even allowed guests to sign their names on its antique pages.

The back of the shop held a display — of what I believe to be called “miniature wargaming” — with intricately painted figurines and landscape.

A doorway to the left opened up on a medieval-style table and chairs, which could be rented for D&D games.

The Lancaster Troll market felt like it was a community space for locals and tourists to enjoy and it was a fun destination to add to our last day’s itinerary.

Demuth Museum

Our next stop was on East King Street past Annie Bailey’s. Ironically, we walked right past the Demuth Museum on our first night after dinner. The brick building with its wide wooden shutters sat along the sidewalk, almost like someone’s home — which, I learned, was true.

The Demuth Museum is a non-profit that “focuses on the life and legacy of Charles Demuth.” We were the only two visitors at this time of day, so we left a donation at the front-desk and sat in the former living room to watch a video on Charles Demuth.

The video gave an overview of Charles Demuth’s life in Lancaster, his worldly travels and friends, and his artwork — which he created upstairs in his studio.

After the video, we explored the small back room with family pictures and portraits. We climbed a steep wooden staircase to the second floor and stepped into Demuth’s studio.

The windows to the garden and backyard are reflected in some of his paintings. His portrait over my left shoulder with his dark eyes seemed to follow you through the room.

The largest room on the second floor displayed some personal belongings — a sitting chair, a teacup that Demuth hand-painted, and his pipe. His paintings framed the room and several small TVs continued narrating his life and contributions to American Modernism.

Back downstairs and across from the front desk was a gallery of local artwork. Most of it was artwork was inspired by Charles Demuth’s style. I captured a few of my favorites from these local artists, some of which were students! The tomatoes in the plastic bag were my favorite piece.

Plough

To close out our last day in Lancaster, we went to Plough for dinner. Plough was one of the #1 restaurants I had on our list to visit, so I was excited to end the trip with them.

Plough is in the Marriott hotel at Penn Square, diagonal from the Lancaster Central Market. We parked in a nearby parking deck and walked down to the restaurant.

Plough’s Interior

I can tell if I’m going to enjoy the meal based on the restaurant’s interior design. Plough is a massive restaurant with multiple sitting areas, tables for groups, and a large bar. The wood throughout the space was warm without being outdated and industrial-style lights and ceiling felt modern. Plus, floor-to-ceiling windows lined the one wall and kept the space feeling light despite the dark color palette.

Since my boyfriend and I eat early in the evenings, we were the first to be seated in the dining room (though I made a reservation just in case). The seats were wide and cushiony, which is glorious compared to some metal chairs restaurants use.

Menu

A heavy black leather menu with laminated pages and a small insert separated the large wine and beer menu from the food offerings.

The food was organized into 3 categories: Small plates, homemade pastas, and large plates. You’ll see since Plough leverages seasonal ingredients, their online menu has been updated since my visit.

Mocktails | $7.00 and $3.00

I ordered a Shirley Temple, which is my go-to drink in terms of mocktails. Since Plough didn’t have any mocktails on their menu, our waiter had the bartender create one. It turned out to be a tart raspberry drink which was perfect for my boyfriend’s preferences.

Appetizers

Focaccia | $9.00

Who can go wrong with starting a meal with fresh bread? Four chunks of warmed focaccia and a smear of balsamic and raspberry butter lined the plate. The flavored butter was an unexpected addition and something I enjoyed pairing with the fresh bread.

Panzanella Salad | $16.00

We visited Lancaster during the summer heatwave, so I thought a light salad would be refreshing. The salad came in a mid-sized bowl, and had mixed greens, strawberries, radish, and fried cheese cubes.

I was surprised by the salad as I was expecting a Panzanella salad to be a bread-based salad with tomatoes and maybe some onions or cucumbers (depending on the chef’s preference). I’m assuming they read the order wrong and made us another salad on their menu. I was disappointed not to have a summer tomato salad, but there was nothing wrong with this salad.

Tempura Asparagus | $16.00

Pork belly was the last appetizer we selected, but the kitchen was out, so the waiter recommended the tempura asparagus. Ironically, my boyfriend also picked this one from the menu. I was skeptical about it, but we decided to try it anyway. Luckily we did because it was the best appetizer of the three!

Tempura battered asparagus and mushrooms were as light as air, crispy, tender, and smothered in grated cheese. A bed of a lemony sauce with the grilled lemon on the side provided the fat and acid and helped cut some of the fried flavor.

It was the best, most unique appetizer of the three (and the appetizer menu overall). The waiter’s recommendation was fantastic and my boyfriend was also happy to have tried it, since he noted it in the first place.

Entrees

By now, a few tables joined us in the dining room. One of the massive concrete poles blocked our table from the four-top table to our right, which was a quartet of elderly ladies who started off with drinks and cackled with their waiter as they went through the entire menu.

A casually dressed couple sat in the booth behind us and also ordered the focaccia as an appetizer. Several more waiters buzzed around the room, which stayed at a reasonable noise level and accepted both casually dressed tourists off the street and fancier couples throughout the dining room.

Short Rib Spätzle | $32.00

My boyfriend ordered the short rib spätzle. The plating was beautiful and highlighted the rich color of the short ribs, mushrooms, and fried spätzle as the base.

I knew spätzle to be more like noodles, but my boyfriend said this flavor was more like crispy crunchy pieces, which I thought was a clever update for the traditional German dish. The short ribs fell apart like butter and were a hearty protein. Topped with fried garlic and chives, my boyfriend said this was more than enough for an entree, especially with the rich flavors.

Roasted Chicken | $28.00

My dish was a generous portion of polenta with a frame of sauce — which was not as thick as a gravy, but likely made from the roasted juices and drippings from the chicken. It was divine. The roasted chicken fell off the bone and had a patty of chorizo underneath it.

This was the perfect entree. The flavors with the sauce and polenta were incredible, but when you added the chorizo and fall-apart chicken, plus the freshness from the greens on top, I was in heaven. Plus, my portion was just as big, if not bigger, than my boyfriend’s entree.

Dessert

We decided to skip dessert at Plough and get ice cream and wander more downtown. We sat in Penn Square where they had a live band and hosted swing dance classes. A crowd formed and spent the evening dancing and listening to music. It was the perfect note to wrap up our visit to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

My Recommendations

I give our visit to Plough a 9/10 for the following:

• Decor and Design

  • I enjoyed the industrial design of the restaurant and its matching menu. Typically I find that farm-to-table restaurants reflect the farm imagery in their brand, so it was a nice change of pace to see how Plough uses their name and logo to pay homage to their location.

• Service

  • Our waiter was helpful with answering our questions and creating our off-menu mocktail. His appetizer recommendation was the highlight of that course and he checked in several times throughout our meal without rushing us.

• Food

  • Modern twists and creativity on classic dishes with wholesome ingredients. I was thrilled with the quality, portions, and plating of our meal at Plough. I love to see that they update their menu with the seasons and that they source locally from the amazing nearby farms. It made for a delicious meal that I would love to go back to experience.

Have you visited Lancaster?

Have you been to Plough before? Do you have a favorite Lancaster restaurant or landmark to visit? Leave a comment below with your favorites!

To catch up on all the Lancaster travel recommendations and restaurant reviews or browse my other travel destinations, click here.