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    The Kettle 217

    4.0 (41 reviews)
    Closed 6:00 am - 9:00 pm

    The Kettle 217 Photos

    THE KETTLE 217 ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - The Kettle 217

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    Grilled tilapia
    Justin P.

    Imagine a small town restaurant in the Midwest. Even if you've never been to one of these types of restaurants before, you will probably have a clear image in your head. Whatever you were thinking, it likely resembles The Kettle 217. This establishment is clearly a staple in Gibson City and is everything you'd want from a local small town business. The restaurant is communal, the atmosphere is casual and inviting and the food is simple, yet comforting. There are plenty of reasons why I consider this one of the best places in town. One thing I like about The Kettle 217 is the optionality. There are a plethora of options on the menu here, with various cuisines available. They serve breakfast all day, sandwiches, soups, salads, and dinners. There is Midwestern food, Mexican options and even Asian inspired dishes. No matter what, you will definitely find something you enjoy. I've had a lot of dishes from The Kettle and my overall sentiment is that the food gets the job done and leaves me satisfied afterwards. I've had a lot of different dishes, nothing overly disappointing! Their chopped steak is a large and hearty meal that I definitely recommend. Their breakfast pancakes are fluffy and warm. The stir fry adds diversity to the menu, but is a bit on the salty side. Their sandwiches are basic and filling. Most of their meals come with soups and there's always a different soup of the day! Their chicken noodle never disappoints. Once you become established in Gibson City, you'll definitely make The Kettle 217 a frequent stop. Every time I come in, I always see someone that I know. The staff are friendly and the prices are cheap. Sounds like my kind of Midwestern spot!

    the outside of the restaurant
    Lan D.

    My family and I were in town to visit our Father, who just had new mission last month. This is my first time at this restaurant. It's nice and clean. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. The customers were so sweet and it seemed like everyone was friends with each other. My daughter had her hood up and this lady went up to her and offered her, her hoodie if she was cold. I MEAN HOW SWEET IS THAT. We ordered our food. I got a the Country Omelet with hash-browns. It was quite a large serving but it was delicious. My family got their food and had to pack up a few things because the servings were large. I had a very great time here. I enjoyed the family-like atmosphere and the food was incredible. I would definitely come back. Side note. The town that this restaurant is in, has NO service unless you have AT&T. We used our car navigation to get here, and it stopped working when we entered the town. We managed to find our way to the restaurant by asking locals.

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    12 days ago

    Really good diner food. The soup was exceptionally delicious! The service was good and fast.

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    4 months ago

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    9 months ago

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    7 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Great family run restaurant. Good prices, good service, good selection. Soups are very flavorful. Plenty of seating. Clean.

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    1 year ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Food was flavorless. No one working counter when I arrived for pick up order. Restaurant / bathroom was clean.

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    3 years ago

    Diverse menu, breakfast all day. Friendly staff. Owners frequently on site. Good food at a fair price.

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    4 years ago

    This is by far the best place to eat or drink in town. Friendly service and the bar has great drinks. The food is all top notch.

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    4 years ago

    This place is heaven!! I definitely recommend, every meal and desert is absolutely amazing! Costumer service is beautiful.

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    7 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Excellent meal every time. I highly recommend this small town restaurant. Great breakfast,lunch and dinner.

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    14 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    13 years ago

    It is crowded on Friday evenings, but the service is quick and friendly. There are five different fish specials, which are great for Lent.

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    5 years ago

    rueben sucks salad is good sweet tea is good french fries and grilled cheese is good so is the dr pepper.

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    7 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Good food great service very good fried chicken, great chopped steak and eggs nice atmosphere average price

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    11 years ago

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    Baxters American Grille - Caesar Salad

    Baxters American Grille

    4.0(230 reviews)
    28.3 mi
    $$

    We had eaten at Baxters before and really enjoyed the atmosphere and wonderful pasta dishes. But…read moretoday we wanted a good steakhouse steak dinner. We started off with shrimp cocktail. It was fine, though the cocktail sauce could have used a little more horseradish. The basket of warm bread and whipped butter was great. And The salads were excellent (we went for a standard greens salad and a Caesar salad). For the main dish, we each ordered a bacon wrapped filet, medium rare, with Brussels sprouts. The filets were prepared as directed, but seemed dry, tough and flavorless. Disappointed. But worse was the Brussels sprouts (one of our favorites). The sprouts were hard, woefully undercooked and crunchy. Not in a good way. The flavor was lost in the rough texture. Very disappointed. The staff seemed a little flustered too. Brought a side a sautéed onions when we'd ordered mushrooms. Too bad, as we had enjoyed our pasta meals before and had expected a steakhouse to perform better.

    So we've been coming here since it opened and in fact had been to its predecessor in St. Louis…read morebefore that. We're pretty familiar with what they used to, and are trying, to be and while we have come to expect lofty goals, it seems like the longer in the tooth this place gets, the more they lose focus. Our most recent Valentines visit reinforced this with some disappointing bar service and a 'special featured' appetizer that took our disappointment to the next level. I get that on a busy night like Valentines, stuff happens, but in this case it was still relatively early (5:30 pm) and they had more than enough employees, it's just that those workers constantly stepped on each other, ignored customers for lengthy stretches, and missed a few details that used to come naturally at this place. Combine that with food delivery confusion and a complete fail on the supposed special feature of "sealed scallops with risotto" app and it left us feeling unfulfilled on what should have been a romantic visit. The next time they offer the scallop app, we strongly suggest they actually do more than wave one side of the scallop over a lukewarm-warm pan (nothing that resembles a 'sear') and figure a way to cut the greasiness of the garlic rice dollops without covering everything in pea tendrils such that you don't notice the lack of sear marks and oily pooling. We give the place three stars based on the still modern and comfortable decor, nice ambiance, robust cocktail & beer selection and the execution of the Tuna Tartare - still one of the lady's favorite bites in town. Perhaps it's just a management/training issue, but it touches both the kitchen and the floor and will hopefully be addressed before our next visit.

    Photos
    Baxters American Grille - Chilled Wine

    Chilled Wine

    Baxters American Grille - Butter cake. Very thin slice that is slightly gooey. But great flavor.

    Butter cake. Very thin slice that is slightly gooey. But great flavor.

    Baxters American Grille

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    Emancipation Brewing Co. - Farmer's Favorite And The Krack Mix

    Emancipation Brewing Co.

    4.9(14 reviews)
    25.4 mi

    Found out about this in the middle of nowhere brewery outside Fairbury. It certainly is one of the…read morefew places around here to get beers or anything it seems. Emancipation is a brewery not a lot of people have heard of because it's not close to anything of course. Has a surprising amount of variety on tap and in cans to go. They may not have a whole lot but everything is full of flavor and quenches one's thirst. Even with it being a smaller brewery it still has quite a lot. It's got several of their own beers on tap along with a few others. There's also more cans in a refrigerator. Has the basics along with a few interesting ones. More than just the IPAs and the usual. It's about $7 a pint. The Farmer's Favorite is the IPA and is a pretty good medium one that's crisp and smooth. Has a few things to snack on here. It's about $3 for the Krack Mix. Basically like Chex Mix but it's made locally. They also will let you bring in stuff. Great place that's pretty hard to find the first time going here. It's located on N. 2500 East Rd. a few miles north of Fairbury surrounded by corn fields pretty much. They're closed Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.

    We love the fact you can find a little beverage get away in rural Illinois. We stopped here with…read moreextended family for a quick drink. Our group had a variety of beverages including a mule, red lager, homemade radler, wine, and even a homemade non-alcoholic lemonade. The ambiance is rustic and comfortable. The bartender was friendly and helpful as our group was sampling a few of their offerings before we landed on our orders.

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    Emancipation Brewing Co.
    Emancipation Brewing Co. - Inside

    Inside

    Emancipation Brewing Co.

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    Lost In Time - Baked goods

    Lost In Time

    4.3(35 reviews)
    21.4 mi
    $$

    Lost in Time is such a charming spot, and they really impressed me with how accommodating and…read morethoughtful the staff were. I came in looking for dairy free options and was so happy to find out they make their oatmeal with no dairy at all. I ordered it with raisins and brown sugar on the side, and it was simple, warm, and exactly what I wanted. If you do want milk, they'll bring it on the side. I also ordered the grilled peach salad, and wow. Perfectly grilled, sweet, and such a standout. The dressing seemed to contain dairy, but the team was very helpful in guiding me and making sure I had what I needed. It quickly became one of my favorite salads I've had in a long time. My husband sampled some of their pastries and said they were delicious. They also had a massive cinnamon roll on the counter, probably close to ten inches wide. I didn't get it this time, but if you're a cinnamon roll person, this is absolutely the place to indulge. They have regular sized ones too if you're not ready to commit to the giant version. The server was so kind, and I think the manager spoke with us as well. She was just as friendly. I also really liked the decor, which gave the place a comfortable, welcoming vibe. And small detail, but appreciated: they have a baby changing table in the bathroom, which I know is a lifesaver for a lot of families.

    I came here for breakfast, as I heard rumors about 1 lb. cinnamon rolls. I can confirm that the…read morerumors are true, and I suspect that Lost in Time offers one of the better breakfasts around small-town Central Illinois. What you can expect: -meals served on antique china -homemade breakfasts and lunches -grab and go meals and sweets, including cinnamon rolls big and small -friendly servers My dining companion was a big fan of her omelet and home fries, especially the not-so-overwhelming portion size. I enjoyed my cinnamon roll and hash browns. My small critique is that the cinnamon rolls aren't served warm. I asked my server to heat mine up, and while she did, it really didn't impact the roll--only some frosting. If I was to return, I would order one to go and reheat it at home...and would I return? Yes, and I already know I want to try to baked oatmeal.

    Photos
    Lost In Time - Baked goods

    Baked goods

    Lost In Time - Grilled peach salad with no dressing

    Grilled peach salad with no dressing

    Lost In Time - Canned food section

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    Canned food section

    Los Caminos - Camarones Yucatan

    Los Caminos

    3.9(31 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    By no means is this the best Mexican food I've ever had, but Los Caminos brings some different…read moreflavors and cuisine to Gibson City, which I can appreciate! In my visits here, I've had a wide range of experiences ranging from mediocre to fantastic. I guess the day you come really matters here! In terms of general authenticity, I think they're fairly authentic! The pollo loco is a fairly safe item to choose from, if you're looking for something simple and tasty. It's basically an ACP, arroz con pollo (rice and chicken). The chicken is typically cooked well and the cheese is gooey and delicious. The rice isn't that impressive in my opinion though. In fact, there was a day when the restaurant was going to be closed for an extended period of time and the rice they served that evening was some of the worst I had ever had. The rice tasted old, the texture was gummy and it definitely wasn't fresh. On the opposite end of the spectrum, their chimichangas are in my opinion, one of their best items. They're fried to perfection, the filling ratio is perfect and the flavors blend together. On my last visit, I ordered the taco salad and I found it to be just okay. The chicken was really salty, but the rest of the salad was fine! I think Los Caminos' weakest quality is the service. They always seem to be stretched thin and that leads to long wait times. However, given the lack of competition in the city, I think Los Caminos will continue to serve the public for a long time. They certainly get the job done!

    Come here if you like salt. That's all this place is. Just salted food with more salt added in case…read moreyou didn't get enough salt with your salted beef. I thought it was a one time thing, but after my third attempt to eat their food and still walking away feeling like I had drank a quart of seawater, I decided enough is enough. The taco seasoning packets they sell at the grocery store produce infinitely better tacos.

    Photos
    Los Caminos - Taco salad

    Taco salad

    Los Caminos
    Los Caminos

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    The Kettle 217 - breakfast_brunch - Updated August 2026

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