Lemon Drop

Review by: Cliff Strutz

Roadfood restaurants don’t come much more charming than the Lemon Drop. The oldest restaurant in Anderson, Indiana, it features a great looking green and yellow neon sign in the middle of the parking lot. The small rectangular building is painted bright yellow with a tear-shaped sign on the roof. Inside, there are four booths and an L-shaped counter — room for only a couple dozen customers at a time. A toy train runs a constant circle on tracks overhead. Service is lightning fast and small-town-Indiana friendly.

What to eat at The Lemon Drop in Anderson, IN

Burgers

The menu is mostly sandwiches. The toasted cheeseburger is a slim, flat beef patty between two slices of buttery toast, topped by lots of cheese, plus lettuce, tomato, and mayo. It’s delicious, but the beef to bun ratio is slightly askew. Two beef patties give it better balance. The #1 seller is the onion burger, for which onions are cooked directly inside the patty. It’s unusual and a real pleasure to eat.

Pork Tenderloin

Since this is Indiana, I also tried the pork tenderloin. The thinly crusted pork is tender and moist, with minimum crunch.

Milkshakes

Beverages are terrific, including a large roster of milkshakes. My lemon shake was thick, with strong citrusy flavor and a perfect balance of sweet and tart. You can also get different flavored Cokes and phosphates, including cherry, vanilla, lemon, and strawberry.

What To Eat

Milkshake

DISH
Chocolate Coke

DISH
Onion Burger

DISH
Pork Tenderloin

DISH
Toasted Cheeseburger

DISH

Lemon Drop Recipes

Discuss

What do you think of Lemon Drop?

3 Responses to “Lemon Drop”

Shulaine Marrs

May 29th, 2023

Delicious old fashioned cheeseburger on toast just like when my mom took us kids 75 years ago! Love the fries, onion rings are huge. Vanilla coke with crushed ice. Fast friendly service. Of course, the lemon candy at checkout.

Reply

Rocky Enfield

July 28th, 2014

When you get off of US 69 at State Road 109 in Anderson, IN, you come across every chain restaurant imaginable. But, if you head two miles north and hang a left, you will find a little restaurant that will blow the chains away.

A business trip brought me to town and after checking Roadfood.com, I knew that I had to go to the Lemon Drop. What a gem! It is Anderson’s oldest restaurant, founded on January 1, 1954. The interior doesn’t look like it has changed in all that time. It is a local place where you will find food lovers of all ages and all walks of life.

The place is tiny, but that too adds to its charm. I sat at the counter for two reasons, 1) I wanted to watch the efficient and friendly staff at work and 2) it was the only seat available.

I ordered a double onionburger with lettuce, tomato, onion and mayo. The only thing I wish I would have done is order cheese to help hold the burger together (besides a hamburger without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze). The burger came to me in a matter of minutes fresh off the flat top with the steam still rising off of it. The burger patties had a nice amount of sear on them to give a crunch but definitely not burnt. Very good!

The onion rings were high quality but not hand cut and battered. The chocolate milkshake was outstanding. Thick, rich, chocolatey and perfectly balanced. Not too sweet, not too chocolatey and not too thick. It was a welcome addition to cool down my mouth from my steaming hot food.

If you find yourself in Anderson, make sure you check out the Lemon Drop. You’ll be glad you did.

Reply

r j lehman

August 22nd, 2013

We had a little trouble finding the place — it’s on a lesser road by the railroad tracks. Very picturesque, as it turned out. And very small — only two regular booths, one corner booth, a mini (two-seater), and some (unusually comfortable) counter stools.

My wife made the better choices. She had the lemon milk shake and the onion burger, both of them first rate: the shake was the best shake of any kind I’ve ever had, and the onion burger was no slouch either. I had the pork tenderloin and onion rings. The tenderloin looked — and tasted — as though it had been frozen in a factory where parts were just parts. The rings were good, crispy and tasty.

The place was clean and decorated with 50’s items and includes a large gauge train that runs around near the ceiling. The staff was friendly, helpful and efficient. (And so young!) We’ll be back the next time we go to Indy.

p.s. The lemon shake looked just like the picture on this page.

Reply

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