A Northward Trip to Rachel’s Roadhouse

When we were kids, one of the best weekends of the summer was the weekend our parents took us to the Big Butler Fair. We’ve written about our adventures at the fair before. But what was even *better* than the parade of cows and endless funnel cakes at the fair? Dinner at the Iron Bridge Cafe afterward.

(Okay, it’s actually called the Iron Bridge Inn, but we called it the Iron Bridge Cafe forever and ever, so that’s what it remains in my mind.)

The Iron Bridge Inn is one of a handful of restaurants in a little local-ish chain. As kids, we loved visiting the Iron Bridge ‘Cafe’ and eating their ginormous dinner salads, checking out the taxidermy and enjoying endless mason jars full of root beer. And this year, we have decided to visit not only the Iron Bridge, but its sister restaurants Rachel’s Roadhouse and the Log Cabin Inn as well.

Our journey began (back in March, don’t judge, we’re a bit behind) at Rachel’s Roadhouse in Mercer.

I was happy to see that the mason jar glasses were still around…

…and full of green beer. (Yes, we were there just after St. Patrick’s Day. I know. We’re waaaaay behind on posts.)

The menu at Rachel’s is gigantic. In addition to the regular menu shown in the photo above, there is a menu of daily specials that takes up more than a full page. And from there, we picked our first item:

Deep-fried cheesey cauliflower bites with housemade ranch dressing. Holy cow. Crispy and flavorful and hearty.

While we didn’t go for the entree salads I loved so much as a 9 year old (yeah, don’t ask, I don’t know why chicken salads were so appealing to my younger self who could barely eat anything besides macaroni and cheese and creamed corn), our entrees came with these sizeable side salads. Those croutons are no joke and the greens were ultra-fresh.

For entrees, I got the pork chop. Good pork chops are hard to find on a menu (this was one of the daily specials), and this was AWESOME. Grilled onions on top, perfectly marinated, and those fries were on point.

Michael also went off the standard menu, opting for the daily special of bangers. These were top-notch and cooked to perfection. And the fries with both of our entrees were the kind of fries you dream about.

But the real thing you’re dreaming about? The dessert plate at Rachel’s.

Oh yeah. Feast your eyes on that. There is not a thing on that plate that doesn’t say yummy. I’m sure you can imagine how difficult the decision was…

But at last, we settled on this: a hot fudge cookie sundae that kicked the ass of every hot fudge cookie sundae that ever happened before. Soft and melty chocolate chip cookies, creamy ice cream, heavenly hot fudge, and whipped cream (Michael took the lead on that, whipped cream is not my scene). I would go back to Rachel’s just for this dessert!

Rachel’s was the only one of the Iron Bridge Cafe Trilogy that I hadn’t visited before, and our trip there was excellent. It’s a bit far from the city, but absolutely worth the drive. Great entrees, wonderful side dishes, and dessert that will blow your mind: what’s not to love? We loved our trip to Rachel’s, and if this was any indication of the quality of meals in this restaurant group, we are looking forward to the remaining two stops.