I travel all over the country and try as many kinds of food as I can find. The one style of eatery I come back to the most often, whether I´m close to home or not, is the classic diner. Diners are all about comfort food. As someone who takes perhaps too much comfort from food, I can relate to this.
A phrase that you frequently see associated with this type of establishment is ‟homestyle cooking.” It isn´t really, of course. If it were truly home style, then you could save ten bucks and eat at home.
‟Homestyle” to me means how you WISH your momma used to make. (Now my mom is Italian, so that´s a whole different concept of homestyle!)
With diners, it´s not just about the food, but the atmosphere as well. A diner is the kind of place where, if you become a regular, it becomes like a second home. The staff and other regulars become your surrogate family.
Any restaurant can give you good service. Waitresses all over will call you ‟hon,” or ‟sweetie,” or ‟sugar pie” (You may have to go a little further south for that one). But when you´re a regular, it´s a different level of comfort. They know your drink order. They know your ‟usual.” If a family member or friend didn´t join you that night, your server will ask about them. Not only do you know your server´s name, but what he´s studying at school in the fall or what she does at her other job. When you find yourself carrying on a conversation with a stranger three tables away just because what they ordered looked good. That´s what being known feels like.
Toni´s Cafe
379 IL-104 Divernon, IL 62530
(217) 414-4272
The place where I feel known more than any other is Toni´s Cafe. It´s technically in Divernon, but it´s at the Auburn exit off I-55, so that can be confusing to someone not from around here. We have been eating here at least twice a month for years.
Back in 2002, we started being fed by the Kasa family back when they were still in business as the Pawnee family restaurant. We were familiar with the location, as it had previously been the site of Little Vinnie´s Pizza, and something I can´t remember before that (Pawnee Foodies, help me out).
Alit Kasa opened Pawnee Family restaurant in 2002. After that, it moved to the site of the old Trucker´s Homestead restaurant, their current location, and was rechristened Toni´s Cafe, after Alit´s older son, Jeton.
After a dispute with the landlord, the Kasa´s moved Toni´s to Auburn, walking distance from Low-Rent Foodie Headquarters (YAY!). However, after a relatively short time at that location, they bought the building they had left, and moved back to the truck stop at Exit 82.
Places like Toni´s are the reason I am known as the ‟Low-Rent” Foodie. This is very basic diner food done well. There are some things on their menu that I just can not get enough of.
First, Toni´s is known for their homemade soups. They serve a different soup each day on a fairly strict schedule with few surprises. My two favorites are Monday´s bean soup, topped with a shot or two of Tabasco…
…and Saturday´s Chicken and Dumpling, shown here with Lasagna.
I rotate between several entrees, but my favorite is the Philly Cheese Steak. As I have mentioned before, the Philly is one of the benchmarks by which I judge all restaurants. This is somewhat ironic, as I have never been to Philadelphia, nor have I ever eaten an authentic cheese steak. But whatever it is they make here in the Midwest and miscall a Philly, that´s what I like.
Toni´s Philly is so big, that it is served open faced. The fries have to go on a separate plate.
As is typical with diners, Toni´s serves breakfast all day. My favorite breakfast is the Omega Skillet.
(LRF Pro Tip: Save room, because you get a soft-serve ice cream cone free after EVERY meal!)
Blue Ribbon Diner
8198 State Route 108 Wauseon, OH 43567
(419)-335-3663
The Blue Ribbon is our go-to when visiting my in-laws. Usually, this is the place we all get together right before Mrs. Foodie and I head home.
The Blue Ribbon was formerly known as Cosmo´s, and Smith´s before that. The name changes, but the faces stay the same, including Deb, who has been a waitress in Wauseon as long as anyone can remember. Deb´s bantering with my wife´s family in her gravelly voice is one of the highlights of the dining experience.
As for the food, in true diner fashion, the menu is large, so whatever mood you´re in, there is likely something to satisfy your craving. I keep coming back to their omelets.
They are large, and SO full of cheese! They get the hashbrowns just right too—crispy, but not burned.
Sweet Basil Cafe
4241 Conestoga Dr. Springfield, IL 62711
(217) 679-2967
https://www.sweetbasilcafes.com/
Some diners are known for simplicity. Others are known for excess, both in selection and portion size. Sweet Basil (aka Home of the To-Go Box) is one of those. Places like this may have a few Greek dishes, but the menu is an encyclopedia of about any kind of food imaginable. We call Sweet Basil, “The Place You Go When You Don´t Know What You Want.” If you have a family that can´t agree on where to eat, you can come here, and everybody can find something.
I had read that doorstop of a menu online before my first visit, so I had an idea what I wanted. Loyal readers will know that I am all about the Cajun food, so I had my sights set on the Jambalaya Omelet.
Sweet Basil describes this as a four-egg omelet with Andouille Sausage, Chicken, Onions, Peppers, a blend of Jack and Cheddar Cheeses and their Spicy Jambalaya Sauce, with a side of toast or pancakes and choice of potato. It was a Sunday, and our Sabbath ritual is to eat one large meal after church, then chill for the rest of the day. I was hungry, so I figured I´d get this omelet with the pancakes and American Fries. I wondered why an omelet cost $14.99. Then they brought me this.
WHAT!?!?!? OK, those pancakes. They aren´t deceptively large, yet light and airy like some places. They are just freakin´ large. That side would be a meal in itself that would break the casual breakfast customer.
And look at that omelet. Four eggs you said? I´d like to see the chicken that laid those!
I ended up having to sacrifice the taters. Even then, I got THREE meals out of this, and you people have seen me eat! Crazy.
In subsequent visits, my wife would frequently order a breakfast with ‟two scrambled eggs,” because it´s more like four. We amuse ourselves by watching the reactions of people eating there for the first time after they have ordered something that we know is going to be big.
I mentioned earlier that Philly Steaks are one of my measuring sticks for any new restaurant that I visit. For my wife, it is the Breakfast Burger. This has as many variations as there are places that serve them, but the one thing they all have in common is a fried egg. If you like your burgers a nice, juicy medium, there´s nothing quite like having in egg yolk run down into all that juice. Yeah, you´re going to want a few extra napkins with that.
Sweet Basil´s version is called It Might Be a Breakfast Burger. It comes with the fried egg, and a slice of ham. Right. A ‟slice” of ham. Look at that picture and tell me that´s a ‟slice.”
Fortunately, there are some lighter things on the menu that you can finish in one hit. I have recently become enamored of the flatbreads.
Oh, and they do have a good selection of Greek dishes as well. If you can´t decide which one to try, order the Greek Combination Plate and try a little bit of everything.
Savory Gyros, 3 Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) topped with Avgolemono (egg lemon) sauce and a pork kabob, roasted potatoes & small Greek salad.
Honestly, this menu is so huge (293 items by my count), there is no way that I could fit everything I like from Sweet Basil into one post. I expect you´ll be seeing more of them in future installments.
Spring Garden
1220 W Springfield Rd. Taylorville, IL 62568
(217) 713-2700
https://www.springgardenrestaurantco.com/
Spring Garden was our traditional place to grab dinner before going to see a movie in Taylorville. At least it was before the COVID debacle.
Taylorville is the kind of a town, and Spring Garden is the kind of a place where it is common to carry on conversations with strangers at the next table. Since they do attract their share of elderly customers, we hear a lot of good stories that way.
Spring Garden is another Greek-Style diner. They belong to the sub-classification of Diners With Tons of Specials. There are so many specials on any given day that they need their own menu.
So you know I´m going to be trying omelets! I am happy to report that they pass muster, especially when accompanied by biscuits and gravy.
AND WOULD YOU LOOK AT THOSE PERFECT HASH BROWNS!
Another dish I enjoy at diners (sadly, Toni´s only serves this in Fall and Winter) is chili mac.
Yes, I know ‟chili” is usually spelled with two L´s around these parts, but my blog, my rules.
Chili mac really works best with elbow macaroni, or something else small like that. In the 217, you´ll find it on anything from ziti to spaghetti. Whatever, man. Chili + noodles + cheese = awesome. I´m not particular about what kind of noodle (though I might be particular about what shirt I wear that night).
Spring Garden really pours on the chili. There was enough left over, that I improvised and made a chili cheese tater with a leftover baked potato that my daughter couldn´t finish.
Their Italian dishes are tasty as well. If you order the tortellini, expect a LOT of them!
Hot Rods 50´s Diner
373 Hannum St. Alcoa, TN 37701
(865) 984-7171
http://www.hotrods50sdiner.com/
My wife and I are reaching the age where retirement is no longer a conversation we put off till later. We don´t know exactly when this is going to happen, but we do know where—East Tennessee, by the Great Smoky Mountains.
Every new home needs a home-away-from-home diner. We snuck out of Illinois during last year´s lockdown and scoped around the area south of Knoxville. I am thinking that Hot Rods is going to be our place.
Hot Rods is more of a classic, blue plate special kind of a diner. They have all sorts of Americana classics, like S.O.S. (free to military on Memorial and Veteran´s Day), and open-faced sandwiches, but it appears they are known mostly for burgers and shakes. I came to that conclusion on account of the fact that there are 85 burgers and 25 kinds of shakes on the menu, not counting specials.
I went with the Beefster, a seven-ounce burger with added roast beef and cheddar. My dessert was a Pina Colada float, which was on special that night. Both were quite good.
So when we retire, if we eat at Hot Rods once a week, then it will take about 4 1/2 years to make it all the way through the menu. I expect they will still be open then, as they appear to be quite popular. My photo at the top of this post is my most popular photo on Google of all time, with 1,846,701 views as of September 28, 2021.
Knowing that I am always seeking out good home cookin´ wherever we travel, and looking at my voluminous photo back catalog, I expect you´ll be seeing more of these diner posts.
What´s your favorite homey, hole-in-the-wall? Go getcha some and tell me all about it in the comments below!