Gramma's Kitchen

Well my parents made me clean out my old room (bummer), but the good news is that I found a huge ziploc bag full of change. Add it to our change jar, take back some cans, and bam, $50 for a nice dinner out. We considered the Machine Shed, but decided to try something new instead. So we decided Gramma's Kitchen must have some good homestyle cookin.

When I eat in my grandma's kitchen, it's usually Heavenly Ham or Happy Joe's Pizza, but I get the concept. Grandmas are supposed to be great cooks who spend hours toiling away in the kitchen, making everything by scratch. You'd think this restaurant would serve similarly prepared food. You'd think that, wouldn't you?

Gramma's Kitchen is located across from the World's Largest Truck Stop in Walcott, Iowa, a short jaunt down I-80. The truck stop opened in 1964 while 80 was still being constructed. It currently encompasses over 75 acres and houses everything from a dog wash to a dentist.

Gramma's Kitchen was built in 1984 by Heart of America restaurants. It caters to truckers and older folk. We should've known...

The menu sounds pretty good. Down home classics like chicken fried steak which Richie ordered, chicken pot pie, steaks, turkey, etc. Prices are around 10-12 dollars for most dinner items. That includes unlimited trips to the salad bar.

First we decided to try the fried sweet corn balls, but the waitress came out and said they no longer had any sweet corn. We tried cheddar curds instead, which were decent, but probably not fresh.




























We took our trip to the salad bar to discover a giant bowl of bagged salad and then some bowls of dressing, cheese, and pudding. Pretty disappointing. If theyre going to do that, why not just bring the side salad to you?

I'll be honest, I really liked the blob of green jello salad





Finally, we got our meals and Richie complained about the potatoes being lumpy. I happen to enjoy lumps and chunks in my potatoes, so I tried mine and they were flavorless. I added some gravy, but it was so salty, I could hardly stand it. Unfortunately, I had to use more gravy on my turkey because it was too dry to eat otherwise. Also, the bread that came with my meal was like two slices of cold Wonder bread. Really, gramma?

I had been excited to try a dessert, but by that point, we were both so anxious to get out of there that we just paid and left. I drove over to the truck stop to get a Blizzard from DQ.

So there you have it. Gramma must be a real winner. I think it's time she checked out of the kitchen and into a home. Try the Machine Shed instead.