I worked at Hershey Farm washing dishes when it first opened and Ed Hershey was the owner. I've been there off-and-on since then and the food has been steadily going downhill... way downhill. Granted I haven't been there for about two years, so maybe it's improved. I grew up near Gap, PA and I can tell you most of the smorgasbord stuff is crap (except for Hershey's back in the day). Not sure how Shady Maple is "quantity" since Hershey's is all you can eat also.
My strongest recommendation if you want a healthy dose of Lancaster County/Amish/Mennonite food and culture is to go to the Green Dragon in Ephrata. It's only open on Friday's and I'm telling you that place hasn't changed since I was a kid. At night it's really hopping... especially in early October when the weather is great and there's lots of produce being sold. There's a huge area just for the Amish to park their buggies. The place that makes soft pretzels from scratch has been there for at least 40 years. One "new" product they've introduced is the "pretzel dog" which has become my favorite. The had it long before Auntie Anne (aka, Anne Byler).
kensei
