Live, from Peoria, Illinois, it’s Saturday Night, starring this week’s host, Gil’s Supper Club and featuring special guest stars, Artie, Sandra, Cindy, Ashley and Mike! And now please welcome this week’s host from Hanna City, Gil’s Supper Club!
We’re taking a short road trip this Saturday to Gil’s Supper Club in Hanna City! We’ll be cruising out there with my friends Artie (behind the wheel) and Sandra (in the backseat)! Okay, Artie’s got his vehicle pointed in the direction of Hanna City and it’s off we go. Vroom and vroom!
That didn’t take long! Here we are in Hanna City and there’s Gil’s. It’s been years since I’ve been here and the place looks bigger than I remember! Check out the sign, we got welcomed! I love it when that happens! I can’t wait to try their famous fried chicken again! Let’s follow Artie and Sandra inside and begin this week’s Saturday Night!
Greeting us behind the hostess station is the pretty owner of Gil’s, Cindy Smith! Gil’s was originally opened in 1962 by Gil Morton and Cindy and her husband Mike bought the place back in 1986. Cindy has been running the place herself, since her husband Mike died eight years ago. She told me she was 26 when she and Mike bought the place and she doesn’t look much older than that now! Maybe one of the secret ingredients in the fried chicken is something from the Fountain of Youth! Cindy told us we could grab a table in the dining room, so it’s off we go!
The specials of the evening sound good, but it’s been decades since I’ve had their fried chicken here, so I’m going to try that and see if it’s as tasty as my memory remembers it to be. Ashley is our friendly waitress and there she is serving up our beverages for the meal! After we ordered I got up to take some photos of Gil’s Supper Club on this fine Saturday evening!
There’s a shot of the back of the front dining room and over opposite behind those wooden poles is a full service bar. Very nice and there’s the quartet of beers on tap back there.
The dessert case is up by the bar and everything in here looks so fantastic in here!
Remember how big the place looks on the outside? That’s because it goes on and on in here! There’s another huge dining room off from the front one and while I was taking pictures, this table called me over! It turns out they’re fans of the MBIP blog and let me snap a photo of them enjoying their night at Gil’s! There’s even another dining area behind this one! I hope I can find my way back to the front area!
Whew, I made it back here! This is a waiting area up front and there’s some vintage menus on the wall here, which I love to look at! There’s Cindy pointing to the first menu from 1962! Check out those prices!
Meanwhile, back at our table, it looks like our Saturday Night dinner is beginning to take shape! Gil’s is famous for more than their fried chicken and two of those specialty items are corn fritters and onion rings, so we got a basket of each for pre-dinner appetizers. They’re both made fresh in-house every night and they are so delicious! It’s a great combination of sweet and savory and this could’ve been our whole dinner! But there’s more to come...
And here it is! Ashley shows her skills at serving by balancing all of our dinners on this one tray! Everything looks so delicious!
I got a quarter of the fried chicken which was a huge breast and a leg, Sandra got the country fried chicken and mashed potatoes and Artie also got the fried chicken and in a tribute to Aerosmith, he got all thighs! And we had to get more of the corn fritters, those sugary orbs are addicting!
Dinner was beyond delicious! You can read more about it in the review below, but we all loved our meals! Their fried chicken is just how I remember it and it is so juicy and delicious! As much as we wanted to sample something out of the dessert case, we were too full by the time we were done to have on more bite! That’ll give us a good excuse to come back here!
Located in the same building as Gil’s is their sister restaurant and tavern, The Warehouse. This place is open a little later and is more of a pub type atmosphere. We thought we’d get a nightcap in here and there’s Artie leading the way inside!
The Warehouse deserves a post of its own, so I thought I’d just take a few photos as a teaser till we come back here! The entire Gil’s menu is available in here and I’ve heard the pizza here is amazing! As you can see, there’s a nice dining area here and a large bar opposite the tables.
Here’s a shot from the end of the bar and that’s Mike behind the bar. Mike is Cindy’s son and he runs the Warehouse. You can also tell he reads the MBIP blog as he offers up a traditional two-finger salute! Ha ha ha! As you can see, it’s pretty loose in here and a lot of fun to hang out at!
And as the lights were going out on Gil’s at the end of the night, they even had a nice message for us! Goodnight everybody and we’ll see you all tomorrow!
Gil’s has been serving up fantastic food since they opened up in 1962! The menu is huge and features steaks, fish, ribs, prime rib, burgers and more. They’re known for their homemade corn fritters and tenderloins, but one thing is king here and that’s their signature dish of fried chicken!
The fried chicken is made from a secret recipe that dates back to the beginning of Gil’s back in 1962 and it is so tasty! People come from miles around to have it and once you take a bite, you’ll know why! The outside breading is crisp and tasty, but it’s light and doesn’t overwhelm the chicken. The inside is plump, juicy and bursting with flavor! Eventually you should sample everything on the menu, but if it’s your first time, go for the chicken! And if you have room, get one of those delicious homemade desserts from their bakery case!
SN Rating
Four Galloping Gourmets—Gil’s has been a Central Illinois tradition for decades and the fried chicken is definitely the star of the show here, but everything is homemade, has a country style to it and it’s worth the trip if you don’t live in Hanna City. The atmosphere is fun and friendly and speaking of fun, check out these videos!
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12703 W. Farmington Road
Hanna City, Illinois
309-565-7889
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