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Photographs by Kevin A. Roberts
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For more than 40 years, Diner's Delight has been on South Compton avenue. But a renovation last year brought not only a view of the interior, but also renewed attention to this stalwart server of soul food.
Large windows show off a brightly lighted, spic-and-span interior, an entrance level with a short cafeteria line and a couple of high tables, and, a few steps up, the dining room. Lots of take-out at lunch, with many city workers and public utility employees getting fried chicken and cornbread to go, but also plenty of fans who want a more leisurely lunch at the tables.
We regret not trying the fried chicken, but there were simply too many other things that called to us. Chicken and dumplings, for instance, the juices lightly thickened, the dumplings the tender flat kind that many of us grew up with, and smothered pork chop, its meat almost falling off the bone in an onion-laced gravy. Thursday is meat loaf day (there's a schedule of daily specials on the website), and we made a point of visiting that day so that Joe, the house meat loaf expert, could assess things. Individual meat loaves draped in tomato sauce, a bit of green pepper in the mixture, and a light hit of black pepper as well, perked up the moist beef.
Then there were the oxtails. Once upon a time, 59-cent-a-pound oxtails were a mainstay in this part of town. Now tails, like short ribs, are pricey, and with good reason. Short (or tall) rib lovers and aficionados of osso bucco need to discover that oxtails have the same tender richness. While it's harder to manage a knife and fork on the four large pieces, braised in a succulent brown gravy, it's worth the effort. And if you can eat fried chicken with your fingers, Miss Manners will look the other way if you try a discreet nibble to get the yummiest bits at the end of the bones.
Of course the sides, served in generous portions, also deserve attention. Macaroni and cheese is properly cheesy and not oversalted. The same subtlety attends the sweet potatoes, lightly sweet and with a note of clove. Cabbage is flecked with a few dots of red pepper, not stingingly hot, but providing a little zing. Green beans, too, come from the long, slow school of vegetable cooking. And before we sneer, remember that style began back when more tender varieties of vegetables weren't around. Blackeyed peas, pinto beans, and butter beans all make appearances, too.
Bread, of course, means biscuits, big, layered, soft fellers, or cornbread. The cornbread batter is poured onto a griddle and looks for all the world like pancakes awaiting syrup—not, of course, that some cane syrup wouldn't be good on them.
Always peach cobbler for dessert, but we went for some German chocolate cake and a pound cake with caramel icing. Both were good, but the butterscotch-y icing, laid on with a gentle hand, and the pound cake it rested on were particularly notable, the sort of sweet one almost never finds in restaurants.
Pleasant, encouraging faces behind the counter and bussing tables make everyone feel welcome.
Diner's Delight 1504 S. Compton Ave. 314-776-9570 Breakfast Mon.-Fri., Lunch & Dinner Sun.-Fri. Credit cards: Yes Wheelchair access: Yes, but limited Entrees: $4-$7
by Joe and Ann Pollack
