This restaurant is located in what is called the concession building at Morrison-Rockwood State Park. Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Norton are the owners of the restaurant and the bait and tackle shop here. Chuck is a retired engineer.

While we were there, Chuck greeted us to his restaurant. We quickly noticed that this eatery was a local hang out. Then we saw that it was a short order type of eatery. You had the option of dining where the food was cooked or dining in a more formal dining area that overlooked Lake Carlton. We were taken to the more formal area by a server.

We were seated and then given menus. The food they prepare here can best be summed up as American fare. For instance, for the lunch and dinner menu the following is what is available: steak sandwiches, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, breaded tenderloin, grilled chicken sandwich, veggie sandwich, chicken strip basket, BLT, grilled cheese, jumbo hot dog, and shrimp basket.

The sandwiches can also be served with a basket. This meant you got French fries, with choice of cole slaw, pasta salad or potato salad. In some cases, vegetarian and lactose free alternative is available for some entrees. You can also get side orders too such as potato salad, pasta salad, cole slaw, French fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks. ice cream is on the menu too. They serve scoops, shake/malt, and root beer floats. And the drinks available here are Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, orange, root beer, Mr. Pibb, ice tea, coffee and hot tea.

This place also serves breakfast. You can order the Super Marina Breakfast, Marina Breakfast, pancakes, French toast, large biscuits and gravy, small biscuits and gravy, or a bowl of sausage gravy.

The Super Marina Breakfast consists of three eggs, bacon or sausage, hash browns, toast, and coffee. And the Marina Breakfast consists of two eggs, bacon or sausage, hash browns, toast, and coffee.

The Ala Carte items are sausage, bacon, hash brown, one egg, two eggs, toast, or English muffin.

The drinks available for breakfast are coffee, hot tea, juice and milk and there are always fresh, homemade desserts available. You just ask your waiter what dessert is available.

The prices are very economical. For example, the most expensive item on the lunch/dinner menu is the double steak sandwich (USDA Choice 10 ounce) in a basket. The price of this is $11.75. And the cheapest complete breakfast meal is the small biscuits and gravy for $3. When we ate lunch here, Sharon, my partner, ordered a chicken strip basket and I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich in a basket. For under $18, we both could eat here.

The dining experience here was modest, yet delightful! I mean, there were no tablecloths of any kind. If you ordered a meal in a basket, it was served in a plastic basket with a wax like paper underneath it. Your silverware was clean but wrapped in a paper napkin. However, the waiting service was fast and efficient. Along with this, the food we ordered was fresh, tasty, and just enough to fill your hunger. In addition, we enjoyed watching people fish on the docks, while we were eating. We could see families with young children trying to catch crappies and bluegills. And we could actually hear the children (our dining area had a screened-in-like porch) complained to their mothers and fathers their fish weren’t big enough to keep; and still others were jumping up and down that they caught a fish!

I recommend this place to dine at, if you are already visiting this state park or you are out for a Sunday afternoon drive. However, as I illustrated, this place does not have any frills. If you want diner style food and a Ma and Pa restaurant establishment, then you will not be disappointed. However, if you want a more elegant place with tablecloths and fine dining food this is not it!

The Morrison Rockwood Restaurant is located in Morrison-Rockwood State Park. The address is 18750 Lake Road, Morrison, IL 61270 and the phone number for it is (815) 722-3613. This place first opens on April 1 and the hours are 7:00am to 7:00pm. However, these hours are subject to change due to weather, site attendance, etc. Therefore, you should call ahead to the park office or at the concession to make sure it is open.