Big Apple Family Restaurant — Restaurant in Princeton

My husband and I are long haul truckers, so we stopped in recently. parking lot is not large enough for semis, but we got away with parking next door at tractor supply. I was not happy with the chicken fried chicken and gravy, it was all very salty, the chicken was kinda dry, seemed like frozen. I didn't care for the veggie mix, or the salad. The salad was just lettuce, carrot, cabbage, and dressing. No tomatoes. No onion. No croutons. Just very basic. I tried some of my husband's tuna sandwich and the tuna salad was sweet, I think tuna salad should be made with dill pickles, or at least not have sugar in it. I think it also needs chopped eggs. To me, sugar and fish don't go together. The mashed potatoes were very good, not too much salt. They also serve real butter, not margarine, a real plus in my book. I think cornbread or rolls or biscuits would have been nice. Maby they forgot, maby I should have asked. Didn't care for the pea soup, it was too thick. And was very salty. The menu seems a bit too much. I think it should be reduced and revised somehow. I would replace the chicken fried chicken with chicken and dumplings or chicken pot pie, something along those lines. The dining area is a bit older far as decor, but not a problem, it was very clean and the furniture was in very good condition, no holes or ripped upholstery, so I think it's appropriate for a family restaurant. The employees were super nice, the bathrooms were clean. Overall, a good place. I would recommend. I think this place has tons of potential. I'd like to offer up a very good Potato Soup recipe.

I'd pay 4.99 for a cup 9.99 for a big bowl about 2.5 cups With cornbread

Potato soup 10 lbs peeled and chopped potatoes, cut into large 2-in chunks. 2 yellow onions, sliced into rings and separated Cover potatoes and onions with water plus 2 more inches of water Boil til potatoes are fork tender Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream Add 1 stick of real butter Salt and pepper to taste Serve with unsweetened cornbread Offer add ons such as bacon bits Chopped green onion Shredded cheddar On the side

Beef Stew 2 lbs stew beef 2 cartons beef broth Add water to cover if necessary Cook in crock pot about 6 hours on high or until fork tender A food ninja takes about 30 or so minutes so it's quicker but won't hold 2 lbs of meat and 2 cartons of broth When the beef is almost done In a large stock pot Boil 10 lb of potatoes peeled and chopped into big 2 inch chunks and 2 yellow onions sliced into rings and separated Boil until fork tender Pour stew beef from crock pot into potatoes and onions mixture Salt and pepper to taste You can add carrots to the recipe if you want But I dont Serve with unsweet cornbread

Vegetarian vegetable soup One bag of frozen peas and carrots 4 celery stalks chopped one quarter inch thick 48 oz or two cans of petite diced tomatoes 2 chopped yellow onions 1 14 Oz can of corn 10 lb of potatoes peeled and chopped into large 2-in chunks Two 2 lb cartons of vegetable broth 1 stick of butter Add enough water to cover if necessary Boil until potatoes are fork tender Add salt and pepper to taste Serve with unsweet cornbread

Bean soup 15 bean dry beans discard seasoning packet, cook til tender, drain and rinse, or use 4 cans rinsed drained beans 6 pieces diced bacon 10 lb potatoes peeled and chopped into big 2 in chunks 1 24 oz can diced tomatoes 1 bag Frozen peas and carrots 2 chopped onions 1 tbsp jar garlic 1 tsp chili powder Juice from 1 fresh lemon Cover with water + 2 inches & boil til potatoes are tender, salt and pepper to taste

Cornbread

Preheat oven to 425 Fahrenheit Liberally grease an iron skillet or baking pan 9-in diameter Preheat the pan for about 5 minutes

Mix 1 and 1/4 cup of whole milk, 1/4 cup of vegetable oil or Canola, one large egg, then slowly stir in two cups of buttermilk cornmeal mix Pour in to preheated pan Bake for 8 minutes check every 2 minutes after that Bake until golden brown and firm in the center You can put a toothpick in the center & if it comes out clean it's done Slice into eight...

We were looking for a place to eat whilst traveling back home to Iowa, did a search for restaurants, and based on reviews, decided to try this place. WOW!! The food is phenomenal! I ordered the BLT club with soup and onion rings. The soup I ordered was gone for the day, so I decided I'd try the split pea, as it was the only other option. Ozzie (owner) makes the soups - this man knows what he's doing! The soup was very flavorful, but nothing over - powering. It is so incredible, I ordered another bowl! Our food came out, and from there, I dug into my BLT club...this was NOT one of those club sandwiches that is comprised of mostly lettuce, bland tomato, and paper thin bacon. It was proportioned perfectly! The bacon was thick - and abundant - cooked to not quite crisp, but not too chewy. I think the tomato must've come from the owner's own garden, as it was sweetly acidic...as a great tomato should be. And the onion rings! The one thing that stops me from ordering onion rings more often, when eating out, is that after only eating a couple, the coating turns soggy. Not these onion rings! They were the perfect golden color, and crisp until the very last bite!

My fiance ordered a Meat Lover's skillet, and it was stuffed full of meat and veggies...with the perfect ration of hash browns. Many places load skillets full of hash browns, because they're filling and cheap. I think the hash browns were the least used ingredient in the skillet! It was piled up, with 3 eggs on top, and a couple slices of toast. He could barely finish it, due to it being made so generously of quality ingredients!

We finished our dinner off with a piece of hot blueberry pie, and I scoop of vanilla ice cream. A VERY generous slice of pie, and a huge scoop of ice cream. The perfect end to a phenomenal dinner. I don't know when the last time I was that I was this impressed with a restaurant...if ever. THIS is a place to check out, and enjoy.

Yet another great plus? For two people to eat, two drinks (free refills), and a very generous dessert, was $27, before tip!!

We have numerous friends that travel through this area quite regularly, and we will be telling them to stop by and patronize the Big Apple. A gem in our heartland! Thank you Ozzie, and staff, for the incredible food...

My family came here to eat and the waitress got the order wrong 4x today, Saturday July 28th 2023. After requesting the correct order over 4x she continued to bring the wrong order and was problematic as heck and told them “well that’s what I heard so stuff it that’s your food accept it” my dad said no I ordered the western burger with bbq sauce i really wanted that can I have that please and she told him “no. That’s that your done I’ll bring you your ticket stop causing me issues.” My mother said “but we just got out of the emergency room we are tired please can we have our order” My mother just got out of the emergency room for a very bad fall told my mother to “shut up” after asking her order. This is inexcusable behavior and the waitress should be fired for treating people like this. She also made several rude insinuations about my mothers hair and her looks as well as my dads glasses and mocked how he spoke. My Dad has a stutter at times and my mother is ill this is horrible to treat people like this why kick someone when they’re already down this is disgusting and I’m horrified that my sweet dear elderly parents were treated this way when they visited. This is one of their favorite restaurants there’s no need to treat someone this badly there is no excuse rational enough. There was also an older gentleman with a skin condition and the Waitress was horribly rude to him and told him, “you need medication on that skin—that’s disgusting I feel so embarrassed for you.” Like who talks to people like that?!? Please hire better people and fire whomever this horrible lady was because that is...