Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket Keeps Route 66 Comfort Food Cooking

A plate of golden fried chicken, a basket of corn fritters, mashed potatoes under a ladle of gravy: Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket makes a convincing case for pulling off historic Route 66 in Willowbrook, Illinois. This is a roadside restaurant in the old-fashioned sense, a place where a meal can be the purpose of the stop rather than a quick interruption in the drive.

The room has the comfortable, slightly kitschy character people hope to find on the Mother Road. Vintage-minded décor, a stone fireplace and an easygoing dining room give it a lived-in look; one can imagine a grandmother’s kitchen expanded to restaurant scale. It is casual enough for a road-trip lunch and substantial enough for a family gathering.

Hand-breaded fried chicken is the house specialty, and it comes with the straightforward appeal of a well-made classic: a crisp, crunchy exterior around tender, juicy meat. There is no need to dress up the idea much beyond that. A chicken basket can arrive as four pieces or even a half chicken, so this is not a dainty order.

The chicken works naturally with the restaurant’s familiar sides, but it also shows up in several other forms. Chicken and waffles offer the sweet-savory route, while BBQ chicken and chicken pot pie give regulars and repeat travelers a few ways to change the order without leaving the chicken theme behind.

Hot honey has its own following here, with diners sometimes taking home a bottle after the meal. It is a useful little addition for anyone who likes a touch of sweetness and heat against crunchy breading.

Comfort food needs good supporting players, and Dell Rhea’s has plenty. Mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, macaroni and cheese, biscuits and salad give the menu the familiar, filling rhythm of a family supper.

Corn fritters are among the more memorable items. Some come with powdered sugar, a detail that puts them somewhere between a dinner side and a small indulgence. They are easy to keep reaching for while the rest of the plate cools down.

The menu also makes room for chicken fried chicken, bourbon chicken and deep-fried macaroni-and-cheese balls served with cheese sauce. The latter are unapologetically rich, exactly as fried macaroni and cheese ought to be.

For diners who would rather sample widely, the restaurant’s buffet tradition is a major attraction. Fried chicken, soups, biscuits, corn fritters, salad and rotating hot sides create the sort of spread where one plate can be sensible and the next can be a little more adventurous.

The salad bar has an old-school appeal all its own. A fresh self-serve salad bar is increasingly uncommon at casual restaurants, and here it fits the roadside-diner setting especially well. It provides a crisp counterpoint to gravy, fried chicken and cheese sauce—or simply another reason to make room on the plate.

Hot buffet selections can change by day and occasion. Past spreads have included macaroni and cheese, pierogis, Brussels sprouts, rice dishes, fish such as cod, catfish or white fish, and BBQ ribs with sweet sauce. Chicken-and-dumpling soup, other soups and even thin-crust pizza have appeared as well, which gives an idea of the buffet’s broad comfort-food range without turning it into a fixed promise.

Weekend and Sunday buffet service has also brought brunch into the picture. Scrambled eggs and bacon may share space with chicken and waffles, a combination that makes the meal less about choosing breakfast or lunch than about accepting both.

Buffet service and specific offerings vary by meal, day and event, so the current schedule is worth confirming if that is the reason for the visit. The restaurant is not especially large, and popular weekend or Sunday periods can get crowded.

The dining room is only one side of Dell Rhea’s. A separate bar area offers the full menu along with televisions showing sports and other games, giving the place a more casual option for a drink and a plate of food.

The bar has the friendly, regulars-oriented character that inspires comparisons to the television bar Cheers. That does not make it a private club; it simply means the room has a sense of familiarity. A Route 66 traveler can settle in without feeling out of place.

The portions here make sense for sharing, and takeout is more than an afterthought. A Route 66 family pack has included chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn pudding, biscuits and fritters—enough food for about five hungry people.

Corn pudding is one of those humble buffet-table dishes that can surprise people when it is done well. Along with the lightly powdered biscuits and the sweet-edged fritters, it shows that the restaurant pays attention to the small flour-and-cornmeal pleasures surrounding the main event.

Dell Rhea’s sits directly along historic Route 66, making it an easy place to build into a Mother Road drive through the western suburbs of Chicago. Free parking is available in the restaurant lot, and indoor seating is divided between the dining room and bar.

Service has a reputation for being friendly, attentive and efficient, a welcome trait when the room is busy. Come for the chicken if that is the mission, but leave room for the salad bar, a fritter or two, and whatever the day’s buffet happens to be offering.