Delish Diner - Hiding in Plain Sight

Located in what seems to be an old ice cream parlor cum bar on Division just west of Damen, Delish Diner is hiding in plain sight on one of the busier streets in Chicago serving up generally very good versions of straight ahead diner food.





Since it was many degrees below zero when I visited, I started off with a bowl of chicken matzo ball soup.

Delish Diner Chicken Matzo Ball Soup


Although it looks pretty nondescript in the photo, it's actually one of the better bowls in the city. The soup is clearly made from scratch, using real stock and no base or other diner trickery. The matzo ball was as light as a feather and together, they really scratched my Bubbe itch.

I followed that up with a patty melt, which is cooked to temperature (mine was ordered medium rare) and served on seeded corn rye.

Delish Diner Patty Melt


I've eaten here on several other occasions and have always found the food to be a notch above greasy spoon quality, yet still within the acceptable range of an actual diner (as opposed to a concept that is supposed to resemble a diner). Go there when you're hungry. They have a full bar, too.

Delish Diner
2018 W Division St
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 276-5200

You didn’t happen to ask what became of their neon sign (the old Dewey's sign), did you?

Rene G wrote:You didn’t happen to ask what became of their neon sign (the old Dewey's sign), did you?

It's still around. The owner mentioned that he was going to use it in another location, but that was a while ago and I don't remember the details. I'm pretty sure he still has it, though.

Good news. Thanks for the info. I was worried it blew away or something. A while ago I happened to meet the granddaughter (or some relative) of Dewey himself. She was overjoyed to hear the sign had moved and hadn't just disappeared. I hope she got a chance to see it at Delish before it was taken down.