Tonight's You Gotta Eat is dedicated to fried chicken lovers.

Eric Shangraw is on the road to Gil's.

It is five o'clock on a Friday night, and there is a traffic jam in the little Hamlet of Hanna City.
Everyone is jockeying for a parking spot on Main Street, trying to get to Gil's.
Owner Cindy Smith, who bought the super club 22–years ago, says many customer have the same meal in mind.

"Fried Chicken. –The only place to get fried chicken, in my opinion," said Smith.

"It is the best–fried chicken you can get in Illinois, I think," said customer Diane Smell.

Gil's also offers gorgeous deserts. The Black Forrest cake is "gi–normous." Three stories tall, or more accurately three layers high.
Cherries, whipped cream in a chocolate fudge cake.
Just the fact that it holds together when getting shuttled into a to–go box is an amazing sight.
Don't miss the opportunity to spend time staring in the dessert cooler.

Every Tuesday through Saturday night, the Gil's atmosphere is casual. The service is tight. The kitchen runs like an army brigade, pumping out the batter coated chicken and fish.

The onion rings come with an extra light slightly seasoned batter.
It is the appetizer photographer Alyssa Honert and I started with for dinner.
We found the rings to be nice and light.
Friday night is all you can eat Alaskan Walleye. I reeled in the Walleye. It came with a side order of freshly steamed vegetables and real mashed potatoes.
The flaky Walleye fillets are hand breaded and then fried until their crunchy.
I squeezed some fresh lemon on mine and then dipped each morsel into tarter sauce.
Terrific.
We finished off our meal with corn fritters. They come coated in powder sugar and remind you of an old fashioned donut.
You don't really taste the corn in the fritter, which Alyssa says is a good thing.
Our biggest mistake of the night, we ate too much. No room for the Black Forrest monstrosity!
If you order what we did, your bill would be thirty–dollars plus tip.
They say to get a better piece of chicken; you've got to be a rooster.
If you're not a rooster, take the hike to Hanna City.

Gil's Supper Club is on Farmington Road or Route 116 in Hanna City.
They are open Tuesday through Saturday evenings starting at 4 o'clock.