No fried chicken truly compares to the luscious crispness of the pan-fried bird at Kansas City's legendary Stroud's. But for a real old-fashioned chicken supper that includes terrific side dishes, hot breads and extraordinary desserts, the 64-year-old Galvin's Dinnerhouse (where there are no menus) is in a class by itself. Once patrons are seated in the dining room, servers cluck over them like favored relatives. The meal starts with a cup of soup, followed by a salad and beer-cheese biscuits. Then out comes a big tray loaded with traditional chicken-dinner standards: fried chicken, freshly cut corn, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, and thick slabs of hot bread. For dessert there are home-style sweets -- baked custard, apple cobbler, "baked fudge" topped with a fat scoop of vanilla ice cream. And the prices are so cheap that you won't mind filling up the gas tank to make the 50-minute drive to St. Joseph.
