We discovered Martin’s Country Market as we were cruising on State Road 17 down to Arcadia. My wife was doing an internet search for a lunch location and found their listing.
“Hey, this place looks interesting,” she said. And with that we were off. We entered of the address into our GPS system and headed there. Actually, it wasn’t that hard for us to find the place. I knew when I saw the old pickup and tractor we were in the right area.
The Entrance
We walked through the front door and were greeted by a small country store. Everywhere we looked there were stacks of canned, boxed and bagged foodstuffs – and a giant cooler case full of goodies.
Our Lunch
Being that we were hungry, we made a beeline to the sandwich counter. The girls there were both efficient and kind in helping us with our made-to-order sandwiches. It took us a bit – inasmuch as this was our first time. On the desk were order sheets to fill out so we could construct our own sandwich.
Our options included a half dozen kinds of bread – much of it was fresh made. We saw just as many varieties of cheese, meats, dressings and toppings. In all, we literally had thousands of combinations.
My wife constructed her own Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich. She selected her own bread, condiments and the like. I myself didn’t feel like making those decisions.
Instead, I opted for “The Pilgrim.” It was their specialty sandwich of the day. The pan roasted turkey on toasted wheat bread came with sharp white cheddar cheese and whole berry cranberry sauce. It’s then sprinkled with farm dust and poultry seasoning. Seriously, what’s not to like?
Martin’s had twin paninni machines to toast the sandwiches. They never stopped while we were there. And because it is a market we had a wide selection of drinks in the cooler case from which to choose. We also selected a bag of chips and one of their signature whoopie pies for dessert.
I have to tell you, the sandwiches were pretty standard size, but boy were they delicious. We were impressed by the absolutely fresh, and quality ingredients – and at a wonderful price.
Lunch and More
Sitting in the cafe to dine, we got what my wife referred to as “a floor show.” Ours was a front row seat to watch the work in the kitchen. We also noted a children’s area they had set up with coloring pages and crayons to keep the youngsters busy as well.
The Store
Actually, we spent almost as much time in the store shopping as we did enjoying lunch. There were several rooms full of groceries from which to choose. We were captivated by the brands and the quality of the selections. These were items that are not commercially available at a lot of the stores back home.
In addition to the cans and jars, we found a wide selection of boxed and bagged commodities. Seriously, for a small store, the selection was so varied and interesting we were able to peruse the goods for quite some time.
In Conclusion
For us, Martin’s Country Store was a real find. We had a great lunch at a wonderful pricepoint. Our dining experience was wonderful and we had a great “floor show” watching the workers in the kitchen. And for us the shopping was as entertaining as it was helpful.
What impressed us was the quality of the products they offered. Their slogan is “where fresh homemade goodness is always in style,” and that’s what we found.
Moreover, they had a little ice cream shop on the property as well. Had we not stuffed ourselves at lunch (and treated ourselves to a whoopie pie) we probably would have had some for dessert.
Those who follow us know, we always are in search of the new and fun. They offered us samples of a lot of the baked goods. Therefore, we ended up going out with a bag of gingersnaps and a box of fresh apple fritters. It made for a great breakfast starter when we got to the hotel.
If you are in Arcadia – we think you’d have to work hard to find a better place for lunch and shopping than Martin’s Country Market.
