BY SOFIA LOPEZ and SOFIA PINEDO-PADOCH

In print | Published November 9, 2006

We used to think that all of our dining options in Swarthmore, Pa. were located across the street from the train tracks. Not so! The Countryside Market is a little gem located outside of Swarthmore’s business district, tucked between several Swarthmore homes. Despite the Countryside Market’s quiet setting, the place was hopping on a Monday afternoon. It was filled with the intimate chatter of friends meeting for lunch, ourselves included.

The menu was a charming three-page novel, including an insert detailing lunch specials and a full Thanksgiving meal available for advance order. The menu included an impressive array of salads and sandwiches, named after landmarks and thoroughfares in the town of Swarthmore. The sandwiches were named everything from “Trotter Hall” to “Post Office” to “Cornell.” “Train Station” was our personal favorite. We had a suspicion that the names of the sandwiches had nothing to do with their ingredients. That’s not a problem, though, when the sandwiches are good.

Austin Sofia was very thirsty when she got to the Countryside Market. What could be a better remedy, then, than to order some drinks? Austin Sofia asked for some water and, feeling the urge to splurge, ordered a root beer float. NYC Sofia was feeling particularly autumnal and ordered a hot apple cider. After poring over their epic of a menu for what seemed like days, Sofia and Sofia arrived at their decisions.

First, we shared an order of deliciously greasy onion rings. NYC Sofia was impressed with the presentation of the onion rings, which came in a lovely little metal bucket. The sauce that came with the onion rings was weird: it was too sweet and had a bizarre cranberry flavor. Instead, we dipped our onion rings in ketchup, as all sane people should.

Austin Sofia, in an attempt to come to terms with her less-than-ideal living situation, ordered the Strathaven sandwich, which was akin to a warm hug on a crisp autumn day. The sandwich comprised grilled Portobello mushrooms and grilled chicken smothered with melted pepper jack cheese, in between two pieces of good white sandwich bread. The mushrooms were very good, and provided a nice counterpoint to the salty pepper jack cheese. Even NYC Sofia, who hates pepper jack cheese, loved the sandwich. All in all, the sandwich was delicious and came with a free leaf-shaped cookie.

NYC Sofia went back to her Eastern European roots and ordered the Kielbasa lunch special, which came with pierogi. The kielbasa was a little too salty, but the grilled onions and peppers that came with it were very good. The pierogi were enjoyable, especially because they had been slightly pan-fried, which is her favorite way to eat them. NYC Sofia has pretty high kielbasa and pierogi standards, but her meal at the Countryside Market still managed to please her. She was disappointed, though, that she didn’t get a cookie too.

Everything about the Countryside Market screams “the town of Swarthmore.” There were even hand-painted replicas of Swarthmore storefronts available for purchase. In all honesty, this made us cringe a little, but not enough to keep us from going there again. We recommend that one day you skip Sharples for lunch and head over to the Countryside Market, if for nothing other than to marvel at all the names on the menu.

WHERE TO GO

Countryside Market
514 Yale Avenue
Swarthmore, PA
610-604-4799
_Sofia and Sofia are sophomores. You can reach them at slopez1@swarthmore.edu and spinedo1@swarthmore.edu. _

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