I have to admit that this place is so close to our house that we rarely go there. But, when we have a hankering for fried chicken we just order a box to go and run down and pick it up.
They are well known for their chicken, and in a region where fried chicken is a staple that's something. (I was going to say something to crow about, but....) This is one of the restaurants on the Chicken Trail through southeastern Indiana.
Went for a Saturday night drive. My wife remember her mom use to go to this place so we went. Was happy to see a buffet also a seafood buffet but when the price was 24.99 decided to just get the 14.99 non seafood buffet.
They had alot.The chicken was good it was the eastern Indiana kind heavy on the pepper. The food was just lacking something?? Most of it was bland. To me it was like a Amish want to be!!!
It was not even close to it. I would give the chicken a great rating so skip the buffet and stick to the chicken.
I eat here at least once a month. The drive over from Fairfield Ohio is an hour or less. They have a buffet Friday thru Sunday, as well as the menu which is available Wednesday thru Sunday. They also offer a breakfast and lunch buffet but not sure of the days and times on those.
The chicken is great, and for those who like frog legs these are way better than any others I have had in restaurants. It's good country food, served by very nice people. This is one of those places where you want to come back, not just because of the food, but the people and owners make it a very special place.
Hearthstone is a favorite place for a lot of folks because of the smorgasboard buffet. It's also got some claim to fame for being the place where Tom Cruise & Co. filmed the cabin scenes for Rain Man.
They do a very big business, with a lot of locals as well as out-of-towners. It's a destination stop for a lot of bikers in the decent weather months.
The best thing on the buffet is their fried chicken. It's actually pretty darn good. There's lots and lots of stick to your ribs country food on the buffet - usually ham, BBQ ribs, fried shrimp, mac and cheese, beans, mashed taters & gravy, etc...
They also sport a massive salad bar as well, which is always really good.
On Friday nights, they add seafood, which is usually crawfish, fried clams, peel & eat shrimp, and snow crab... complete with cocktail sauce and drawn butter. Oh! Add hushpuppies.
Now I have actually gotten some bad peel & eat, and we were there early in the evening. But the smell was really unmistakable and rancid. I hope some people didn't get sick on it. They need a better service for that instead of a big stainless bowl with ice in it.
But the snow crabs are... well decent... snow crabs. It's all you can eat, so don't be expecting any Carlo & Johnny's or Mike Fink's raw bar. This ain't the Waterfront.
The real downer is the desserts. I have simply never once been enthused by anything they've ever had - but then again, I am usually full from eating the buffet that I don't necessarily have a whole lot of dessert motivation anway. Maybe that's the point. They know their crowd and just sort of show up for the game and don't really intend to play hard.
The locals seem to really hit the bar as well. I think there are a lot of regulars that hang out there. Not a big drinker myself, but if I were, this would probably be a decent hang.
They have a very large meeting/event room that can be booked for parties and such. It's pretty nice with a fireplace and separate wait staff service. I don't know how many the place holds, but I think the Lion's Club or local Rotary... something... meets there regularly.
In the decent weather months, they have a patio grill area where I've eaten once. Eating out there is literally an entirely different dining experience - may as well be a different restaurant.
I've never actually ordered off the menu, usually opting for the buffet, but they seem to have a pretty wide selection of stuff.
Most people go here for the smorgasboard though.
The service is usually really good. Never once a complaint about the wait staff.
One cannot go wrong with CRAB LEG Buffet!
At $17.00 all you can eat Crab Leg and other Buffet items this is Giant GEM for a Friday night on the back roads of Indiana. Just outside of Metamora and Brookville Indiana. Cold Sweet ICE tea, Large Plate for the PILE ON as many as you can Crab Legs, Pan Fried Chicken, Shrimp, many a wet-naps, and a never ending stock of .... Did I tell you CRAB LEGS! better get there early for good seat. Fridays Only See ya there at 5pm!