Shrooms

Who knew the humble mushroom could inspire an entire city?

When touring the Brandywine River Valley in Pennsylvania, anyone with even a slight inclination towards the culinary arts would be compelled to visit Kennett Square, the “Mushroom Capital of the World.”

They say you can smell the mushrooms for miles.  Well, maybe I was downwind, but the historic town of Kennett Square certainly has a “shroomy” appeal.

The mushroom farms surrounding Kennett Square are rumored to produce over a million pounds of mushrooms a week.  In fact, half of the cultivated mushrooms sold in America are grown in and around Kennett Square. For a primer on how the mushroom mania got started, click here.

In order to preserve the integrity of the mushrooms, visits to the various farms are generally prohibited, but Kennett Square is renown for its annual mushroom festival that takes place each September.  If you miss the festival, don't worry.  As they say in Kennett Square, "shiitake happens."  

If you happen to visit at any other time of year, no walk through Kennett Square is complete without a visit to The Mushroom Cap – part gourmet food store, part boutique and part mushroom museum.   

Located at 114 W State Street in the heart of Kennett Square, it’s the ultimate celebration of the shroom.  

In fact, a waiter at a local restaurant told us it’s the only place you can actually buy fresh mushrooms in the Mushroom Capital of the World.   But, there is so much more, including Mushroom crockery…

Mushroom sculpture…

Mushroom artifacts…

Mushroom trivia…

Mushroom linens….

Mushroom lore…

And, Snack N Shrooms, a chewy, dried mushroom chip that is deliciously addicting…

After you’ve satisfied your craving for all kinds of mushroom minutia, cap off the morning and cross the street for a little nosh at Portabello’s Restaurant.  

The portabello flatbread with Gorgonzola cheese and balsamic vinegar is earthy and divine.

The luscious State Street Mushroom Soup is spiked with roasted mushrooms, toasted shallots and Madeira wine – a silky delight!  

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