Thursday, August 20, 2009
Good food, not good for you, at Family Restaurant
TOM ANGLEBERGER Special to The Roanoke Times
Family Restaurant in Fort Chiswell has lots of great food and a little bit of a flea market.
Tom Angleberger knows what he likes. So we've asked him to eat at NRV restaurants and write about them. If you have a restaurant to recommend,
e-mail him. Tom Angleberger
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Family Restaurant
- What: Southern diner
- Where: 2606 E. Lee Highway, Fort Chiswell
- Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Wednesday; 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday to Saturday
- Prices: Cheap.
Family Restaurant is almost hidden among the clamor of the busy truck stops and fast-food chains at the Fort Chiswell exit off Interstate 81.
But it's there behind the Citgo station, and it's well worth dodging a few semis to get to it.
This is a nice little Southern diner with a little bit of flea market and religion thrown in. One side of the restaurant has tables; the other features booths with a little horseshoe-shaped counter.
In the middle, there's a table piled with various things for sale, including a blue electric guitar, a mushroom statuette and a light-up figurine of an angel riding a unicorn. Above, a framed picture of Jesus watches over Family Restaurant.
"Have a blessed day," says the menu and, really, if you and your family have pulled safely off the interstate into this little down-home oasis to enjoy a little "home" cooking, then you're off to a good start.
There are no huge surprises on the menu here -- except perhaps for the prominent spot given to the liver platter. You can get meatloaf, a rib-eye steak, chicken tenders or other Southern diner staples. If you're going for a burger you can choose from a Mr. Burger, a Ms. Burger or a Big Man Burger.
I ordered a pork chop and was blessed with an enormous, glistening chop. It was clearly such a diet-buster that I decided not to eat it all.
But, wouldn't you know it, it was so good I couldn't stop myself, especially not when it was paired with wonderful green beans and very creamy coleslaw.
The boys split a chicken tenders and fries platter, and those foodstuffs were both good. And my wife got a Mr. Burger, which she said was greasy in a tasty way.
The pre-tip bill for the four of us came to just $18.28.
Bottom line: Family Restaurant is a blessing to the hungry I-81 traveler, if not to his or her waistline.
