On Dinner Spots

I felt terrible last year after recommending a few restaurants to my friends Andy Stitt and Reed Gustow. They were looking for burgers after WordCamp Lancaster 2018, and I told them that The Horse Inn and Lancaster Brewing Company were both places that would meet their expectations. Well, they found more than an hour wait at both places. So it goes, dinner time on a Saturday night in Lancaster, Pennsylvania without a reservation. I’m still sorry, guys.

(As if I still have credibility…) My recommendation for a burger spot this year is the Four54 Grill. There is some debate around town as to whether they’ve got the best burgers, a title that others give to The Horse Inn. Although they are a burger joint, the Alabama Chicken Cheesesteak is the number one seller on the menu. This is unbelievable to me only because I have yet to try one. The burgers are that good.

The ticket time at Four54 is certainly shorter, and that might be what’s important this weekend. They also do not have a liquor license, which I believe will also help make them more accessible in the window between the end of our keynote at 5:30-ish and the after party at 7:15.

My girlfriend is vegan, so we’re at Root quite a bit. Root is a great vegan restaurant with great craft beers on tap. I am often criticized for ordering the Avocado Reuben every time we’re there, but I don’t care. It’s one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had, vegan or not.

If you’re feeling adventurous and hip, there are some newer spots that I haven’t yet explored for Saturday night wait times like Cocina Mexicana and Cabalar Meat Co, which contains a Voodoo Brewing taproom.

We’ll have an assortment of local cupcakes at the after party, but you should probably eat something before you come. Here’s a similar post I wrote in 2017.