Homemade Heaven Sandwich Shoppe

Located in a strip alongside local business and empty storefronts, Homemade Heaven was a pleasant surprise during a hungry afternoon’s drive along I-80. The booths are well-worn and comfortable, and offer a perfect spot from which to spend a leisurely afternoon contemplating one’s next slice of pie. Homemade Heaven makes its own bread, plus the rolls for its hamburgers and hot dogs. The moveable-letter menu above the cash register lists a variety of lunchtime favorites, and we witnessed two customers attempting (unsuccessfully) to wrangle the secret recipe for the soup of the day. After ordering and paying at the front counter, we were given a plastic number and instructed to sit wherever we liked; our meals were brought by an eminently efficient woman who appeared to rule the territory between the dining room and the kitchen.

We ordered a cheeseburger, which came with fresh toppings on an excellent homemade bun, and a cabbage pocket, which was a greaseless blend of ground beef, pork and chopped cabbage wrapped in homemade bread (the menu also offered a cabbage roll with cheese). This was our first experience with the “runza” genre, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. A little salt and pepper helped bring out the flavors of the cabbage pocket, which went very well with the sweet potato fries we ordered. Homemade Heaven’s version resembled chips more than fries, but they were hot from the fryer and pleasantly crunchy.

Unable to resist a cooler full of homemade pies, we elected to try the strawberry. It was packed with fresh berry slices, and held together with a bit of Jell-O for binding. This mixture was sandwiched in a mild, flaky crust and topped with a swirl of whipped topping. The strawberry flavor remained light and refreshing, without being too sweet. Homemade Heaven is off the beaten track, but we were pleased with the lunch and service, and would recommend it to other travelers on I-80.