Alli's Family Restaurant

The building that houses Alli’s Family Restaurant has been around for 80 years on West Chestnut Expressway, on a stretch that’s also known as Historic Route 66.

The site first functioned as a gas station, then as the iconic Seven Gables restaurant. For the past 12 years, owner Ali Khan has carried on the old-school diner tradition at that location.

Alli’s still serves Route 66 tourists, most recently from Germany and Romania, server Tamra Eason said. The restaurant also is ideally located to attract hungry people on their way from Springfield-Branson National Airport.

The menu is stocked with tried-and-true favorites that will sustain motorists driving around town or across the country.

Chicken fried chicken ($7.25): Hand breaded in a batter mix with seasoning salt. The chicken is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Open face beef hot platter sandwich ($5.99): Slow-roasted seasoned beef covered by a chicken-based brown gravy. Mashed potatoes and white bread complete the comfort-food experience.

Grilled chicken salad ($5.50, $5.99 with soup): On the lighter side, this salad has seasoned chunks of chicken on a bed of greens with ranch dressing.

Country fried skillet ($6.99): The value this entrée delivers would be hard to beat. But is your appetite big enough? The dish builds from a foundation of hash browns to include onion, pepper and tomato, topped with gravy, cheese and two eggs. Scattered throughout, cubes of country-fried steak strengthen the edifice. But that’s not all. There’s a side plate of biscuits buried in peppery gravy.

If you’re motoring west, and you stop at Alli’s and devour a country fried skillet, you probably won’t get hungry again until Kingman, Barstow or San Bernadino.

Eason provided additional details about specials.

· Children 12 and under eat free every evening, 4 p.m.-10 p.m. (one child per adult entrée of $6.99 or more).

· Breakfast specials for $3.49 are available 6 a.m.-11 a.m. The rest of the breakfast menu is available any time.

· A steak-for-two special is offered Thursdays and Saturdays, 5 p.m.-10 p.m.: two 8-ounce sirloins and two sides each for $9.99.

· All-you-can-eat specials happen every night.

Alli’s also offers homemade soups ($1.55 cup; $1.99 bowl), lasagna ($6.99) and a long list of sandwiches, including bacon double cheeseburger ($6.49 regular, $7.75 super) and BLT ($4.39-$5.65).