VENUE INFO

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• Hollyhock Hill

Hollyhock Hill is a family style restaurant located at 8110 N. College Ave.

Family style white chicken dinner, with mashed potatoes and veggies. (Danese Kenon / The Indianapolis Star)

Peppermint ice cream at Hollyhock Hill (Danese Kenon / The Indianapolis Star)

Hollyhock Hill has been a Far Northside Indianapolis staple since 1929, and, while our family hasn't been visiting that long, it has become tradition for us to eat at this farmhouse-style restaurant annually when my brother and his wife visit from out of state.

So we all piled into our cars recently and headed to College Avenue. But we aren't the only ones to make a regular pilgrimage here. Owner Jay Snyder and his wife, Barb, say the eatery has hosted visitors from all 50 states and several foreign nations.

The Food

The menu includes New York sirloin, tenderloins, Gulf shrimp, orange roughy and broiled haddock, but don't kid yourself: Most folks show up here for Hollyhock's classic "country-style fried-chicken dinner" ($17.95). Our party was no different; we all ordered the poultry, paying $2 extra per person for an all-white-meat selection.

First up: simple appetizers, including fresh-cut veggies (radishes, carrots, celery) served with a bowl of nicely mellow, old-fashioned tomato soup. Salad followed, a simple iceberg-lettuce-based offering tossed in Hollyhock's signature sweet-sour dressing. (So popular is this fat-free accent that Hollyhock bottles and sells it.)

At this point in the meal, it's pretty easy to pat yourself on the back for your nutritional virtuousness. It's a fleeting feeling, though, because the main course is the reason everyone is here, and it won't win you any Weight Watchers kudos.

Hollyhock Hill's chef hand-fries, in skillets, generously battered chicken breasts and legs, which arrive at the table fresh from the pan. The catch: This chicken is fried in lard. Yep, lard. And while the diet police would arrest me for this culinary sin, Hollyhock Hill is literally the only place I will eat fried chicken. The meat is flavorful and juicy, and that fried coating is crisp and crunchy -- a perfect poultry combination. (If you're a better person than I, however, you can request that the chicken be fried in special oils.)

This is also about the only place I really enjoy mashed potatoes, served as a side with thick chicken gravy and butter as accompaniments. Any country grandma would be proud of the smooth, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth whipped spuds. Should you have the willpower, you can limit yourself to the more healthful side options of green beans, homemade pickled beets, corn and cottage cheese.

If you have any stomach space left over after this feast, you can choose from a dessert menu of vanilla ice cream with sundae toppings, brownies, peppermint ice cream and sherbet.

The Service

Many of the servers have been here for years, and it shows. They expertly weave their way among tables, keeping the food coming at an efficient pace -- but you won't feel rushed.

The Atmosphere

Eating at Hollyhock is a lot like dining at the residence of a pampering grandmother or aunt, if she were ensconced in a charming white-framed country cottage. Guests sit in one of several pleasant rooms, surrounded by homey art, lace and other accoutrements. Our table featured a large Lazy Susan in the center, making it easy for the six of us to help ourselves to the parade of platters that arrived during the meal.

The Price

$126.88 for six before tip, including coffee and iced tea and tax. Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages are available for an additional charge.

Next Time

It would be really hard to forgo the fried chicken, but if I had a big appetite (and plenty of time for an extra gym session afterward), I'd splurge on the three-way combination dinner ($22.95). That way, I could have breaded Gulf shrimp, a four-ounce tenderloin steak and my chicken, too.

Julie Cope-Saetre / Star correspondent