Gasthof Amish Restaurant

Precursor:  If you love homestyle cooking, buffet style, this is your place!  If you're a low cal/vegetarian/eat clean kind of person just avoid this place altogether.  

Now the food is absolutely delish but the offerings are all so incredibly high in calorie/fat content.  The only option for low fat is the salad bar and even that's pushing it.  The vegetables are all infused with either real butter or bacon and most foods are fried.  But like I said, if that is your style of food, then I would highly recommend the place!

The upside to the restaurant is the touristy qualities of the place.  There is a HUGE retail section with all sorts of gifts/candies/Amish crafted goodies.  It's fun to walk around and browse.  If you're looking for some Amish gifts this is certainly the promised land!

Novelty value and relative quality compared to local fare knock this place up to 5 stars.

The Place- Kind of in the middle of nowhere, but worth it!  A big farmhouse buffet packed full of middle-older aged white folks who gave my dinner date looks for his tattoos, me looks for being Asian, and us looks for being interracial.  That said, they were very subtle about it and we weren't overtly made to feel like dirty sinners.  (It might even have been mostly in our heads.)

The Service- Servers looked to be half Amish/Mennonite with some "English" (as I learned, the catch-all term for non-Amish/Mennonite) thrown in.  Friendly, helpful, but buuuusy!  Even on a Wednesday night this place was packed!  No complaints here; it's a buffet after all.  Our glasses were kept full and plates more or less taken away in a timely fashion.

The Food- Heart attack in a meal.  SO GOOD.  I foolishly started with salad, but I regret nothing.  The tuna salad/egg salad stuffs were deeeeelicious.  Vegetable side dishes were saucy and tender; mash potatoes and gravy, fried catfish, various chicken/pork/beef dishes, everything was omygahhhgood.  Fried chicken was perfect- crunchy, juicy, and not totally dripping in oil.  And stuffing. They had STUFFING.  They can stare and point all day (no they didn't really) as long as they let me fill my face with stuffing!  Candied pecan pie was also ridiculously delicious, although cobbler was soft crusted instead of crunchy (personal preference).  Even the fresh bread was to-die-for soft; you must try the apple and/or peanut butter they have set out next to it.

Now I'm not saying this is the best food you will EVER have, but this is the best food you will get buffet style, around here, and at these prices.  I'd recommend you go in the warm seasons for fresher produce, but I suspect most Yelpers who end up here won't do so with much control of when or why. But overall, amazing. Despite calories/not fitting in/out in the boondocks, the food and prices were excellent.  Also, they do take credit card (dnno why I expected they wouldn't).

I stayed in Washington for a week for work, and many residents recommended this unbelievably good restaurant.  I went there two nights in a row, and plan to return when I am in the area again for work.

Don't miss this place, if you are ever in the area!  Amazingly good home style cooking.  Hot fresh baked bread, fresh (churned?) butter, many, many hot vegetables and vegetable dishes on the buffet, several meats (ok I am a vegetarian so can't really give a review of the meat but there were several that seemed very popular) and desserts.  OH the desserts!!  Pie crust that absolutely melts in your mouth, cobblers, bread pudding, amazing cookies, cakes......

The cooks are all Amish, the servers Amish and mennonite, very friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed and pleasant.  There is a very nice shop with gifts and other items.  Also a bakery with noodles and all types of Amish baked goods.  Very reasonably priced!!

I could go on and on about this place but you will just have to experience it for yourself.  My coworkers and I enjoyed this so much that we are planning a weekend trip for Sunday dinner, and it is three hours from our home office.