White Fence Farm

White Fence Farm has fed fried chicken dinners to Route 66 travelers since the early 1920s, when coal heir Stuyvesant Peabody opened the place beside his horse farm on Joliet Road. The Hastert family bought the restaurant in 1954 and still runs the business, now under Laura Hastert. The recipe is a closely guarded one: chicken pressure-cooked, then flash-fried to order, with corn fritters and four relishes on the side and brandy ice for dessert. The sprawling building seats more than 1,000, and the grounds keep antique cars, alpacas and a Route 66 shield monument for families to wander before dinner.

What to know

• The restaurant dates to the early 1920s, and the Hastert family has owned the business since 1954.
• The fried chicken is pressure-cooked and then flash-fried to order.
• Dinners come with corn fritters and relishes: pickled beets, kidney bean salad, coleslaw and cottage cheese.
• The dining rooms seat more than 1,000, and the grounds have antique cars and alpacas.
• Carry-out locations operate in Joliet, Downers Grove and Riverside.