Olde Towne Bar & Grille

Sometimes it is easy to overlook things that are close to you and that is the case for the Olde Town Bar & Grill in Delavan Illinois.
My neighbor went there a few weeks ago and he and the other couple gave it high marks. So as the missus and I were discussing going out I threw that out and 17 miles later we were at our destination.
We arrived at about 6PM and even though it was prime dining hour (on a Friday) the place was not packed. I guess the fact that Delavan only has a population of about 1700 people has something to do with that.
The Olde Time Bar & Grill sits on one of the main cross streets in the 4 — 6 square block business district. It is a storefront configuration with ample on street parking. Walking inside the place is like putting on comfortable shoes. The décor accentuates the old brick of the structure. On one side of the rectangular area there is a fairly good sized wooden bar that seats 10 –12 comfortably and takes up about ¹⁄₃ of that side. the other side has seating for about 45 — 50 at tables and a couple of booths. The entire area was clean and orderly and all the employees seemed to be «small town friendly».
Our waitress was cheerful and helpful. The menu has a nice smattering of appetizers, sandwiches and plated meals. The two specials this evening were prime rib and a grilled chicken breast with angel hair pasta and marinara sauce. I do not remember the pricing.
We each opted for the deep fried tenderloin with fries for $ 8.75. We split a side of deep fried breaded mushrooms $ 5.75 and she had a tea and I ordered a Bud Light (2). total cost of the meal was $ 31.90.
The mushrooms arrived promptly and were just wonderful. There were about 20 large caps and it was obvious that they were made on site and not just poured out of a bag. The coating looked a little pale which was slightly off-​putting. Questions flew out the window as soon as we took out first bite. They were just out of the cooker hot and perfectly seasoned. They were the best I’ve had in a long time, firm and without that liquid inside that frozen ones often have. Ask for two containers of ranch dipping sauce up front because the container is sort of small.
Our meal shortly arrived and that too was piping hot and looked delicious. The fries while frozen were lightly seasoned and above average. The tenderloin sandwiches were great.
If you are curious, tenderloins are basically a whole butterfly pork chop pounded out thin, battered, deep fried and served on a bun. Some cooks go for a thin and crispy look. Often they will will be 10 – 12 inches in diameter but the meat will be thin (maybe ¼ inch or less) and may be rather dry. The meat in these was about 8 inches across and about ³⁄₈ inch thick. The result was a more moist sandwich that was more tender than the thinner variety. The breading on these sandwiches was golden brown and had the perfect concoction of spices.
We managed to eat about ½ of out meal and doggy bagged the rest of it home for tomorrow.
I think I just added another favorite place to eat to my list!

The Olde Towne Bar & Grille, in Delavan, is known for its fried chicken (though you have to get it on the nights when the right cook is preparing it). There’s no smoking there now, but you can tell when you walk in that smoking used to be allowed.
They have a decent selection of domestic and import beer.
They have been advertizing brisket as their Wednesday lunch special recently. I haven’t tried it. They feature walleye on their menu. The reuben sandwich is good, worth having again, and the potato skins are very good. The French fries can be really good or okay: I guess it depends on who is tending the fryer.
NOTE! They do NOT accept plastic there. You will need to come with cash. (There is a bank ATM just two businesses down the street, though.)