Gingerich Dutch Pantry

We have been coming to Gingerich Dutch Pantry for years and always have a wonderful meal at the buffet.  The restaurant is clean and the wait staff is professional and very friendly.  This is THE place to eat when you are visiting Jamesport.  Oh yes, and the iced tea is to die for!!!

Since we were starving we didn't even bother to look at the menu, just bellied up to the buffet and dug in.  Today's menu was fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, steamed vegetables, smoked pork and more and more.  I ate every bite of everything and went back for dessert-applesauce cake and vanilla ice cream.  It was wonderful.  I will be taking out of state guests back in September when we visit the squirrel cage jail in Gallatin.  You should definitely choose Gingerich's.

Gingerich Dutch Pantry is a restaurant and bakery in the tiny Amish/Mennonite community of Jamesport, Missouri (pop.505). Hubby and I wanted lunch and couldn't decide between Country Cupboard and Gingerich. We had eaten at Country Cupboard (on the highway going into Jamesport from KC just a block or so south of "town") and remembered it being very cheap and really good...over 10 years ago. Hmmm, what to do? We decided to just cross the street and try Dutch Pantry.
We first walked into the bakery which smelled wonderfully of baking bread and sweet things. The breads, cookies, and pies all looked wonderful. We headed over to the restaurant (separate entrances). The hostess and waitress were friendly and their service left nothing to be desired. They offered an 8.99 buffet of fried chicken and some sort of pasta along with sides and a salad bar. We decided to pass and order sandwiches from the menu. You can get a cheeseburger pretty cheap but note that fries or tater tots are $1.89 extra. Yikes! Hubby liked the cheeseburger and tots and was content. They only serve it very well done, but that's okay. Hubby liked the crispy edges.
Trying to avoid caffeine overload, I ordered a lemonade. Mistake! I had forgotten what powdered lemonade tasted like. In case you also forgot, it tastes like dishwasher detergent smells. I ordered the Reuben sans tots. The bread was great. I love marble rye. The meat was horrid. When I say horrid, I mean it could possibly have been rubbery, plastic muscle taken from an anatomy class salted and sliced for my sandwich. I'll leave it at that.
I just had to order a slice of gooseberry pie! This is a pie I have heard of but never tried. I couldn't have told you what a gooseberry looked like. Hubby reminded me of this and discouraged me from ordering. The waitress said, "It's a sour little green berry and a sour pie." Then went on to say to Hubby,"She wants to be adventurous and try something new! There's nothing wrong with that." I liked her. I ordered the pie.
Now I can confidently report to you, Yelp community, that a gooseberry is indeed a tiny, green, very sour berry. The pie filling was almost clear gel with these little green berries in it and was inedibly sour. The sugar coated pie crust couldn't save it. The crust in and of itself was WONDERFUL. It was everything I hoped an Amish-style pie crust would be. It was tender and flaky and perfectly baked.
Make a note that most places in Jamesport are closed on Sundays and Thursdays, some even on Tuesdays.