"This place is figuratively and nearly literally a million miles from the rest of the dining choices in CU and a great change of pace for those looking for good, down home food prepared in a traditional way. The menu is limited, and specials change from day to day, but you can expect to find fried chicken, pork tenderloin, meatloaf, Salisbury steak, and beef Stroganoff, pot roast and other Midwestern standards. Mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, and corn accompany. They have excellent rolls and serve them with a squeeze dispenser of apple butter, making them ridiculously addicting.\n\nThe eponymous and enormous apple dumplings are divine. Save room, you will not regret it. They are essentially cored apples, stuffed in cinnamony goodness, wrapped in flaky pie crust and baked. They are worth a trip in and of themselves.\n\nThe decor seems a bit odd, but is well-suited to the restaurant. Country effects and pictures of family worthy of awkwardfamilyphotos.com adorn the walls. The walls are light, and the fluorescent lights are bright. Do not expect an intimate or quiet meal, but this works as this is primarily a breakfast and lunch joint (traditionally, farm families eat the biggest meal of the day at noon, and call it dinner, with supper in the early evening). The dining area can be crowded and loud, and there is a huge open entryway into the kitchen, so the curious can literally monitor everything that goes on in the restaurant. All this fits, however, as this is restaurant's honesty is bared for all to see and what is revealed is pure.\n\nWhat separates the Apple Dumpling from other restaurants is not just the menu items and decor, it is the sense of family. Servers, cooks, and other staff are clearly all from the same extended family and/or social group (probably the church across the street). If you happen to be of Midwestern stock they will serve you food that is exactly like what your mother and grandmother made, and that is a big compliment in my book.\n\n5 stars for the food, minus 1 star for a complete dearth of vegetarian and/or healthy options (other than a half-assed salad bar), a smallish parking lot, and limited hours of operation, minus another for no alcohol, but plus a star for the great prices."^^ . . . "4"^^ . "1"^^ . "3"^^ . . "4"^^ . "2009-12-18T00:00:00"^^ .