Restaurant Review 2: Hershey's Restaurant

Restaurant: Hershey's Restaurant
Location: 17030 Oakmont Ave, Gaithersburg, Maryland
Rating: Two Hobbits out of Five

We've been eating out a lot lately since our dishwasher broke. The repair has taken a long time... but that's another story.

Thanks to our handy GPS system, we can find lots of new restaurants, and the kids were thrilled to find "Hershey's Restaurant" listed near our home. The road wound through the nearby woods along the railroad. As we drove, the kids speculated about what Hershey's Restaurant would be like. Number One imagined a chocolate buffet. Number Two was certain it would be made of chocolate.

Mother said, "I think this place may have trouble living up to expectations."

However, when we arrived, Mother and I were nicely surprised. The place literally was a whistle stop cafe -- the only other building in sight was the small passenger shelter for the train stop across the road. We entered through the back and made our way through a fairly charming atmosphere: yellow and teal painted decor with lots of nicknacks and a Peter Rabbit mural in the front room.

The food was passable, but the servings were very generous. We all ended up with more than we could eat. The servers were a little slow and frequently bumbled our orders, which proved beneficial to One. The kids all wanted a second soda, but I said they could have water. The server, however brought water for Numbers Two and Three; Number One got a second Sprite much to her glee.

Now came the test. The Ice Cream. When we entered, we'd all noticed a cute Dutch door in the corner with a Hershey's Ice Cream sign hanging over it. The top of the door was open and it looked like there was a little dessert kitchen back there. However, the waitress never suggested dessert, so I asked if they had ice cream. She said, "Just Vanilla." What!? That lost them a Hobbit right there. So we came home for ice cream and saved ourselves at least ten dollars.

Still, Mother and I might go back. Maybe. We still have a lot of other untried restaurants to explore on the GPS.

A little local history: The building for Hershey's Restaurant was built in the 1890's and for about 90 years housed the local post office. It also served as a general store that evolved into a restaurant starting in 1952. It was run by a family named Hershey and (much to the kids' disappointment) has nothing to do with the Hershey Chocolate Company.