Old Country Store

When I decided that the Old Country Store in Lorman, Mississippi would make a nice stop for lunch on our summer vacation, I did not remember that this was THE place that Alton Brown said had the best fried chicken he's ever had during an episode of Feasting on Asphalt.
We rolled up to the restaurant run by Mr. D, housed in, what else, an old country general store, well over 100 years old. Inside we found well-worn hardwood floors and rolling ladders along a wall covered with wooden shelves of wares.
We were greeted and took a seat at one of the white cloth covered tables. After placing an order for iced tea, we headed to the next room to fill our plates.
We found bread, mac and cheese, salad, black eyed peas and more, but no fried chicken. We took our first round of food back to the table and decided to wait for the next batch of bird, and soon I noticed everyone else in the dining room seemed to be perched on the edge of their seats waiting, too. I thought we might have to fight someone off to get some chicken!
Soon a few people got up and made their way to the buffet room, hovering near the door. After declaring the potato salad very good, my husband headed in to wait with the others, and within minutes the hot fried chicken was on our table.
The chicken breast I had was huge, juicy and crispy, and in my haste to eat it I actually burned my fingers a bit.
This was really only my second "famous" fried chicken sampling, and out of the two I will say this one was much better. I will have to get a few more samplings under my belt before I can declare it the best ever.
As we were finishing up our lunch, Mr. D made his way into the room and started talking with some of the diners.
The atmosphere was fun, service was good and if you are looking for a comfort food stop along Highway 61, the Old Country Store has got you covered.

Old Country Store
18801 Hwy 61
Lorman, MS 39096

Bud's Broiler

Bud Sanders opened his first broiler in 1952 in New Orleans' City Park. Today there are several locations of Bud's Broiler, but we wanted to visit the original.
When we arrived well past the standard lunch hour, we still had to wait in line with those eager to have one of Bud's charbroiled burgers. I grabbed one of the few wooden tables with benches along the wall and waited about 15 minutes for my husband to order two burgers and fries and make his way back to the table. Many of those who arrived after us headed upstairs for seating or took their food outside.
The patties seemed to be coarse ground, certainly nothing fancy but the standout here, which I had to try, was the hickory sauce topping, so I had ordered their #2 (meat with their own hickory smoked sauce) with onions. The sauce was a nice addition.
Bud's also serves hot dogs, sausage, chicken, fish, root beer, shakes and fried pies.

Bud's Broiler (City Park)
500 City Park Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70119

Arcade Restaurant

We've been to Memphis, TN many times, but on our visit this summer I decided to see what type of historic restaurants were in the area, since we love soaking in the character of these beauties. I came up with the Arcade Restaurant, Memphis' oldest restaurant, which is also on the National Register of Historic Places.
According to their web site, Greek Speros Zepatos founded the restaurant in 1919. In the 1950s, his son updated the restaurant to it's current diner style. The Zepatos family still runs the restaurant.
The attractive Arcade has even been featured in scenes from many movies.

We rode our bikes to the Arcade for breakfast, but another great way to arrive is via the Historic South Main street car line, which will take you on a scenic route through one of Memphis' restored business districts. We used the street cars a lot on this trip, and they are very beautifully restored. Each ride was only $1 (make sure you have exact change) and the drivers were friendly and helpful. A helpful rider also told us that day passes can be purchased for just over $3.


Arcade Restaurant  
540 South Main Street
Memphis, TN 38103

New Jersey

While mapping out our vacation this year, when I suggested starting in Savannah, GA and then driving up the coast, my husband said he wanted to make it to New Jersey to visit a hamburger joint.

"Why not?" I thought, so I added it to the list of possible attractions.

We had a full day of driving from Wildwood, NJ where we stayed at the wonderfully renovated yet vintage Caribbean Motel.

Upon checking in, which was done by hand not computer, we were given a real key on a vintage style key ring.

This 1957 motel's vibe was great from the mod rounded platform jutting out of the building, which doubled as a ramp to access the funky cabana room; authentic shuffleboard painted on the concrete; a swanky pool that made me feel like I needed to don some big round sunglasses and a 1950's-era swimsuit; and our room, complete with mod table lamps, palm tree cutouts over the colorful seersucker striped bedspreads and vintage green bathroom fixtures.

We really enjoyed the motel as well as Wildwood and already have vowed to return.

After breakfast in at Jimbo's in Wildwood, where I had a great breakfast wrap, we had a short gambling stint in Atlantic City stopped at several lighthouses, then rolled in to Hackensack in the evening and parked behind the tiny White Manna diner, a Paramount Diner manufactured in the late 1930s.

There were a handful of occupied seats inside the diner, which has been there since 1946, but we were able to close the door behind us after we got in line.

There appeared to be just three or four people ahead of us who needed to order.

As one of the patrons got his turn, he placed his order for 40, yes, 40, cheeseburgers. I wondered if all hope was lost for us on our burger quest, but peering around the people to the grill, it looked like things were well under control.

The two men hard at work behind the counter had their tasks. One took orders for drinks and fries, the other took the burger orders and seemed to be able to keep them straight (cheese, no cheese, onions, no onions, how many and who) with ease, while lining every available inch of grill space with burgers.

After a five or ten minutes we were able to get a couple of stools at the counter where we had a better view. We placed our order for fries and drinks and waited to order our burgers, which are smaller than a typical hamburger, sliders almost.

After ordering our burgers it didn't take very long for them to arrive. While we enjoyed our meal, the two restaurant workers swapped jobs, so the previous fries and drink guy was then slapping burgers on the grill with honed skill.

White Manna was a great stop to add to our itinerary, as much for the atmosphere and history as for the burgers.

Caribbean Motel

5600 Ocean Avenue

Wildwood Crest, NJ 08260

White Manna

358 River Street

Hackensack, NJ 07601

Loveless Café

During our big spring road trip this year, our first stop was Nashville, Tennessee.I looked for historic restaurants we could visit and had to look no further than the Loveless Café.

The restaurant was first known as the Harpeth Valley Tea Room and was purchased by the Loveless family in 1951. The husband, Lon, ran the motel on site while his wife, Annie, whipped up homemade preserves and biscuits, catering to travelers along US Highway 100.

The Loveless Café has changed hands a few times over the years, but luckily their famous biscuit recipe has remained.

The motel ceased operations in 1985 and the site now features quaint shops and a Loveless Café Hams & Jams business.

In 2004 the restaurant closed for five months for renovations, bringing a new kitchen, new restrooms and additional seating.

The 1900s house you step into to enter the restaurant has a vintage screen door, which welcomes you in with style.

We were seated in a room off to the right of the hostess area, and were greeted right away by an efficient waitress with a southern accent. She brought our breakfast beverage order quickly and we asked for a couple more minutes to check over the menu.

Knowing the place was famous for biscuits, we made sure to order meals that included them, and they were the star of our dining experience. The surprisingly small, fluffy biscuits were perfectly warmed and accompanied by strawberry, blackberry and peach preserves. I went back and forth between the strawberry and blackberry while my husband raved about the peach.

Our bellies full, we headed outside for pictures and to visit the market store. We noticed a banner on the neon sign in memory of Carol Fay, "the biscuit lady", who we then realized we had seen on Throwdown with Bobby Flay several years ago.

We picked up some bacon as a souvenir of our stop in the market store and then set out for our next destination.

Loveless Café

8400 Highway 100

Nashville, TN 37221

Moonshine Store

In 2003, near the start of our roadside attraction interest, we happened to catch a CBS Sunday Morning feature on the Moonshine Store in Martinsville, Illinois and were intrigued. This old store slings tons of hamburgers each day, has no traditional restaurant seating and the grill shuts down at 12:30 p.m. on the dot. We tried visiting the store shortly after seeing the TV segment, but it didn't work out then.

Heading out for a trip this spring we realized we would not be terribly far from the store (nothing is really "close"), so we added it to our itinerary.

The store was originally founded in 1889, but was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1912.

When we arrived, despite the rain we found a line of people hanging out on the front porch, which does provide some shelter.

The Moonshine Store, which their brochure says was named not for the booze but for the reflection of the moon in a puddle of water outside the store, serves as a gathering place for locals and tourists alike.

I overheard a lady on the porch say they have even had visitors from Hawaii.

In April 2009, a record was set for serving 1,119 sandwiches in one day. We noticed a hand written sign in the store displaying the new record for this year, some 1,900 sandwiches in a day.

It's really amazing when you see how small the area is, and how small the store is, but what they have going works.

Once inside the rustic store, complete with tin ceiling, we made our way through the grill smoke to the back counter to order and both placed orders for cheeseburgers.

The sandwiches were ready in almost record time. We stopped by the condiment table and loaded up our juicy burgers, made a pass by the soda cooler for drinks (I was glad to see Boylan's sodas and selected their ginger ale), then headed to the counter to pay.

They use between 480-720 pounds of hamburger and more than 100 packages of buns per week. We saw racks of buns lining the aisles of the store.

Benches can be found throughout the store where you can sit and enjoy your meal, however these were full during our visit. There are picnic tables outside, but with the steady rain we decided to eat our lunch in the car.

A black lab, who we were not sure whether belonged to the store or maybe just wandered onto the site every day around lunch time, stopped by our car to give us the puppy dog eyes as we enjoyed our burgers. My husband tossed him some chips, but he turned his nose up to that and went off in search of another sucker.

The Moonshine turned out to be the perfect kick off to our roadside adventures.

Moonshine Store

6017 East 300th Road

Martinsville, IL 62442

Brown's Fine Food

Last weekend we set out for points west in Illinois to visit a restaurant my husband has been wanting to try for about a year.

Alas, our food choices were not to be had when we got there, so we hit the road again and kept our eyes peeled for another option.

We drove into Canton and soon a retro sign complete with arrow caught the attention of both of us at almost the same instant: Brown's Snappy Service.

I love spotting old signs, and it's even better when the business still exists and lives up to the legacy.

A lucky break! Brown's Fine Food was open so we walked in and found the place comfortably worn around the edges, with about a dozen stools mounted in front of the white, gold-flecked countertop.

Tables lined the wall behind, stretching back into a narrow back room.

We took seats at the counter to better check out the old equipment and decor, and looked over the menu while our server went to get us some iced teas.

Entrées were reasonable: chicken fried steak for $5.75, two smoked pork chops for $6.75, fried chicken for $6, all served with two sides plus bread a butter. Sandwiches started at $1.70 for the sandwich alone and $3.20 for a platter.

StfRon asked the gent serving us if the hamburgers were frozen, and he said no. Then he asked if they were thin patties, and found out they were. Our server added that they are very good, so that was enough for us.

I ordered a cheeseburger platter and StfRon ordered a bacon cheeseburger platter. Both came with fries and cole slaw.

Our food came out quickly, the burgers tasty as promised, complete with crispy edges, creamy cheese and soft buns.

The fries were a similar cut to McDonald's fries, but I enjoyed their crispness and taste much more than any Mickey D's fries I've had in the last decade.

The slaw was a creamy style, and the portion was pretty generous.

Brown's has been providing snappy service since 1937, and the original building is still intact. There have been some additions over the years, but I had taken notice of the ceiling over the grill area while waiting for my food before I knew about the add ons and you can still

imagine what the little place must have been like in its heyday.

Mounted to a post next to the old host stand area there is a neat photo of the original building.

I'm glad the sign caught our attention.

Brown's Fine Food

124 N Main Street

Canton, IL 61520

Charlie Parker's

We first heard of Charlie Parker's on Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives.

My husband was in Springfield, Illinois one day for work and called me around lunch time to ask if I could direct him to the place so he could check it out.

He's been a regular ever since.

I had a chance to visit Charlie Parker's myself last month and found the 50s-themed restaurant, located inside a former WWII airplane hanger Quonset hut, bustling on a late Saturday morning.

There is counter seating, booths along the wall, and we ended up at a table in the middle of the room, one of the last two open.

Since it was Saturday and since they serve breakfast all day I had breakfast, but my husband's standard fare at Charlie's is the Springfield classic, a horseshoe. The pork tenderloin shoe topped with tater tots, I believe.

Everything we ordered was very good, and though the corned beef hash is not the same as you find at most places (this version is homemade), it was great.

If you like extreme food, you can go for the challenge of finishing a four stack of their giant pancakes. If you do, the cost of your four flapjacks will be on the house.

Charlie Parker's is open seven days a week but is not open for dinner, offers daily specials, and gets even more kudos from me for having a bike rack on site.

If you're looking for comfort food in a unique building, Charlie's should be on your list.

Charlie Parker's

700 North Street

Springfield, IL 62704

Whitehouse

The Whitehouse is a long-standing restaurant in Logansport, Indiana, we visited in early October of this year.

Most of the signs on the building listed the name as one word, but there was a sign listing it as two words as well.

The exterior is charming and time-worn, a small stone diner-style building with an old Coca-Cola logo board atop a rusty sign proclaiming the restaurant name.

We took a seat at one of the 13 small counter stools and were immediately able to order drinks and soon were sipping them, perusing the menu.

Along the countertop was a jukebox, and there was a full size one near the door.

We found by talking to the woman running the grill that this Whitehouse is considered Whitehouse number one and that at one time there were three or four of them. This location, opened in 1941, is the only one remaining.

Their ground beef comes from a local Cass County meat locker, I believe she said it was called Royal Center, delivered fresh daily. They hand make the burger patties once the meat arrives at the restaurant.

I was going for the Whitehouse burger, which we were told has cheese and bacon on it, until our grill master told me about the spicy chicken sandwich, an all white meat chicken breast breaded with a peppery mix.

When she brought it out from the back to place it on the grill, presumedly frozen and institutional, and I feared I may have made a bad choice. Once I tried it though, I was happy with my selection. The chicken breast was hot and juicy and the seasoning on the breading was delicious.

My husband had a double cheeseburger, after a discussion about how thick the patties were. He was assured he wanted a double, and was pleased with the sandwich.

The prices were incredible compared to what we see in Illinois: $2.30 for a double cheeseburger. Our entire meal, including two drinks, an order of onion rings and a slice of sugar cream pie, was less than $10.

In addition to the counter seating, there are four booths along the wall.
The Whitehouse opens very early, 4 a.m., and closes fairly early as well. On the Saturday we were in, they closed at 1 p.m.
Next time I am in the area, the Whitehouse will certainly be on my list.

Whitehouse

87 S 6th Street

Logansport, IN

The Rootbeer Stand

It's purely coincidental that we hit two historic root beer stands in one summer.

We've driven past the exit sign touting The Rootbeer Stand in Oglesby, Illinois so many times while on our way to other destinations. This time we made a plan to stop.

I believe The Rootbeer Stand was an A&W root beer stand until some time in the 1980s. Henry Moore owned it for 50 years, purchasing it after World War II.

In the parking lot, we were greeted by Woody the Root Beer man, with root beer and burger in hand.

Inside, we took a booth along the left side of the restaurant, and soon placed our order for cheeseburgers, an iced tea for me, root beer for my husband and fries and onion rings. My meal also came with a salad, for which I selected a creamy garlic dressing.

The prices were very reasonable.

The food took a little while to be prepared, but our onion rings came out quickly. My husband was trying to save them for his meal, but once I sampled them I kept having to have more.

They were super crisp through and through, none of those slithery onions slipping out once you bit through the outer crust. They were great alone, but I found them even better with a small dollop of ranch sauce.

The garlic dressing on my salad had nice garlic powder punch, and the burgers were good.

My wavy fries were also nicely prepared, with a distinct crunchy outer shell leading to soft potato goodness tucked inside.

My husband enjoyed the root beer, and I found it to be much more to my liking than most I've tried.

I perused the "flavor burst" ice cream menu many times debating between butter pecan and a cotton candy flavor, but in the end decided to skip dessert.

After lunch, we walked around the site a bit, admiring the drive-in parking complete with curbside menus.

The Rootbeer Stand

225 N Columbia Avenue

Oglesby, IL 61348

Cerno's Bar & Grill

Sometime during the later 1990s, a friend of mine introduced me to a gorgeous bar in Kewanee, Illinoid.
Now, anytime I am out in that neck of the woods, I try to stop by, as I did in early August this year.
When I started visiting the bar it was known as Lloyd's.
My dad, who grew up in the area knew it as Ann's Place. And well before his time, it is said that the bar remained open during Prohibition.
Currently it houses Cerno's Bar & Grill.

From their website:
"Imported from Belgium, this bar was built by Pabst Blue Ribbon in 1898.
John P. Brady (prominent young business
man of Kewanee, a wholesale and retail liquor dealer who was born in that city in February, 1868, son of Thomas and Rosanna [Trainer] Brady) was the original owner; his initials are still etched in the front door glass.
The Mahogany mirrored bar spans fifty feet, with hand carved figurines at each end. It is also accented with the original brass fixtures.
Detailed carved lion heads are throughout the building.
Along the wall are small buzzers topped with tiny eagles that were used to summon a waiter to the customers. While overhead is an embossed tin ceiling. Stained-glass and leaded windows enhance the 19th century atmosphere.
The brass footed pedestal tables are still here, as is the teller cage where men would cash their paychecks, and then come in for a drink. The brass spittoons are now used as tip jars behind the bar. Years ago when women were not allowed in the taverns, the men would have to take their lady friends upstairs to drink. Their drinks were then sent up to them via the dumbwaiter, which still works today."

I never tire of looking around the bar, taking in the ancient looking wallpaper murals depicting horse and buggy, the tin ceiling, the mahogany lion's heads carved into each arch of the bar and doorways, the old tile floors, the curved brass foot rail, the cozy wooden booths...this is one place where despite changing hands several times over the years, the character has largely been left intact.

Cerno's Bar & Grill
213 W 3rd St
Kewanee, IL 61443

Lou Mitchell's

We popped by Lou Mitchell's this July when we had a bit of time to kill near Union Station waiting for a flight in Chicago.
In business for more than 85 years and located near the start of Route 66, the restaurant has history on its side.
There were about three groups ahead of us waiting for tables, so we crammed inside the door to wait. A server carrying a wicker basket of donut holes gave us each one as we waited, however, no one offered me any of the Milk Duds I saw in the basket nearby, guarded by a note that said the hostess would give them out.
The bustling restaurant has a spartan diner decor, complete with old coat racks at the tables, which I could imagine festooned with hats and trench coats in the 1920s. Round globe lights grace the ceiling.
From the looks of things, we missed the boat by not ordering breakfast, but instead went with a couple of burgers and hand cut fries, which were fine. The big standout to me was the hamburger buns. They were covered in sesame seeds. There must have been hundreds of them, and I enjoyed the buns a lot.
They squeeze their own orange juice, which I would like to try next time, along with some of their breakfast options.
We also noticed several patrons enjoying small cups of ice cream, which the restaurant gives out as well.

Lou Mitchell's
565 W Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL 60661-5701

Route 66 Garage Sale

June 12 and 13 marked the third anniversary of the Route 66 Garage Sale, and that Saturday we decided to check it out for the first time.

The towns involved included Atlanta, Lincoln, Broadwell and Elkhart, all in Illinois.

We didn't find much of interest at the garage sales themselves. Maybe all of the goodies were snatched up on Friday before we got there.

We spoke to a gentleman at Krotz & Sons in Lincoln who said that the first year these garage sales were held, people lined up their wares along Route 66. This time, the sales were found by following many hand made signs weaving back and forth into neighborhoods, which made it a bit difficult for people not familiar with the area.

We did take the opportunity to do a bit more exploring of the Route 66 area while we were out.

I found out that the Palms Grill Café in Atlanta had recently been reopened for breakfast and lunch, and seeing that they served chocolate malts, I decided this would be the perfect time to stop in and sample one.

The back of the menu read: Step back in time at the Palms Grill Café. The Grill, as folks in town called it, opened in August 1934 in "the center of Atlanta on Rt. 66", serving locals and travelers alike. The Grill provided home-cooked meals, plus Bingo games and weekly dances in the backroom. Atlanta's children took advantage of its weekday "School Children's Plate Lunch" — which included a "choice of three meats and two vegetables and drink" all for 45 cents! The Grill was the local Greyhound Bus Stop, so if you wanted to catch the bus, you just flipped the switch for the light on the bottom of the Grill's large neon sign. The original Grill closed in the late 1960s. The Atlanta Library and Museum, along with generous financial support from Atlanta citizens, the Illinois Bureau of Tourism, and the National Park Service's Rt. 66 Corridor Preservation Project, have recreated the Grill so it can once again serve Rt. 66 travelers and folks of this fair community.

Why the name "Palms Grill Café"? Atlanta local Robert Adams was inspired by the palm trees

he saw in California while on a trip there. When he returned to Atlanta to open a restaurant, he wanted to be reminded of the sunshine state, so he named the establishment The Palms Grill Café and ensured that a live palm three was included in its interior decor.

I loved the decor of the restaurant, from the marble countertop where we enjoyed our wonderful chocolaty malts to the white

tin stamped ceiling, to the tile on the bathroom floor. Almost everything looked clean and new, yet period appropriate.

There was even an old refrigerator behind the counter (you can see a glimpse of it behind our malts), which we assumed was just for display, but we got a kick out of seeing our server grab hold of the old curved metal handle to pull open the door, revealing a nice array of fresh pies inside.

Even the glasses and saucers we were served with seemed period appropriate. There were a lot of nice touches used.

Moving down the road to Lincoln, we stopped at an antique store downtown.

Stepping out of the car, we noticed a retro looking metal box hanging on a pole near the curb.

Thinking it might be a meter of some sort, I looked at the name plate on the front: Traf-O-Teria, which gave me a chuckle.

My husband walked into the antique store as I was snapping a photo, and the lady inside was laughing and asked if I had never seen a ticket payment box before.

Our next stop was Broadwell, where we got out at the Pig Hip museum and visited with the former owner and his wife. Very nice folks! I felt like we would have been at home stepping up into the kitchen and joining Ernie at the kitchen table while he ate his lunch.

The Pig Hip Restaurant operated from 1937-1991, then housed Route 66 memorabilia until fire destroyed the building in early 2007.

There are several photographs, newspaper stories and books on display at the site.

Our last stop on the route was Elkhart.

We checked out Horsefeathers wares, then headed out to Springfield for a late lunch.

I soon realized that we had forgotten to look for an attraction I had heard about in Elkhart, the 1915 John P. Gillett Memorial Bridge, so on our way back home we hunted it down.

This photo does not do the bridge justice. The arch is very tall, and the area is heavily wooded and beautiful, with trees creating a lovely shady canopy over the bridge.

The bridge was built by Emma Gillett Oglesby in memory of her brother, John Parke Gillett, and was on the "Ten Most Endangered" historic places list in Illinois in 2005. The bridge has since been stabilized.

On our way to the bridge along County Road 10, we saw a beautiful cemetery, supposedly haunted by the ghost of Emma Gillett Oglesby. From this website I learned her ghost: still visits the (Oglesby) tomb. However, as she kneels before the vault she is interrupted by a group of spectral Indians who chase her off across the bridge leading over the road by the cemetery. A number of photographs have captured weird phenomena as mist and apparitions, not seen by the eye, appear in pictures. A swirling vortex was photographed over one grave. At the back of the cemetery there is a fence separating the grave yard from the woods. Here, people have reported seeing dark colored apparitions and hearing the sounds of voices and footsteps.

The cemetery is also very beautiful, flanked by intricate iron gates. The gates are Gillett memorial gates erected November 1939. Again, it was difficult for me to capture how beautiful these were with my point and shoot.

In the cemetery we also saw a wonderful Gothic stone chapel, the John Dean Gillett Memorial Chapel, which is the only privately owned and operated church in Illinois.

The chapel was built by the wife of John Dean Gillett.

Palms Grill Café

110 SW Arch Street

Atlanta, IL 61723

Elkhart Cemetery, John Dean Gillett Memorial Chapel and railroad bridge

County Rd. 10 (700th Street)

Elkhart, IL 62634

Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket

On April 25 of this year, we finally visited a place we've wanted to go for years: Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket in Willowbrook, IL.
So many times we've driven past the billboards and signs on our way to and from places, but were never hungry when we were in the neighborhood.
Well known for fried chicken for more than 60 years, Dell Rhea's has had its ups and downs due to Route 66 bypassing the restaurant in the 60s, but has stood the test of time.
The Chicken Basket was inducted in the Route 66 Hall of Fame in June of 1992 and The National Register of Historic Places in May of 2006.
We stopped by the bar side first because we weren't starving yet. Our Dining Companion and I tried a local beer, the Route 66 Roadhouse Red Ale. It was not my thing and I ended up replacing it with a Pabst, but she ended up finishing it. My husband had a Pabst and our brother-in-law enjoyed a soda.
We soon cut through the back of the bar, checking out some framed newspaper articles along the way, to the dining room and took a table.
The large, angled windows across the front of the restaurant reminded me of some of the neat old buildings at Indiana Beach or York Beach in Maine, with a vacationy/nautical feel.
A large stone wall with a fireplace graced the end of the dining room, and old wooden chairs graced the tables. Some of them had a schoolhouse look to them, which added to the charm.
I had to try the corn fritters, so we placed our appetizer order for those. When they arrived, they were warm, sweet and good, but I can't say they were the best I've ever had.
For our dinners, we all chose baskets of chicken, which came with fries, slaw and biscuits.
The stars here were the chicken (juicy and good, with a cornmeal-like coating) and the biscuits (tiny and delicious). Dining Companion and I decided that since they were so small, you didn't need to feel bad about eating tons of them.
Our waitress was very cheerful and joked about giving us piggy back rides back to our car, since our bellies were so full.
The dining room kept up a steady business the whole time we were there, and closer to 6:00 people were standing along the back of the room waiting for tables.
Several large groups were having what appeared to be traditional family dinner meetups in the dining room, and Dell Rhea's is certainly a great place for that.

Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket
645 Joliet Road
I-55 & Route 83
Willowbrook, Illinois 60527

Der Rathskeller

Early in March we had a chance to stop for dinner at Der Rathskeller in Rockford, Illinois.
In business since 1931; the restaurant is said to be the oldest in Rockford operating in its original location.
We were just under an hour early for dinner, so we sat at the bar to wait for the downstairs dining room to open. From here we were able to check out the many sausages and cheese offerings. Most of the sausages are made on site, with a few of them coming from Usinger's of Milwaukee.
Once the basement dining room was open, we headed down and took a seat. I get the feeling that the basement decor has not changed much over the years, especially since there was a picture on the wall near our table displaying the dining room from years ago, and we recognized the same quaint chairs and the same wall sconces. There's something to be said for leaving things the same.
I started my meal with a cup of the beef Spatzle soup and found it to be delicious. The stock tasted homemade, perfectly savory and chocked full of Spatzle.
As my entrée, I went with a Schweineschnitzel, which was a special menu item that evening, along with red cabbage and potatoes. Everything was quite good, although after sampling my husband's sauerkraut, next time I would select that over the red cabbage.
Service was good and the waitresses helped each other out with the tables. My only complaint was that they congregated right next to our table a few times and chatted amongst themselves, since we were right near the kitchen serving counter.
Der Rathskeller was quite the find, and I know we will be trying to work more visits there into our trips back and forth to Milwaukee.

Der Rathskeller
1132 Auburn Street
Rockford IL 61103

Highland Park Diner

We originally visited the Highland Park Diner in mid July, 2007.

When I found out we would be coming through Rochester, NY, I made note of the address of the Highland Park Diner so we could stop by and visit this landmark.
When we drove up to the building, we were instantly charmed by it.
The diner is an original 1948 art-deco styled diner manufactured by the Orleans Diner Company, still occupying its original location.
It may be the only surviving one of this manufacturer, as only two or three were produced.
Most of the interior was removed in the 70s, but it was purchased by a new owner in the 80s and restored.
We tucked into a cozy booth in the back corner and admired the retro decor, from the quilted stainless backsplash to the neon lining the arched ceiling.
The Highland Park was cool and clean, the service friendly and the food was good.
We even tried the apple pie because apparently Conde Nast voted in best apple pie a few years back. It was good, but I won't say it was the best apple pie I've ever had. But if I ever find myself anywhere near Rochester again, I will definitely be back.

Highland Park Diner
960 Clinton Ave S
Rochester, NY 14620

Mickey's Diner

Mickey's Diner is a gem nestled in the shadows of towering downtown office buildings in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The diner was manufactured in New Jersey and made its way via rail to St. Paul where it has been in operation since the late 1930s.
Mickey's was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
I had to stop in, knowing it was so close to my destination.
Despite having a light breakfast at 7:30 a.m., I figured I could squeeze in an early lunch. I set out on foot, and arrived around 10 a.m.
I pulled open the original art deco styled door and stepped inside. I took my place at one of the dozen or so counter stools, facing a small glass tower of single serving desserts.
The diner retains its original character and charm, with stainless steel and decorative mahogany trim throughout.
I took note of the signs lining the wall near the ceiling which stated Mickey's is open 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
I was promptly greeted by the server who offered me a menu and some coffee. Since I'd already had a couple of stout cups, I went with some iced tea.
Perusing the menu, it didn't take me long to decide I would go for the Classic.
The staff of Mickey's seemed to enjoy their work and were friendly and cheerful, often singing along with the oldies music. Waiting for my food, I felt right at home.
My meal arrived around 10:15 and consisted of a cheeseburger on a sesame seed bun accompanied by three generous slices of dill pickles, a gut busting serving of thick shreds of hash browns good, greasy and browned to perfection and a cup of Mulligan stew. Everything was great. I finished almost all of the hearty stew, all of the burger and about half of the potatoes.
My waitress offered me some more tea when I got low, but I had plenty.
Sadly, I soon had to be on my way, so I went to the register to pay my bill. Mickey's does not accept checks, and you can't put your tip on a credit card.
Starting down the sidewalk, I passed a gent who had been sitting next to me and had stepped outside for a smoke. He bid me a nice day and I was on my way.
As I walked back to my destination, I reflected on the fact that the Minnesotans I encountered on my trip were very nice. I hadn't heard the term Minnesota nice until I was in the thick of it, and I certainly found it to be true on this visit.

Mickey's Diner
36 7th St. W
St. Paul, MN 55102

The Mother Road

We hit the open road today, off to pick up a purchase in Plainfield, Illinois, but had other adventures in mind as well.
Being pretty familiar with Route 66 from Dwight heading south, we decided to pick up the route in Dwight and head north for a change.
We kicked off our Route 66 leg of the trip by stopping at the Route 66 Java Stop, a newer addition in Dwight, IL, built using a couple of former shipping containers.
We've driven by several times on holidays, only to find the place closed. Today we were in luck.
Five minutes later, with coffees and some yummy oatmeal muffins in hand, we hit the highway.

Once in Plainfield, we saw a nice business district filled with historic buildings, so we stopped to poke around.
We went to Miller's Old Fashioned Butcher Shop and bought a large, homemade frozen chicken pot pie. Should make a nice dinner for Monday night.

We drove by the Polk-a-Dot Drive In in Braidwood, a 50s-style drive in, but will have to save that stop for another time, as we had plans in mind for dinner.

We pulled in to the Riviera Restaurant in Gardner shortly after they began serving dinner.
Built in 1928, this was a favorite haunt of Al Capone and was known as a gangster hangout. Gambling and alcohol were secretly offered here during prohibition.
We made our way to the basement restaurant and took a seat. This almost seemed like dining in Grandma's farmhouse basement, on plastic patio furniture with vinyl table cloths, complete with battleship gray painted concrete floors and low ceilings.
The patio furniture is a newer addition, due to the occasional invasion of water from the nearby river. It's easier to move around, and can withstand the elements.
We placed our order, chicken breasts with poppyseed gravy for me, and prime rib for my husband.
We watched the waitress clip the order sheet to a string on a pulley, and send it on its way to the kitchen.
Our salad course arrived via dumbwaiter, mine cole slaw, which seemed homemade with it's milky dressing sprinkled with dill, topping a nice array of chopped veggies and cabbages. These were accompanied by a basket of crackers and some Italian bread, served with a nice pimento spread.
We soon found out that the gentleman who came down the stairs and sat at a table next to us is one of the owners, Bob Kraft. He regaled us with some stories of visitors he's met from far and wide, including Brazil and Russia.
Our meals arrived. My chicken was piping hot, topped with a milk-style gravy peppered with poppyseeds.
My husband's prime rib was tender enough to be cut with a fork, served with a cup of au jus and a side of horseradish.
Both meals were served with some artfully arranged small fruit or vegetable plates.
While waiting for a slice of strawberry rhubarb pie, another waitress gave us a tour of some of the hidden treasures and hideaways in the building, and the bartender told me I had to check out the ladies' room, so I headed in.
The, er, throne, is perched upon a trio of concrete steps, graced with an iron hand rail. Once you start up the stairs, you have to start hunching over as your head quickly approaches the basement ceiling. She explained that the toilets are set up like this due to flooding from time to time.
When I got back to the table, the pie had arrived, served warm and delicious.
All of this and a few drinks set us back a grand total of $36, including a 20% tip.
We bid our farewell to the friendly crew, and headed out to the backyard for some pictures of the streetcar diner that is located on the property.
The Illinois Route 66 Association rescued it from destruction and have been involved in the preservation.
Over a hundred years old, the streetcar was horse drawn at one time, originally operated by the Kankakee Transit System. In 1932 George Kaldem purchased it and moved it to Gardner, converting it to a basic roadside diner.
The diner closed in 1939, and over the years it saw many uses, from a summer cottage to a children’s playhouse, even a rental property for workers at the Joliet Arsenal in W.W. II.
In 1955 Gordon Gunderson, who had married the original owner of the Riviera's daughter, purchased the streetcar, and the streetcar was moved to its present location behind the Riviera.
The streetcar is open so guests can step in and appreciate the character of this gem, from the arched wooden ceiling to the original streetcar bell.

Before we hit I-55 to start heading home, we drove through Gardner once more and took a peek at the historic two celled jail, circa 1906.
I imagine a few patrons of the Riviera roadhouse spent some time cooling their heels in these quarters.

Route 66 Java Stop
502 W Mazon Ave,
Dwight, IL 60420

Riviera Restaurant
5650 Highway 53 S,
Gardner, IL 60424

City Jail
302 N. Center
Gardner, IL 60424

September, 2009 — According to information posted on Roadside America's site, the Riviera Roadhouse was put up for sale earlier in 2009, sold and later received a shut down letter from the city. The restaurant is currently closed.

June, 2010 — More bad news for the Riviera Roadhouse, which has now suffered a fire: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-roadhousefire,0,1689188.story

Hamburg Inn

We visited the Hamburg Inn the weekend of November 4, 2007

This weekend took us to Iowa City, and the Hamburg Inn No. 2, Iowa City's oldest family restaurant, recommended to us by our friend Minney.
The little place was packed when we got there, so we sat at the counter, facing boards listing menu items. The shakes & malts board caught my attention, with the choice of vanilla, chocolate, coffee, butterscotch, strawberry, blueberry, cherry, pineapple, orange, lemon and maple. We placed our order for a butterscotch malt.

The back wall of the Hamburg Inn, established in 1948, is covered with political advertisements and memorabilia.
From their web site: " The Hamburg Inn story began in the mid 1930's when Joe Panther started Hamburg Inn on Iowa Avenue." There were, at one time, three locations of the Hamburg Inn. Number 2, launched in 1948, is the last remaining location.
For lunch, I had to try the sweet potato pancakes, so I ordered just one, and a California burger, topped with cheese, avacado and pico de gallo.
StfRon went with a bacon cheeseburger, fries and chips. The chips were homemade, toasty brown, and pretty good. The burgers served are 1/2 pounders.
The sweet potato pancake was huge, enough to almost cover a dinner plate. The sweet potato and spice flavor is subtle; at first I thought it was just an ordinary pancake, but it's a nice change.
The butterscotch malt was awesome. I might have to make several more trips back to to get my fill!

Hamburg Inn
214 North Linn
Iowa City, IA 52245

Coletta's Restaurant

We visited Coletta's the week of December 24, 2007

Our last meal in Memphis, Tennessee this trip was at Coletta's Restaurant.
I saw Coletta's listed on the Food Network's web site, and it is also Memphis' oldest restaurant. They also claim to be the originators of Elvis' favorite pizza, the BBQ pizza. All of this was sufficient for me to want to check the place out.
Coletta's is now in it's fifth generation of family ownership.
There are now two locations, but we chose the original 1923 location.
The restaurant was probably quite nice in it's heyday, however the floors and ceiling could use some real updating now.
We both decided to try pizza, but not the Elvis special. I had an Italian spinach pizza and StfRon went with sausage.
The pizzas were very good, with a nice crisp, thin crust and salty, buttery browned cheese on top. The spinach pizza was covered with tons of spinach, so much so that I started pulling it off after a while.
We were there a little late in the evening, on a Sunday night, and the restaurant was rather quiet.
If you're looking for the oldest restaurant in Memphis, Coletta's original location is the place for you.

Coletta's Restaurant
1063 S. Parkway East
Memphis, TN 38106