Old Log Cabin Restaurant

The menu is straightforward Midwestern diner food, executed at a high level. Breakfast is served all day and includes fluffy pancakes, biscuits and sausage gravy made from a family recipe, hand-cracked eggs any way you want them, and crispy hash browns. The breakfast sandwiches on house-baked English muffins are a particular favorite. Lunch options center on burgers (the hand-formed half-pound 'Old Log Cabin Burger' is the bestseller), pork tenderloin sandwiches pounded thin and breaded fresh, and a daily blue-plate special that rotates through fried chicken, country-fried steak, meatloaf, and pot roast.

The barbecue tradition that the Selotis started in 1926 lives on in the form of pulled-pork sandwiches and barbecue beef plates with a thick, slightly sweet house sauce. The sandwiches come with homemade slaw and a choice of fries, mashed potatoes, or a vegetable of the day; portions are generous and the prices, by Route 66 standards, are reasonable. Soup is made daily and rotates through chili, chicken noodle, beef vegetable, and a remarkable broccoli cheese that locals consider unmissable.

And then there are the pies. The Old Log Cabin's coconut cream pie - a tall slice of vanilla custard topped with whipped meringue and toasted coconut - has become its signature dessert. In rhubarb season (late spring through early summer) the rhubarb pie, made with fruit from local gardens, sells out almost every day; arrive before 11 am to guarantee a slice. Other rotating pies include strawberry rhubarb, peach, apple, cherry, and a chocolate cream that has its own devoted following. Whole pies are available with 24 hours of notice.

The interior of the Old Log Cabin feels exactly the way a 1926 Route 66 roadhouse should: cedar-pole walls darkened by a century of cooking smoke, low ceilings, hand-painted signs hawking long-vanished sodas, framed sepia photographs of the original Seloti family, and the kind of red-vinyl booths and chrome-trimmed tables that have been mended and re-mended for decades. The lighting is warm; the soundtrack is whatever the kitchen radio is playing, often vintage country. Every visible inch of wall is covered with memorabilia, much of it donated by regulars and travelers over the years.

Several large framed photographs document the famous 1940s turn of the building, including before-and-after aerial shots and a wide photograph of the horse teams in mid-rotation with a crowd of onlookers standing in the road. Other photographs trace the Seloti family back to their immigrant arrival, and a small wall is devoted to the various trained animals that lived behind the cabin in the early decades. The most-asked-about display is the original gas pump that stood out front in 1926 and now sits restored beside the door.

Service is small-town friendly. Most of the wait staff have worked there for years, and several of them know the regulars by their breakfast order. International visitors are a regular occurrence and are welcomed warmly; the staff keeps a guest book on the front counter that has logged signatures from dozens of countries. Photographs are encouraged and the staff are generally happy to share the history of the building with anyone who asks. Children are welcome, with a small kids' menu and a basket of crayons by the front register.

The Old Log Cabin sits on Old Route 66 just north of Pontiac, about a three-minute drive from downtown. Take I-55 to exit 197, head west on Reynolds Street, then turn north on the frontage road that follows the original alignment. The cabin is unmistakable - a long horizontal log building set back slightly from the road, with a small gravel lot in front. Parking is free and there is room for RVs and motorcycles, though the lot fills up at peak breakfast and lunch hours on weekends.

Hours are roughly 6 am to 2 pm Tuesday through Saturday and 7 am to 2 pm Sunday, closed Mondays, with seasonal variations - the restaurant occasionally opens for dinner during Route 66 events, including the Centennial weekend in 2026. Reservations are not accepted but the turnover is brisk; even on a busy Saturday morning the wait is rarely more than 20 to 30 minutes. Cash and major credit cards are accepted, and there is a small souvenir corner with Route 66 patches, postcards, and Old Log Cabin t-shirts.

For Route 66 travelers, the cabin is one of the few remaining 1926-vintage roadside businesses that still operates essentially as it always has. It is widely considered one of the must-stop dining experiences in Illinois Route 66, on par with the Cozy Dog Drive-In in Springfield and the Ariston Cafe in Litchfield. The combination of authentic period architecture, family operation, scratch-made food, and that incredible story of being turned 180 degrees by horses makes it impossible to recommend too highly. Come hungry, save room for pie, and ask to see the photographs of the turn.