The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By David Grimes for The Quill
There are so many items to choose from on the Country Fun menu you could probably eat there every day of the week and still not sample everything.
From nightly specials beginning at $5 to the Saturday night/Sunday lunch buffet featuring Country Fun fried chicken, there's something to please any diner.
John and Paula Ray bought the restaurant from Bob Peterson and Chuck Earp 12 years ago to begin business as Ray's Country Fun and have offered up homestyle cooking that's a favorite with local patrons as well as travelers along U.S. 34.
Last weekend's Sunday buffet featured fried chicken, pork loin with vegetables, meatloaf, real mashed potatoes and gravy and made-from-scratch dressing.
Drink and salad bar are included with the buffet, which makes it almost impossible to try some of everything, but all the items I tried were candidates for second helpings.
The pork, served with carrots and cabbage, had a particularly good flavor and a good tender texture.
The homemade dressing was moist and well-seasoned, and the chicken was hot and tasty.
Other homemade features at Country Fun include salad dressings, salad items, vegetable soup and chili and pie, including peanut butter, coconut, chocolate and a variety of fruit pies.
Daily lunch specials run around $5, and customers travel from Monmouth, Elmwood, Burlington and Mount Pleasant on days when certain specials are featured.
"We have one man who comes whenever we have chicken and noodles as the special and others-people who grew up in the area-who come just to order our tenderloins to take home with them," said Ray.
Country Fun menu items are a combination of Paula's recipes and some recipes that have been around as long as the restaurant, which opened in 1978.
Breakfast is available anytime during restaurant hours, other than after 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, when the attention turns to the noon hour buffet.
Saturday night buffets run from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday noon buffets are open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Country Fun also has spacious accommodations for any special event, from wedding rehearsal dinners to business meetings to anniversary and birthday dinners.
Country Fun also offers ten lanes for bowling, with league action happening every night of the week.
Country Fun's staff of 25 employees is always eager and ready to serve their customers, so stop in and check out one of the daily specials or try one of the weekend buffets.
Located just west of the junction of Ill. 116, Ill. 94 and U.S. 34 west of Biggsville, Country Fun's hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, and 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday.
For reservations or to schedule a special occasion event, contact John or Paula Ray at Country Fun at (309) 627-2973.
Marion Johnson, Kirkwood, enjoys Sunday dinner at Country Fun with his son and daughter-in-law, Jim and Sandy Johnson, also of Kirkwood.
Marion said the service at the restaurant is excellent, just like the food, and that he eats at Country Fun as often as he can get a ride with Jim and Sandy.
"We don't miss too many Sundays," Jim said with a smile.