George’s Market
1023 Calimesa Blvd.
Calimesa, CA
909-795-5320

My boyfriend likes road trips. The thing is, he only gets one or two days off at a time, so we are always on the lookout for road trip destinations that aren’t too far from home. One of the spots we like to visit is a sleeping mountain town called Idyllwild. It’s tiny, it’s cute, and it’s only a two-hour drive from LA.

Part of the fun of a road trip is the discovery of hidden gems. The problem is that I’m a food snob, and I have an app that helps me locate local restaurants, so I know what I’m getting into. Luckily, my trusty app got me into George’s Market.

This spot was a must on our way to the mountain getaway, and not only because of the amazing sandwiches served on homemade rye for under five bucks. Whether it’s the Black Forest Ham Sandwich, heated with extra mustard,

or the more exciting (and frankly more flavorful) Mixed Lunchmeat and Cheese,

or even, my guilty pleasure, liverwurst with pickles;

These sandwiches are simple, delicious and affordable. And you saw that glass of German beer in the background? $3.50. No joke.

But, the sandwiches aren’t even the best part. The best part are the hard to find German noodles, sauces, candy and meats that George’s Market supplies. When I saw that they sold the impossible to find barley shaped egg noodles that we used to use in the family recipe of Hungarian sour soup, I squealed like a little girl. Not to mention the giant jars of sauerkraut juice, unique German mustards and my favorite – and extremely hard to find – beer…Speigl Radler Grapefruit.

George’s Market is now a permanent stop on our frequent Idyllwild getaways. And every time we walk through those sliding doors and see the lovely ladies behind the counter, we know we’re going to have a great lunch and plenty of supplies for me to make my family recipes at home.