Old Cookstove

If  you should find yourself in Danville, AL, do yourself a favor and plan to head to the Mennonite owned Old Cookstove and eat lunch with Grandma Yoder. You won't be sorry, because this grandma knows how to cook up a spread.

Recently we drove to Oakville to the Chickasaw Trails cross country meet at the Jesse Owens Park and Oakville Indian Mounds. On the way home, we took a little detour in Danville to visit Grandma Yoder. We were just a few minutes before opening, so we waited on the wide porch for Grandma to let us in.

When she did, we went straight to the front counter to pay and be seated.  At the Old Cookstove, you pay before you are seated. For adults the cost is $11.99 and includes an all you can eat hot buffet, salad bar, dessert bar and homemade ice cream.  If you are lucky, you might get treated to some Mennonite tunes while you eat. Occasionally Grandma Yoder and family get together and entertain their guests with a few acapella hymns.

On the hot buffet, I counted at least 20 items, including meatloaf, fried fish, chicken wings, chicken livers, mashed potatoes, gravy, fried okra, field peas, carrots, lima beans, corn, homemade breads and more. My personal favorite is the chicken wings. I don't know what herbs and spices they put on their wings, but they are yummy. I also love the mashed potatoes and gravy. The potatoes are smooth and creamy, just like I like them. Another one of my favorites is a pickled item on the salad bar. I don't know if it is pickled green tomatoes or something else, but I love it. Since the Old Cookstove sells canned jams, relishes and jellies, I thought they might also sell these pickles, but I didn't see them on the shelf. Too bad! I was ready to bring some home. Old Cookstove also has a cookbook for purchase. I think I will pick one of those up on my next visit, especially if the chicken wing recipe is in there.

The dessert bar includes cakes, cobblers, dessert sauces, brownies, trifles, banana pudding and the aforementioned homemade ice cream, still in the churn. You can fill up on sweets, assuming you have any room left after hitting the hot bar and the salad bar.

The cakes look wonderful and I have been told that the coconut cake is particularly delicious, but I can't seem to get past the chocolate cobbler with homemade ice cream and homemade hot fudge sauce. Talk about a chocolate coma!

Chocolate cobbler with homemade ice cream and hot fudge sauce

Homemade ice cream with strawberry sauce

Old Cookstove's famous coconut cake

If you find yourself in Danville, or near Danville or even in north Alabama, make a beeline to Grandma Yoder's. You will not be sorry and you will not be hungry when you leave.

Three Friends and a Fork gives Old Cookstove 3 Righteous Yums UP!