The Pantry

The Pantry claims to serve the best breakfast in Lancaster. It's not bragging if it's true! Essentially a dive on the Marietta Pike (gravel parking lot and all!), The Pantry packs 'em in for one reason and one reason only: the food is absolutely phenomenal. This is the kind of joint that every town ought to have: very "basic" ambiance, huge crowds, and food that keeps everyone coming back. Tami and I were going to be grocery shopping in the area today (anything to avoid having to go to Giant in York), so we decided to try The Pantry. My mom has been raving about the place for years, and it didn't take us long to see why. We got there around 11:00 AM (prime time for a Sunday breakfast service), and it was crowded. We were lucky enough, though, to find a parking space and a seat after a short wait. We were greeted by a friendly server who seemed stunned that we were polite and easy to deal with (must have been a rough morning!). After a very short wait, we got our food. Tami got their famous cinnamon swirl French toast. Her only complaint was that she wasn't hungry enough to order another one on the spot! She said her bacon was even better than the buffet bacon at the Conewago Inn in Manchester/York Haven (our previous gold standard for bacon supremacy in the area). I had one the country skillets, and I was equally impressed. My dad has tried in vain for years to find the "hoagie of his youth". Well, the scrambled eggs at The Pantry came pretty close to the eggs of my youth. I upgraded to the 14-grain toast, which may have been one of the best decisions of my entire life. All I can say is wow. Bonus points for the fresh brewed iced tea!

We are very excited to go back to The Pantry and will most likely do so next weekend. There's so much stuff on their menu that looks delicious (baked oatmeal with fresh fruit?!). I'm half-kicking myself for passing up a corn beef hash special today, but tough choices have to be made in life. You can tell they use all locally farmed ingredients, and the prices are quite reasonable considering the higher quality.

Since The Pantry does not serve alcoholic beverages, the usual FABS scale will have to be modified for this review. All categories are worth 33 1/3 points.
Food- Based on today's experience, we have to award the A+. 33.3/33.3
Atmosphere- It's a dive, but it's a cute dive. Lack of a waiting area is slightly problematic. 29/33.3
Service - Considering the crowd, we received our food quite quickly and were given efficient, courteous attention. 31/33.3
Total Score- 93 1/3 (out of 100)

-Josh