Homestead Restaurant

The chicken was a big disappointment, we arrived just as they has opened for lunch and the chicken had obviously been a reheat for last night. The service was adequate, but the experience as a whole was not good compared to other home style restaurants in the area.

I've gone to this restaurant dozens of times over the years.
It has gone from good to quite bad, and happily as of this last visit it's back to good.
We were there on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, begrudgingly so, because there was a very mixed bag as to what was open and what was not in Amishland.

They were open, and the lady's belly was grumbling, and although the last several dinings here had garnered less than favorable reviews from as many as five diners at a time in our party, this time they were A-OK.

They had the world's smallest buffet going on this occassion, (all smashed under four lift-up steam-keepers), on which we both passed as it all looked as though it was a bit long in the tooth.

The lady got  the half-portion roast beef dinner, and I the whitefish dinner.
Her half portion came with one side, mine with two.
The half portion was enormous.
More than enough to sate a very healthy appetite.
It came much like an open-faced roast beef plate with white bread, mashed potatoes, gravy and roast beef on the plate.
The beef was true,tasty roasted meat, not reheated deli meat
Her side was peas, (frozen, happily...not a fan of canned peas.)
Both according to her were quite good.
As she was the first and most vociferous of our frequent dining cadre to decry the restaurant earlier on, I take her on her word.
My whitefish was very lightly hand-breaded and very lightly deep-fried or possibly pan-fried, and my sides were cole slaw and baked sweet potato.
The whitefish was very delicate and flakey, much like a girl I once dated in high school!
The slaw was fine, still crisp with a nice dressing, and the sweet potato was nicely done sans that grainy texture that sometimes accompanies same.
I kind of liked the fact that the caramel sauce and tartar sauces for my meal were brought in squeeze bottles as one had as little or as much as one wanted of both accompaniements.
It wasn't a five-star move, but there's a lot to be said for a bit of control over these things!
The service was quite good, cheery and accomodating and they have now gone to taking the check to the cashier for you rather than further congest the often burgeoning lobby-full of people awaitng tables with even more people trying to pay and get the heck out of there!
It was a genius move as it served both the establishment and the diner well.

Based on this visit I won't hesitate in trying it again, but it will take a couple more good experiences to offset the lingering resentment held from the slop they served here during our previous four visits or thereabouts.

If you are looking for a nice place to have breakfast prior to setting out on a stroll through Amish country, this is a nice place to grab breakfast.  We arrived Saturday around 9:30 and had no problems finding a place to park in the large lot behind the restaurant. Hope you do not mind sharing with the horse and buggies and tractors that the elder Amish gentlemen bring!   I say that in a positive way - I thought it was cool.  The only downside is this parking lot is DUSTY. Dark clean sports cars and folks that leave your windows cracked to allow cooling - beware.

The restaurant was in "seat yourself" mode so we walked in and got a nice table at the back of the restaurant. The server was there with coffee and water almost immediately. We ordered the Grandmas breakfast with two eggs, hash browns, sausage links, bacon and wheat toast. Breakfast arrived promptly and hot. Everything was good, especially the homemade jam and homemade sausage links! I wasn't a big fan of the sausage gravy, but that was brought on the side, which was a nice touch. The prices are very affordable.

Be sure to take a stroll across the street to check out the hardware store. I'm not kidding - even if you are not into stuff in a hardware store this place is cool.  The hardware closes Saturday at noon so get there early.

ATMOSPHERE - B
SERVICE - A
FOOD - B+
PRICE - A