Some trips begin with a destination, while others begin with a craving. Across Pennsylvania, food can lead you from a county fair midway to a chocolate lab, with plenty of unexpected stops along the way.
Try a regional dish where it became a tradition, tour the place where your favorite snack is made, or make something yourself. These Pennsylvania food experiences offer more than just another meal. They give you a story to bring home. Assuming you don’t eat the evidence first.
Find Your Favorite Pennsylvania Fair Foods
Seasonal Pennsylvania county fairs give local recipes permission to get a little unruly. Familiar comfort foods arrive fried, covered in sauce, or served in portions best handled with both hands.
At the annual Wyoming County Fair, look beyond the midway for regional favorites such as haluski, a comforting combination of cabbage and noodles. You may also find pretzel sandwiches built for eating between rides. The annual Centre County Grange Fair turns fair week into a community tradition, with food stands serving everything from funnel cake to locally made specialties.
Apples take over Adams County during the National Apple Harvest Festival. Held over two weekends each October, the festival celebrates one of Pennsylvania’s leading fruit-growing regions through food, demonstrations, and family activities. Arrive ready for apple dishes that go well beyond the standard pie.
Maple season in PA, every February through March, brings a different kind of sweetness to Somerset County. The Pennsylvania Maple Festival celebrates the region’s syrup-making heritage with maple products and demonstrations. Pancake lovers, rejoice.
Fair schedules and vendors can change each year, so check current dates and food offerings before traveling.
Try Iconic Foods Across Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s food traditions reflect the communities that made them. Some recipes crossed oceans before settling here, while others were invented locally and never had a reason to leave.
Lancaster County is a natural starting point for Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine. Try a whoopie pie for dessert or order scrapple with breakfast. Shoofly pie brings molasses to the dessert menu, while chow-chow adds a sweet-and-sour bite to any hearty meal. Fasnachts, traditionally served around Shrove Tuesday, make doughnuts feel almost basic.
Philadelphia keeps one of the Commonwealth’s longest-running food debates sizzling. Order cheesesteaks from cross-the-street rivals Pat’s King of Steaks and Geno’s Steaks, then decide which version earns your loyalty. Bring someone willing to split both, unless compromise has no place in your hoagie heart.
Pittsburgh puts fries directly inside the sandwich at Primanti Bros., saving you from choosing between the main course and the side. Pierogies offer another taste of the city’s immigrant heritage, especially when filled with potatoes and cheese.
Other Pennsylvania specialties require their own detours. Erie’s Stanganelli’s is known for pepperoni balls, which wrap seasoned dough around pepperoni. In the Lehigh Valley, Yocco’s serves its signature hot dogs with mustard, chopped onions, and chili sauce. Each is easy to eat on the move, although ordering another may delay your departure.
Tour Pennsylvania Food and Drink Attractions
Sometimes the finished product is not enough. Famous Pennsylvania food tours take you behind the scenes, where chocolate moves down production lines and milk travels from the farm directly to your ice cream cone.
At Asher’s Chocolate Co. in Souderton, visitors can watch chocolates being made during a self-guided factory tour. The viewing areas offer a closer look at the process then ends where every good chocolate tour should: near the treats.
Perrydell Farm in York County brings visitors closer to the source. See the dairy operation, meet calves, and finish with hand-dipped ice cream made using milk from the farm. It is a short distance from cow to cone, but there is plenty to learn along the way — and even more made‑in‑PA scoops are waiting for you on the annual Scooped Ice Cream Trail, running from May through September.
Two well-known Pennsylvania brands turn their products into full visitor experiences. Hershey’s Chocolate World explores how chocolate is made through attractions and tasting opportunities. The Turkey Hill Experience in Columbia lets visitors explore the company’s history and create their own virtual ice cream flavor.
Adults can follow another Pennsylvania favorite from its beginnings to the tasting room at Yuengling in Pottsville. Tours of America’s oldest brewery explore its history and brewing process inside a working facility. Save time afterward for a taste of the product.
Make Goods at a Pennsylvania Food Class
The best souvenir may be the one you twist, mix, or pour yourself. Pennsylvania’s hands-on food experiences let visitors step behind the counter without committing to a culinary career.
At the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery in Lititz, visitors learn about the twisted treat’s history inside the country’s first commercial pretzel bakery. The tour includes a lesson in twisting pretzel dough and gives everyone a chance to test their technique. Your first attempt may not look bakery-ready, but it will still be recognizably pretzel-shaped. Eventually.
The Chocolate Lab at The Hershey Story explores the history and science behind one of Pennsylvania’s most famous foods. Classes vary by theme and include opportunities to make a chocolate creation. Advance reservations are recommended because the lab has limited seating.