Into Indiana! While I have no video evidence, the rest stops remained equally sparkling and airport-like in the Hoosier State as in Ohio. One even had a field of purple thistles growing wild outside and I had to take a picture of the unusual flower:

Another Aiport-like Travel Plaza, this time in Indiana
Middlebury, IN Landscape
The sinks even had eco-friendly Low Flow fixtures

As we continued the drive into Indiana, one particular sign continued to haunt us on the road: the sign for Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury, Indiana. The German name of the heavily promoted tourist landmark intrigued me. Essenhaus translates to English as “eating house” or “eats house.” Having lived in Germany for three years as an Air Force brat in my teen years, I look forward to the chance to eat German (and German-inspired) food whenever possible, whether Bavarian, Black Forest, or Amish.

Upon a bit of smartphone research, I found out that Das Dutchman was an Amish establishment, the word “Dutch” deriving from the German word for German, “Deutsch.” Where I currently live in Northern Virginia, Pennsylvania Amish or “Pennsylvania Dutch” country in Lancaster County, PA provides a closer visit to where delicious baked goods made by hand take you on a mouth-watering trip to a time before mass produced meals. Hungry in my travels, I could not wait to find out what culinary treats the Indiana Amish of Das Dutchman had in store.

As we walked into the grounds of Das Dutchman, which also included a mini golf course, theater, and plenty of small tourist shops, we headed toward the main building of the Essenhaus for the food. On the way we saw groups of people dressed in the most colorful Amish attire I had ever seen. The Middlebury Dutch (at least those of Das Dutchman) certainly appeared differently than the Pennsylvania Dutch in their clothing in every color of the rainbow. They most likely come from a different order of Amish. I must admit that they made a fun colorful sight on their bikes:

Mini Golf at Das Dutchman

We then entered the main Essenhaus structure, which featured a traditional circular fraktur ornamentation above the restaurant name. Inside the large building, tourists from throughout the country (and also some from outside the United States) gathered to wait for seating. In the meantime I took a trip to the gift shop outside the dining hall and found that it mainly featured mass-produced rather than handmade decorative items at higher than usual prices, the “Made in China” stickers a giveaway to non-Indiana origins.

As for the main event, the food, it was served in the buffet in the large dining hall. Much to my dismay, sausage and sauerkraut were nowhere to be found. So I went with the fried chicken, green beans, and macaroni and cheese. As I sat to eat it, I found it sadly lacking in flavor and more akin to institutional food with ingredients from a box than anything homemade.

Although Das Dutchman was certainly an interesting experience and the colorful Amish attire made a visually charming sight for the tourists, do not expect authentic homemade Amish food. We did not go to the seperate Quilt Shop, which is said to purvey handmade Amish quilts (1), but the food and the gift shop inside the Essenhaus left much to be desired if you seek something more traditional.

A carriage that had a more Central Park than Indiana Amish vibe
An Upstairs Landing in Das Dutchman Essenhaus with a nod to traditional farm tools

Emily Morris

Sources

(1) https://townepost.com/indiana/lakes-region/the-quilt-shop/ accessed June 21, 2023