19 98 Grill & Country Store

The food, ambiance and service were all superb. This is a country establishment in a small town and the food doesn’t disappoint. Large portions and made to order. Our party of 5 all enjoyed this establishment.

Drove in during a driving rain storm. Excellent old school mom and pop restaurant. Food ingredients and quality excellent. Bread of the Cuban was very tasty and ingredients inside sandwich were top quality. Had side orders of fries also. Will definitely put this on my Definitely not a subway sandwich.

It ain”t just about food!
Well, a friend on another car forum was gonna pass within a mile of our place but didn’t have time to stop at the house. He’d bought a car in Houston and was headed home near Miami. Jeff asked me to pick a place to eat and meet. Always nice to meet those we visit on other forums.
My first choice was Bette’s Big T in town. We live between Chiefland and the large town of Fanning Springs. After passing Bettes several tmes after mentioning it, I realized they would be too crowded for a quick bite to eat and time to say howdy! Even a better choice was the 19 – 98 Grille only five miles from our house.
A great place right on the highway, a great place to take photos of old junk, and a friendly great place for a quick meal.
Since friend Jeff also likes old stuff, he liked my wife and I. But this is about food and good service. Jeff was not able to meet us till nearly 2PM. We waited in the crowded parking lot. I was amazed how busy they were. Business seems to have picked up. Perhaps because the food was so darn good, the owners were there to take our orders, make our food, and just be down right southern friendly.
My wife and I are light eaters. The menus are up on the wall on a chaulk board sort of thing among the junk collected and scattered about inside and out. We love junk. I even said hi to John Wayne.
Our friend ordered a burger basket which apparently he liked because it disappeared quickly. Perhaps he hadn’t eaten since Houston.
Asking my lovely wife, we chose one order of the fish sampler. Served in a plastic basket with three dips, we also got an extra empty basket so my wife wouldn’t eat all of the single serving. It may have been a single platter but plenty for us to share.
I rated this a five because everything on that sampler was well done and delicious. We enjoyed our quick visit, a chance to take some pictures to prove to our car forum we are real and did meet another member, our server was friendy and helpful, and we all enjoyed the antiques and other junk displayed inside and out to photograph and admire.
I had parked under a shade tree in the 95 degree weather, directly behind the old Chevy truck with the sign on it, so our friend had no problem finding us. A great place to meet travelers, take pictures, and eat some very good food.
As we sat there waiting we were looking at all of the antiques and things scattered about the well cared for grounds. Old saddles on fences, pottery and even a shaded sitting area out back filled with others who apparently had eaten and were visiting their own friends.
My wife spotted an old phone booth out front in the grass and asked why it was there. I explained that when Superman visits our area he needs a place to change. I think she believes me!
Yes it’s a nice old fashioned style diner and also a fun place to stop to relax. If the parking lot is full there appears to be an overflow area further back. Oh yea, it cost us under $ 14.00 for two to share a fish sampler. Prices seem very reasonable and it sure beats the fast food joints… still it is reasonably fast also.
I suppose it is casual attire. I wore my shorts and a sleaveless T-​shirt. Others did the same. After all, this is Florida and many tourists are passing by. We have to impress them.
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With a great staff, superb food and quality items, you can’t go wrong stopping in for lunch or dinner.
They now have fried pork rinds (in house), one of the best Cubans in the area, and a large menu to select from. You can also order ahead with easy to go.
I’ll miss this place when we move out of the area, but will be back for sure.

Warm, Friendly, and great ambience. Atmosphere is laid back and casual. Had the catfish basket. Delicious! Came with fries, coleslaw and sweet — hearty cornbread.

Very good lunch. Tuna salad very delish. Not really a country store, but good for burgers and good other stuff on menu. Salads and even root beer floats.

Neat little place off the beaten path. Staff was friendly and helpful. Restaurant and bathrooms were extremely clean. I got the shrimp with recommendation from staff and it was very good. Lightly breaded and tastey. Another high point was the fact that the presentation of food was great. All my shrimp were neatly stacked on a bed of French fries and accompanied by a mild and light slaw. I would highly recommend this little treasure that is by no means a dive.

We’ve eaten there a few times, good food, friendly staff, nice atmosphere, live music on weekends and dog friendly. That puts it over the top. I see people complaining about bugs outside, it’s Florida… what do you expect, they can’t control that.

Very good quick meal on hwy 19. Honestly, the bad reviews of this place are about bugs in Florida. Please! I was very skeptical going in there as places like this in the south are usually very greasy and unappetizing. I got a gyro and the presentation alone confirmed we had made a good choice. The lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cucumbers were all fresh and they even got the tzatziki and lamb meat right. I would recommend this place even in a larger city but is especially impressive coming from a place where the choice between having Hardee’s or gas station pizza is a real thing.

We found this very charming place while traveling through the area. We were greeted by Charlie who was very friendly and helped us order since we were first timers. I ordered the seafood sampler and was not disappointed. It was a huge order of shrimp, fish, clams and fries in a basket. The breading was very light and tasty and most importantly, the clams were not hard and overcooked as there are in many places. My wife ordered the fish plate. She thought it was delicious. It was more food than either of us could finish. You don’t have to wait long for the food. You place your order at the register and when it’s ready they bring it to you table. drinks are self serve. Nothing fancy, just real good food. We can’t wait to go back and try the ruben sandwich. It’s supposed to be the best around.

Passing thru — Charming, clean, decent food. Will be back.

One of our favourite places for lunch. Best «Reuben «for 50 miles, maybe more. Great Oriental Chicken Salad …

Cute place, but food sucks. they have no idea what they are doing. for example: I ordered a dish in marinara but the sauce had beef in it, and when i asked about it, they were proud and did not understand how that is a misrepresentation. It’s dads «home made marinara» I’m sure dad is proud of his sauce but ITS NOT MARINARA

When we visit the tricounty we eat here if time permits. If you dont eat here you are missing a unique experience. Friendliest staff you will meet. Cleanest restrooms and tasty food. Dog friendly if you sit outside however in the summer months the bugs are bad but that is everywhere in the area. Great place!!!

Very cute dive… friendly staff, cute country décor…

Very clean, perfectly cooked/​fried, huge menu. Only complaint is that the batter on the creole gator was too salty. When I commented to the staff they explained that they had heard that before but there wasn’t anything they could do about it as it came breaded that way from the vendor. Not a lot of eating choices in the area — we were just passing through.

The nicest staff, by far.
Unfortunately has really bag bugs that make it impossible to sit outside.
And serving catfish raw is just unacceptable.

As soon as we sat outside the bugs began biting. So took care of that and the food turned up «too» quick. We had ordered the catfish bowl with a side salad but the fish was not cooked, was cold and raw in the middle. It was done Southern style so was not immediately obvious. I took the food back and the staff were very apologetic and nice enough so we waited for a new serving of the same dish. Which, this time was cooked and was actually ok. But the whole experience was marred by the first uncooked fish. Staff were friendly and apologetic, but I’ll keep driving if I am going that way again.

Best sandwiches in the area … by far.
Fresh ingredients, good bread, interesting décor (cracker barrel-​esque) … friendly service.
I’ve eaten here several times, and have only been disappointed with the philly cheese steak. I recommend the Italian sub, crab sandwich and the burgers … gyro is hit or miss.

I ate here again tonight and the food was great – the fried shrimp came with cornbread, fries, and cole slaw and the cornbread was especially good. The prices are certainly fair, the staff is very very friendly and helpful (even despite being pretty busy tonight) and I got a piece of their great caramel-​pecan cake to take home – which is awesome and anyone and everyone should get when they have it in stock!