Dinner Bell Restaurant

The Dinner Bell Restaurant is one of my favorite places to eat in Berea, Kentucky.  They are similar to the franchise Cracker Barrel, but have a much more homey feel.  They sell locally made crafts and advertise for local productions and events.  I feel like I am stopping by a friends for dinner when I dine here.

The last time I "stopped in for a bite" we had a wonderful waitress by the name of Kim.  She was very upfront and honest and gave us some delicious suggestions on what to enjoy for dinner.  She also made sure that our glasses never got empty and checked up on how we were doing frequently enough that we felt like we were very important to her.

I decided on the chicken fried steak with a baked sweet potato smothered in butter, a tossed salad with, of course, ranch dressing, and a hot dinner roll.  My companion selected the liver and onions as suggested by our waitress.  My salad was brought out first as usual and was very simple but delicious.  The ranch was not overly sweet and I gobbled it all down without a single complaint.  The rest of our food arrived promptly and we dug in.

I immediately cut into my steak and discovered it was perfectly cooked and tender as could be.  Unfortuantely, the gravy was a little bit bland but with a little salt and pepper added we were off and running.  The sweet potato was baked to the point it melted in my mouth.  It was divine.  The dinner roll was soft and had just a hint of sweetness to it.  I did sample my companions liver and discovered it hadn't been cooked like most of us would do it.  They had grilled it.  It was lightly seasoned and had an appealing flavor.

Now on to the good stuff.  DESSERT!  We sampled three different desserts and we were pleased with two of them.  We had lemon meringue pie, chocolate meringue pie, and a peach cobbler.  We began with the lemon meringue and the peach cobbler.  The lemon meringue was so light and fluffy.  Not overly sweet with just the perfect hint of a tang.  It was like eating a cloud it was so delicate.  The peach cobbler on the other hand was a horrible disappointment.  The dough was under cooked and the peaches were crunchy.  Pretty sure peaches are not supposed to be crunchy even when they aren't put in a cobbler.  We sent it back and selected a piece of chocolate meringue pie to replace it.  Now the chocolate meringue was a surprise.  It wasn't that typical smooth and creamy texture that one becomes accustomed to when you think of chocolate pie.  This had a slightly thicker texture, not crunchy but it felt....I honestly don't know how to describe it!  The meringue was once again cooked perfectly and then you dive into the deep chocolate layer underneath.  It startled my tongue as I was expecting that creamy feeling, but it was a delight to discover something different.  I guess this is one item you will just have to try for yourself and come to your own conclusion as to how it tastes.