Sometimes you just want an old-fashioned breakfast or classic American dinner. Going out for it has more appeal when the meal is prepared in someone else's trusted kitchen.

"We come in and we say hello to half the people in the restaurant because we've all been coming here so long," said Nancy Lanham.

She and her husband, William, often eat breakfast at Seibel's Restaurant in Burtonsville. They know the owners well enough to get a little special attention on occasion. It is not hard to explain why they keep returning after dining here for 18 years.

"I think good food and good service," said William Lanham. "My favorite is the prime rib Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights.

Prime rib, fried chicken, fresh vegetables, homemade sausage and homemade ice cream are all on Seibel's menu. It is a journey through traditional favorites. Most are from recipes created decades ago by Lynn Martins' mother or father.

"The vegetable soup is the way my mom made the vegetable soup back in 1960," said Martins, the restaurant's general manager.

Her parents bought Seibel's Restaurant in 1970. It started off as an ice cream shop on the grounds of a rural dairy in 1939. She and her sister, Karen Leach, now manage the eatery.

Martins still serves most of the ice cream flavors her dad came up with for the restaurant's dessert offerings, like the Deluxe Banana Split for $8.98.

"Everything is built around our homemade ice creams. One of my favorites would be apple pie with cinnamon ice cream," Martins adds.

Families also appreciate the management's awareness of tighter budgets. Specials bring down the price on featured items like shrimp steamed, fried or in fajitas for $11.99 during August. A take-out ice cream cone is also sold for $1.25 this month on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The pies are baked daily, but are one of the few items not made from scratch at Seibel's.

You can get a Hearty Breakfast Sampler with homemade sausage, bacon, eggs, hotcakes and home fries or grits for $11.18. The staff also bakes bread every day for the dinner hour and roasts fresh turkeys.

"All our turkeys come from a local farm in Howard County, so our turkeys are excellent from your hot turkey dinner to your hot turkey sandwich," Martins explains. "It's the real thing."

The popular turkey dinner served with homemade dressing, cranberry sauce and a choice of vegetable is $13.98. With a half-dozen fresh vegetables available daily, vegetarians can get five of them on a sampler plate for $13.62

Seibel's prides itself on offering patrons a personal touch. That includes the atmosphere. The rear patio is available for outside dining away from the traffic on Route 198. Just off the main dining room is an area with large windows overlooking a garden.

"I enjoy the place. I enjoy the people. I enjoy the food. It's the best breakfast in town" said John Watson, a regular at Seibel's. "In the winter, they have a fireplace back here. So, that makes it nice too."

The restaurant serves beer, wine, spirits and specialty cocktails. It is located at 15540 Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville. Breakfast is served daily until 2:00 p.m. Check out Seibel's web page for a look at the menu or hours of operation.