Our waiter couldn’t believe it was my family’s first time at Wright’s Farm.

“You’re kidding me,” said Dan as he scanned our table of 11 this afternoon. “You’ve never been here?”

Nope. Guess it was about time!

Wright’s Farm, located in the village of Harrisville, is a Rhode Island institution that has served up family-style chicken dinners to the masses since 1972. Think the late, lamented Hilltop Steakhouse – only with chicken. (Note: There’s a PA system a la the Hilltop for rounding up diners, but no ‘Numbah 17 for Sioux City.’)

I won’t bore you with how we found ourselves in Little Rhody’s northern hinterlands at lunchtime on a Sunday, but it seemed a shame not to experience this culinary cattle – or chicken — call. No exaggeration. I’m told Wright’s can feed 5,000 people a day on the weekends.

The menu is prix fixe: $11.75 per person for all-you-can-eat baked chicken, salad, pasta shells with marinara, French fries, house-made rolls, coffee and ice cream. If you want to substitute steak, it’s $20. And that’s it. You a vegan? Enjoy the salad.

Drinks are cheap and the service is fast but not rushed. And if you’re looking for privacy, chances are a family from Woonsocket is celebrating Meme’s 80^th birthday at the other end of your table and she’s had a little too much White Zin.

The undoubtedly not free-range chicken, with its rather salty skin, was moist, tasty and plentiful. The salad ain’t field greens – it’s food service-style iceberg, carrots, red cabbage out of the bag with three cherry tomatoes. But the dressing, made with malt vinegar, makes you forget the greens. FYI, bottles are available in the gift shop for $4.49.

“Ya know, iceberg has no nutritional value,” said my brother, Mr. Atlas, who ate very little greenery. That was fine. More for the rest of us.

The rolls – we’re big bread people – were a little on the small side but good. And the cheesy portion of marinara over the shells was rather sweet. That’s not surprising since the base is pizza sauce and crushed tomatoes.

Sources said the French fries, fried in beef fat and partially hydrogenated beef fat, were delicious.  Quelle surprise.  Trans fats? Hell yeah!

The ice cream pie for dessert, made nearby by the Ice Cream Machine, is served in single slice plastic containers. As you might have guessed, they aren’t big on presentation at Wright’s Farm.

The dessert offerings were an Oreo pie and wedges of coffee ice cream pie. I opted for the hockey puck-sized vanilla treat with a chocolate “chicken” in the middle.  How, I ask you, could I pass up ice cream kitch for $1?

Speaking of price, after a round of coffee we got the bill: $203 without tip for 11 people. Jaws dropped.

So if you want to feed a big crowd without breaking the bank, Wright’s Farm is the place. If you like your restaurants to have ambiance, haute cuisine, white tablecloths and a bar without Keno, please, go somewhere else.

Wright’s Farm, 84 Inman Rd., Harrisville, R.I., 02830. Open Thursday-Friday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday noon to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday noon to 8 p.m. Reservations accepted for parties of 10 or more (401) 769-2856. @WrightsFarmRI on Twitter.

Tags: #allyoucaneat, #chicken, #family-style, #LauraRaposa, #restaurantreview, #rhodeisland, #RIeats, #TheFoodsmith, #wrightsfarm