A Fried Chicken and Pie Stop in Amish Country

The fried chicken is where the meal begins, even when the buffet has a full line of other temptations waiting behind it. Pressure-fried in an Amish-style preparation, it arrives with crisp, well-seasoned skin and notably moist meat, without the heavy greasiness that can weigh down a plate of fried chicken. The legs and thighs have a particularly devoted following.

This is a country-style restaurant built for the happy complications of a big comfort-food decision: Do you fill a plate from the buffet, or settle in with one freshly prepared entrée? Families passing through Amish Country, local regulars and visitors on a regional drive all find an easy answer here, usually followed by pie.

The buffet is more compact than some of the larger Amish Country spreads nearby, but it concentrates on the foods people tend to want most. Fried chicken anchors the meal alongside roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, noodles, vegetables, soup and a salad bar. Meatloaf or another meat casserole may join the hot line as well.

Two serving areas help move the buffet along, with the lines coming together near the chicken. That arrangement makes practical sense: a plate that starts with salad and vegetables can still end up with a piece of chicken before the walk back to the table.

The hot selection can change, so this is not a place to count on every side appearing every day. Still, the appeal is consistent: straightforward, flavorful food that aims for the familiar satisfaction of a home-cooked Sunday dinner rather than a showy restaurant plate.

Mashed potatoes with gravy are one of the meal's dependable comforts, especially alongside roast beef. The noodles are another frequent favorite, giving the plate that distinctly Ohio Amish Country combination of soft, savory starches and gravy-friendly meats.

Creamy corn has the rich character of creamed corn, while green beans, cabbage casserole and other vegetables round out the hot offerings. The cabbage casserole is a nice reminder that the buffet is not just a parade of beige foods, even if mashed potatoes are understandably hard to pass up.

Potato soup is worth a look when it is available. It has been served creamy, with bacon pieces and small chunks of potato, and makes a fitting first course on a cool day or a modest bowl alongside the rest of the buffet.

A fresh salad bar gives the meal some welcome contrast. Along with vegetables and dressings, there are prepared salads that belong naturally beside the country cooking: potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni salad, broccoli salad and three-bean salad.

Pickled beets are a particularly good old-fashioned addition, and the potato salad and croutons have their own fans. You can build a sensible green salad, of course, but a little scoop of three-bean salad and a few pickled beets make a better case for enjoying the whole spread.

After seating, tables are served dinner rolls with a distinctive peanut butter-marshmallow spread. It is one of those small, highly specific restaurant details that can become the thing people mention long after the meal.

The sweet spread works on the warm rolls as a pre-buffet nibble or as a quiet bridge to dessert. It also gives the table a little extra personality before the chicken, gravy and pie enter the picture.

The buffet is not the only route through dinner. The full à la carte menu offers freshly prepared meals for diners who would rather choose one plate and be done with it.

Turkey with mashed potatoes and chicken and noodles keep the comfort-food theme going. Brisket, pork chop, perch, grilled salmon and other chicken meals offer more range, useful for a mixed table where not everyone is headed straight for the fried chicken.

That choice between a broad buffet plate and a single made-to-order entrée is a practical advantage on family outings. One person can go back for noodles and creamy corn, while another settles in with salmon or perch.

Dessert includes raisin pie, blackberry pie, coconut cream pie and other pies, along with Ho-Ho cake. Raisin pie is the curiosity item for diners who do not encounter it often: a pudding-like filling dotted with raisins and topped with whipped cream.

Coconut cream is the choice for a classic silky cream pie finish, while blackberry pie brings a fruitier ending to a meal already full of savory comfort food. A whole meal can easily get away from you here, so pie packaged to go is a sensible option.

The restaurant handles both small tables and larger family groups, and the service style is attentive and brisk. Drinks are checked, plates are cleared, and the buffet format keeps the meal moving even when the dining room is full. Pepsi products are served.

At busy times, guests may add their names to a list and wait nearby until called. The process is organized, but waits can run from none at all to 20 or 30 minutes or longer when traffic is high. The room can also get moderately noisy once the buffet line and a full dining room are in motion.

There is a free parking lot, generally with plenty of room, though a busy Saturday can make a space less immediate. For visitors staying close to the Mt. Hope area, the restaurant can be convenient enough to reach on foot. Drivers exploring the surrounding countryside will also want to stay alert for horse-and-buggy traffic on local roads.