Showoff: The Peacock Loop Diner Shakes a Tail Feather

“We really put lots of heart, thought, and money into the Peacock,” said Joe Edwards. “My goal was to create a diner unlike any other in the U.S.”

Mission accomplished. Delmar Loop impresario Edwards’ 24-hour, peacock-themed diner is open, and it is a feast for the eyes – and other parts, too.

The 5,000-square foot Peacock Loop Diner features dramatic U-shaped counters outlined in arcs of lighting that change colors, a la the stairs at his Moonrise Hotel down the street. Huge, lighted ceiling sconces mirror the counters below – and the ceiling seems to lower as the counters and stools gradually rise higher. It’s an effect meant to emulate the feather train of a peacock, and it’s best appreciated by standing outside on the sidewalk and looking in, said Edwards.

The menu is as idiosyncratic as the man. The 50-cent “Olive You Cracker” is literally Easy Cheese and a green olive on a Triscuit.

“The idea is that if a Washington University student is late for class, they can run in and order a few of these and we can make them immediately, and at least they’ll have something to digest right away,” he said.

It’s unreal and a hoot – vintage Edwards, that is.

Breakfast fare includes the “Loop Sling,” a slinger made with spicy, earthy chorizo gravy and served on a waffle base. “Eggs Arnold,” a riff on Eggs Benedict, uses a biscuit bottom rather than an English muffin. A red velvet waffle has a mildly chocolatey taste.

Lunch and dinner choices include a deviled egg-salad melt that actually makes you wonder if deviled eggs shouldn’t be served warm after all. The grilled bread, melted cheese and warmed egg salad really work together. A “Walk of Fame Steak Sandwich” features steak, onions, peppers, cheese and Hollandaise sauce. Other goodies include nachos, popcorn shrimp, burgers, a Monte Cristo sandwich, a “Coney Island Corn Dog,” salads, soups, chili, and various vegan and vegetarian dishes. Everything on the menu may be ordered at any time of day.

The stars of the dessert menu are the house-made pies. Blueberry pie has a winning orange zing to it. Other pies include Candy Bar (chocolate cream and caramel corn in a graham cracker crust), s’mores, pecan, lemon cream and strawberry rhubarb.

The selection of some 17 “Spiked Milkshakes” is noted. “The Furlong” is a blend of Basil Hayden's Kentucky Bourbon, mint, brown sugar, and Serendipity vanilla ice cream, with a cherry on top. It’s creamy and deceptively potent. Other flavors include “Banana Bread,” “Salted Caramel Corn,” “Peanut Butter & Jelly,” and “Wedding Cake Mishap.”

Booze, which also includes craft beers, wine and cocktails, is served til’ 1 a.m. One signature cocktail, the “St. Louis Weather,” is a humorously re-named “Dark and Stormy.”

St. Louis mainstay Kaldi’s Coffee is in the urns.

The menu was created with the input of Eclipse Executive Chef Zach Flynn and Peacock G.M. Rob Mueller, who has also toiled at Blueberry Hill, Edwards said. Eclipse Pastry Chef Beth Hughes helped with pies and such, too.

Edwards has had this one on the works for some time. In fact, he’s been saving the peacock memorabilia that lines the walls for more than 15 years. (And, oddly, he doesn’t use the Internet to track this stuff down. He relies on antique malls and catalogs, he said.)

Perhaps the diner’s strangest moments happen at its best table, the “Peacock Carousel of Love.” This circular booth, when pushed by hand, revolves around to face a curtain, which is then parted to reveal a large, flat-screen TV. Edwards imagines “This Is Your Life”-style revelations where a surprise guest is revealed to the assemblage of diners from behind the curtain, or a dramatic video plays on the TV at the critical moment.

The simple act of being unexpectedly pushed around in a circle while seated cannot help but make you smile.

“I love magic, and this is magical,” Edwards said.

(And if you reserve the Peacock Carousel of Love for an event, up to eight people get Olive You Crackers and Peacock Loop Diner temporary tattoos. “It’s a pretty good tattoo,” Edwards averred. “It’ll stick around for about five days unless you rub it off.”)

Don’t forget the SkeeBall games with soft drinks, milkshakes and T-shirts as prizes for the devoted player.

Then there’s the LEED certification for green businesses, for which the Peacock will apply.

“We’re going for LEED Platinum certification, the highest level, which would be almost unheard-of for a diner,” Edwards said.

Already, the Wash. U. students who live in the adjacent, just-constructed, $80 million Lofts of Washington University dorms are setting up shop at the peacock with laptops. Edwards thoughtfully installed electrical outlets around the counters and booths, and offers free Wi-Fi. The “Finals Breakfast Sandwich” is a tribute to collegiate stress, too.

The “Mews” (a British term meaning an open space enclosed by apartments), the new outdoor plaza just east of the diner, offers a view of employees making pies in the Peacock kitchen.

Finally, no summary of the Peacock would be complete without mention of the show-stopping neon sign out front. The vividly colored, one-ton sign uses more than 650 feet of glass tubing to emulate the look of a peacock fanning its feathers in display. The sign was fabricated by Piros Signs of Barnhart, Mo.; they’ve also created neon signs for Busch Stadium and Scottrade Center. Hope Edwards, the restaurateur’s daughter, had a hand in its look, too.

“Neon is so important for a city,” the elder Edwards said. “The color and the movement. I love being able to look down a street and see all the neon signs at once.”

The Peacock “helps make the Loop a true 24/7 food neighborhood and St. Louis a true 24/7 city,” he added. “Getting United Provisions next door is big, too. Now the Loop has a grocery store.”

Edwards categorized the Peacock as “a place to put your troubles behind you and be happy, if only for a little while.”

That’s an apt description for Edwards’ Tivoli Theatre, Pageant, Moonrise Hotel, Pin-Up Bowl, Flamingo Bowl, and Blueberry Hill, too.

The Peacock Loop Diner

open 24 hours, 7 days a week

6261 Delmar Blvd.

314-721-5555

peacockloopdiner.com