Stopped by the Depot for breakfast yesterday. Had the B & G. Awful. The worst I've ever had. The oval plate came with two fried eggs on one end, some nice fried potatoes on the other side, and in the middle:two biscuits that were split in two, with a teaspoon of gravy placed on the bottom half and the biscuit top placed on the barely damp bottom half. I'm accustomed to a smothered affair when I order B & G. I even asked for more gravy. I was given a cup holding about two tablespoons. That didn't help much. In defense of the Depot, and I am usually pleased with the place, the cook was someone I had never seen before and was, perhaps, not used to serving B & G. The guy better learn fast.

Tried Depot for the first time Friday night. I was suprised at the small size of the menu for dinner. I had expected meatloaf breaded meat cutlet etc. Menu consisted mostly of sandwiches and the blue plate special (brook trout which was sold out by my 7:30 arrival time), On the outstanding side, special of shrimp bisque, creamy, rich with subtle spicing and strong shrimp flavor. Pot roast sammy discussed ad nausium on this thread still superb (fries awful, should have substituted hash browns). Fresh fried donut holes, the absoulut star of the evening, were rolled in cinnamen sugar and served with chocolate dipping sauce and real whipped cream. Fab dessert that I woild drive for at any time. I live to close to Know about this sweet option.

Hot beef sandwich was good but not very exciting, Tender jucy beef on white bread with top notch mashed taters. Well executed old time dish.

My problem item.

Red Velvet Cake


A regular menu item that looked great. I am fairly certain one uses food coloring to acheive the deep red color of the cake, but chould the batter inlude some sugar or vanilla or some other flavoring? Same problem with the frosting-- stong white contrasting color, No flavor at all seemed almost like straight cream cheese. the whole concoction kind or tasted like a crumbly(sp?) plain bagle with a schmear.

Set me straight if this is how it would taste in a soul food diner in south carolina or a grandmama's kitchen table in Harlem

Babaluch

I hate to tell you this, but that's basically what red velvet cake is supposed to be. A bright red (dyed) batter just slightly flavored with a bit of cocoa, and a cream cheese frosting just slightly flavored with a bit of vanilla.

babaluch wrote:
My problem item.

Red Velvet Cake

I thought the same when I tried the red velvet here. Kinda tasted like it had been around for a day too long - little on the dry side. I was not impressed with the frosting at all, either.

HOWEVER, sometimes, there might be a stinker in the lot. For the price you paid, did you expect to use words / phrases like:
"outstanding"
"superb"
"Fab dessert that I would drive for at any time."
"Well executed"

I can tell you this:
The Red Velvet did not seem up to the regular standards for desserts that I've had from that place. But, if you ever get the chance to try some of his bread pudding with caramel sauce, you will forgive the red velvet cake easily. Donuts + bread pudding, and you will forget about the red velvet cake experience altogether.

A recurring Depot nit:

The last three times in a row I've gone there over the past month, they have been packing up at or before 9 PM when their website and window state closing time at 10 PM. The first time, they seated us anyway and then two other couples arrived at 9:30, and they seemed glad for the business. The last two times, knocks on the window were met with weary headshakes and a quick return to mopping. Yesterday (Monday), they told us by opening the door a crack that they were completely dead throughout the evening and were too bored to continue.

I love this place. I'd enjoy the chance to eat there regularly and introduce more friends and family thereto. But "diner" to me means an off-hour place: come early, come late, come as you are. At the very least, come during the posted hours, and they'll take care of you. I'd love to be able to start my crowd off at Xni-Pec and finish with donuts and phosphates (though they've also been out of seltzer on two occasions) at the Depot, but it seems like I'll need to convene gatherings at 6:30 PM to guarantee service. I'm willing to do it for how good the food and conversation are when they're on, but if anyone can help keep this place humming (and I know they read us and appreciate comments as well as patience), please throw them a bone.

Santander wrote:Yesterday (Monday), they told us by opening the door a crack that they were completely dead throughout the evening and were too bored to continue.

They actually said they were "too bored to continue"?

I was at Navy Pier today, and very hungry as I hadn't eaten anything since the little foods I nibbled at Violet Hour over 14 hours earler, but I walked the entire length of that bad-food zone and found nothing I could bear to put in my mouth.

I was in the mood for a hamburger, so driving home I stopped at Depot for the first time in a while, and had a very excellent burger, hand-shaped meat, nice bun, decent tomatoes, and vastly more satisfying than anything I could have imagined eating at Navy Pier.

I believe the exact quote, after I constructively asked if I should call before I come on weeknight evenings, was:

"Man, I'm sorry. We were just DEAD tonight. Really slow. [pause] Slow. Did you guys come from a long way? We've been just [stretching face down with hand] bored out of our minds. We're not changing hours, do come back, I just can't serve you guys tonight."

I give them the benefit of the doubt; I've had my off-nights as well. I'm going back for lunch next week.

Edit: but since I'm revealing an off-night in such detail, I should clarify that I'm fully prepared to have a dish named after me, or perhaps the "Santander Happy Hour" (a la, JILS Biscuits and Gravy).

Edit: but since I'm revealing an off-night in such detail, I should clarify that I'm fully prepared to have a dish named after me, or perhaps the "Santander Happy Hour" (a la, JILS Biscuits and Gravy).

Nothing like giving fate a little push!

Regards,

One of the more surprising and happy things to happen on LTHForum has been the series of cooking posts made by an American in Sweden posting under the name Bridgestone. Informative, interesting for a peek into Swedish shopping habits, and beautifully photographed, these posts are always a pleasure to discover when they appear.

We met Bridgestone-- aka Jonathan-- his brother Chris (who lives here and really ought to be on LTHForum, if he isn't already), and the three Bridgepebbles this morning at Depot Diner this morning. Originally we had talked about lunch, but then I remembered that we were slated to pick apples in Michigan today with one of the kids' school classes, so I suggested breakfast instead-- and Jonathan, being still on Swedish time with his kids, was all for an early early meetup and the kind of classic American breakfast they don't make in Stockholm, I'm pretty certain. I'm not sure we were up to our most fully caffeinated social selves, conversationally speaking wise, but a round of biscuits and gravy helped make us tolerable company.

Jonathan was incredibly kind to bring us a generous bounty of Swedish booty, including this absinthe-like stuff with which little Oskar apparently chases his rice cereal with herring each morning:



Some sausages (described he said in one of his posts, I don't exactly recall which), and a bag of Swedish candy in assorted shapes such as "false teeth":



Later that day, as we were meeting up with classmates and parents for apple-picking, the conversation turned at one point to the way so many people are getting involved in virtual activities like Second Life, or Club Penguin for kids, and how weird it is to be so involved in that kind of totally artificial social experience with no real-world component. At which point we pointed out that we had had breakfast today with people from Sweden we only "knew" from LTHForum. Yeah, but that's different, the response seemed to be-- that's cool, meeting interesting, likeminded folks from around the world. Well, I think so.

Thanks, Bridgestone & co., for getting us out on Saturday morning to the always-excellent Depot Diner for a non-virtual LTHForum experience, and sharing Swedish treats with us which we will certainly enjoy for a long time to come.

I had a lovely dinner last night at Depot Diner, which has just introduced a new menu with a whole bunch of new stuff on it. Among other things, you can now order fried chicken (which looked great), corned beef hash and eggs, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna or a meatloaf sandwich (which I ordered). I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the new items, so get in there and have a look for yourself.

The meatloaf sandwich features two generous slabs of meatloaf served on an eggy bun, topped with brown gravy and onion strings.

Depot Diner Meatloaf Sandwich


While there, I witnessed young Will, a boy of around 11 years of age, finish off a double cheeseburger. That's a full pound of meat, folks. It did my heart proud to witness such a feat performed by what is bound to be a future LTHer. The kid is skinny as a rail and his mom said that eating that much is not all that rare of an occurrence for the lad, although the Depot Diner folks claim that no one has ever finished a double burger before. His name went up on the chalkboard "hall of fame".

I was also happy to see the GNR award proudly displayed in the window.

Depot Diner GNR Award

Just wondering if there's any new intel on the new menu? Any other must tries? Might be taking a small group of co-workers on Friday for lunch. We'll be in the hood for a wake at a baptist 'chuuch' a little west of there on Roosevelt. These will be folks from Crystal Lake, Lake Zurich, and Cary. I might try and get them to go to La Quebrada, but I have a feeling they'll be more 'interested' in the Depot.

I was there Sunday with my too-late notice lunching partner. But, LTH'er mhl and his sunny daughter Emma were there in a spate of serendipity. I know he spoke highly of the bbq glazed pork chop blue plate special.

My companion and I enjoyed two new menu items. He, the meatloaf sandwich and I the corned beef hash. The meatloaf had good texture (not at all dense) and a balanced, flavor. And don't let Steve's picture make you think it is gloppy with sauce. This one wasn't a least.

I am a new-comer to hash. My few run-ins with it have been pretty forgettable - an overly salty corned beef hash here, a dry ham hash there - but this was spot on. Tasty bits of corned beef with potatoes walking the crispy/creamy tightrope and a nice salt and pepper finish. An over-easy egg and buttered rye bread rounded out a fine 2 PM breakfast.

I finally did donuts and concluded it was too bad I waited this long. The warmed chocolate sauce and whip cream were everything you love about dunking donuts into hot cocoa - only richer. Do not pass up donuts.

Also, on Sunday they had a highly-touted egg nog cheesecake that almost deterred me from donuts. But deterrence was no longer an option.

I used to frequent the incarnation at this location in the late eighties for eggs and grits at 1.99.

As for the present restaurant I have to pile on with everyone else that this is a great spot.

I took two others there for lunch and we had the Ham and cheese which was stacked up high with two layers of meat and cheese and a thick layer of tomato on nicely toasted bread, the burger - a lock for the price, and the turkey plate with homeade potatoes, gravy, and cranberries.

The potatoes were so good we ordered another side.

The bill including drinks was 25 bucks.

Drove past the Depot today around noon. Happy to report that it was standing room only, the entire window ledge was filled with folks waiting for tables.

Well, as noted a few posts ago, I visited the Dd on Fri with a few co-workers for lunch. Maybe even crossed paths with 3rd Coast Foodie? As soon as I walked in, I immediately noticed a semi familiar face: The Xni-Pec guy! Gave him a firm handshake, and wished him continued success after he looked at me a few times with that "I know you." kind of glance. Since I have kind of a long, no work wknd going, I figured I'd set up a e-gallery acct, and try my first hand at food porn. No really earth shattering revelations here, but I will hopefully share some soon.

I'm not really a soda hound, but I am a sucker for a frosty grape or strawberry soda when the time is right. When we first sat down, I looked around to check if they still had the crush bottles. Of course, I had to get one:


After perusing the new menu for the first time, I knew what I had to test. Upthread, I posted that I requested that they offer a turkey rueben. I noticed on the menu that a rueben is now standard issue. I put two and two together, and asked The Lovely Stephanie for a turkey rueben. Without skipping a beat, she quipped "sure, we can make a rueben with turkey, but it wouldn't be a rueben."

Eatchicago would have been proud of her.

I asked what our soup options were after seeing a few bowls of VERY good looking chicken noodle handed out.
Stephanie: "Today we have Shrimp Bisque, and.."
Me: "Done."

I'm not sure they'll have any more of the specific batch that I had, but I can sum it up thusly: the most "rib sticking" soup I have ever had. It was not almost too much, it very simply was too much. I am not small by any means, but there was simply no way I could finish this shallow bowl of thick goodness. My co-workers who all ordered the chicky noodle, were amazed that I pushed the bowl away. My boss commented that it may have been the first time I didn't finish something for lack of "storage." I wanted to finish it, but knowing I would be getting a sammich and, at least one donut, I had to practice self control for the first time in a while.

Creamy, not completely smooth, strong shrimp afterbite, might have been better with a nice subtle note of heat from say, ancho chile, but still far superior than you would assume from any place with the word 'Diner' in its name:


And now, my "Yuppie Rueben" as one of my d/c's declared it:

Bless those who use real turkey!!

D/c's Turkey Club.One word: huge


So, they had pecan pie on Friday. I'm usually a bona fide lock for pecan pie, but the soup ruined me. Of course, however, we shared an order of....

Right, like you didn't know.
Donuts after being on the table for five seconds:


Donuts after being on the table for ten seconds:


And yes, I'm the one who took the spoon and ate the warm mocha sauce straight up afterwards.

I attempted to make a long overdue return for lunch today only to find they were closed. I assume they've taken a holiday vacation.

Finally, after lurking on these boards for so long, checked out The Depot this afternoon and was impressed.

Today's soup was the black bean and, despite the appearance of being too thick it really hit the spot. Tasty without being overly salty.

Next up was the BLT. Very tasty in a standard fashion. Nothing jumped out at me, though. Sandwich size was good. All in all a good showing but the BLT has yet to compare to the BLT at Lula Cafe. Remarkably the best BLT I've ever had and I'm not one of the ones who think Lula is the end-all be-all in cuisine.

Oh, and +1 for cane sugar cokes.

I introduced some more family members to the Depot on Thursday. Dinner was homey and delicious. it was a convivial atmosphere as we occupied the alcove in the back. I was proudest of my two little cousins. Their combined age is less than 14 but they ate the better part of two chilis and two hamburgers between them.

Cute little kid to my left made me try his burger, he liked it so much. They do an honest medium rare with their fresh-ground patties, but I believe this has already been mentioned.

The new-to-me dish was the daily special of split pea soup. My mom waxes poetically about the split pea soup of her youth. She tried to make it from the recipe her mother left her, but gave up due to what can only be described as gross inaccuracies. What is it about grandmothers' recipes? It is like trying to rebuild Rome from the blueprints - all technically correct but missing something deep and resonating. This soup, I imagine, was what my mother loved. It was rich and thick but smooth as a formica countertop. It was smoky, indicating the peas spent a fine time cohabiting with a nicely smoked pork product. This plus a BLT was a fine repast.

All that and we got the last order of donuts. A highly satisfying meal and I made converts of folks who live only about 10 minutes away.

To praise with faint damns, the only downside was the soup came with nary a pretzel roll.

Which only means I'll have to come back

I visited the Depot for brunch recently when I was in town, and while I can't ignore the collective wisdom of this thread based on a single experience...

I was shocked at how bad the food was.

Now, there's a lot to love about this place. From all accounts here, you've got great ownership, the place was clean, service was friendly, and they nailed the diner feel. The menu was quirky and cute. All the production details were great. But the food...

I ordered the Saturday special of biscuits and gravy and scrambled eggs. The eggs were bad, overcooked and underseasoned. The biscuits were bad, dense pucks of dough with little redeeming quality. The gravy was bad...consistency, flavor, not really much sausage at all.

I tried a couple bites of some of the other dishes at table...chicken noodle soup, meatloaf sandwich, I don't recall the other. Also, not memorable.

We finished with a donut, which was fine, but nothing special, except the cute presentation.

Now, if this were a random diner I stumbled across, I may not have taken the time to post. It wasn't surprisingly bad within the world of diner food. A lot of diners put out a thoroughly mediocre meal. Chalk it up to not finding a good one. Given the nature of the praise here, though, my expectations were quite high. My experience didn't meet these expectations.

Aaron Deacon wrote:Now, if this were a random diner I stumbled across, I may not have taken the time to post. It wasn't surprisingly bad within the world of diner food. A lot of diners put out a thoroughly mediocre meal. Chalk it up to not finding a good one. Given the nature of the praise here, though, my expectations were quite high. My experience didn't meet these expectations.

Aaron,

I've been to The Depot a number of times and I've never found the food to be any better than "acceptable" and one meal was not very good at all. It didn't spend much time on my "go to" list and has since fallen off.

That being said, I'm not as much of a diner-fetishist as many others here: I believe that even at its pinnacle, diner food is just o.k.

But, for what it's worth, I'm not too surprised that you're not enamored with the Depot.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:That being said, I'm not as much of a diner-fetishist as many others here: I believe that even at its pinnacle, diner food is just o.k.

While I wouldn't put myself in the fetishist category, I do love a good diner but my diner experiences are almost exclusively limited to East Coast Greek diners. (By that I mean, there's seemingly a certain formula to the straightforward, unfancy food that is prepared by longtime short order cooks quickly and expertly - the buns on the burgers toasted well on the flattop, the pancakes requisitely fluffy, the simple dinner with meat and three veg. It's not transcendent by any stretch, but reliable.) I wouldn't put my one visit to the Depot on par with those experiences.

I've been there once and thought it was very good. However, it was only manned by two guys..one cook, one server. I could see a big crowd coming in and overwhelming the place. I can't fathom how anyone could rank the donuts that I had as merely average.

Welcome, one and all, to the first GNR deconstruction of 2008. Glad to see everyone chiming in now.

/ I keed. Glad to see all opinions. I too will say that the donut is a little eggy for my taste, and one time, there was no coffee flavor in the mocha sauce. Other than that, they've prepared me solid meals every time, including one particularly excellent pot roast sandwich fresh right out of the slow cooker.

The banana bread pudding, donuts, shrimp bisque, and in particular one blue plate special I had of chicken fried chicken steak with crisp steamed broccoli, mashed taters, and the best gravy in a diner I've ever had (it wasn't the brown stuff on the pot roast sammies - it was more of a creamy style, but not 'country') are examples of things I have had from the DD that were FAR superior to any foods I have had in a standard diner - east coast or not. I think the Diner exceeds with some things, but may falter in others - One time the broth for the chicken soup was exceedingly thin - the stock was obviously not slow simmered, but appeared to be just kinda thrown together.

Be that as it may, if in the neighborhood, I still look forward to going in, because their homemade soups usually beat the pants off of the standard foodservice soups most diners are famous for, and I can always be assured that I won't be getting turkey loafon my sammich there. I still dig the place. Have had some really good stuff there for the price.

I went to the Depot this past Saturday. We arrived around 1pm, and had to wait about 20 minutes for a table. As far as I could tell, this is not the norm for the Depot, so I have a feeling that recent press has helped a quality establishment get some well-deserved customers.

Service was extremely friendly. The waitress forgot to bring my chicken noodle soup, but upon bringing our sandwiches to the table realized her mistake and offered to provide the soup on the house. Sandwich plates were large enough that we refused her offer. I had the open face turkey sandwich, which was comprised of obviously homemade, tasty turkey. The side of cranberries was also delicious. Gravy was good, if not particularly memorable, underlying white bread was fresh and obviously not the crappy preservative-laden supermarket type of white bread, and cole slaw was good if perhaps a tad bland. Side of breakfast potatoes (subbed for the regular mashed potatoes) were a quality version. A cinnamon stick lingering in the cranberries (which I consider to be a good thing) was a good example of the care they take with everything they serve. My girlfriend got the potroast sandwich, which I found to be even better than the one I got during our first visit there. Truly slow-cooked beef deliciousness.

At our first visit we split the red velvet cake, and were very tempted to order it again. I saw a few customers ordering the donut holes, though, and remembered the good things I'd read about them here on LTH. All I can say is wow. The fresh-out-of-the-fryer heat, combined with the cinnamon/sugar combined with the rich mocha sauce and whipped cream was WAY beyond any sort of typical restaurant dessert, let alone a dessert at a diner (etched into my memories of diner desserts are pies at New York Greek-owned diners, spinning around the shiny glass case by the host stand, that look good but taste like stale cigarettes). The donut holes were a truly amazing dessert.

With a cup of coffee, our total before tip was just under $20. Even with high gas prices and a ride from Logan Square that was just under a half hour, there was no question that this meal was worth the trip and a hell of a bargain. I almost feel that the word diner demeans this restaurant. Though their menu, at first glance, may seem to have some of the standard favorites, there is nothing standard about the care, freshness, and quality of a meal at the Depot.

Did I mention how much I enjoyed my meal?

LTH,

Met Steve Z at The Depot yesterday, he had a hankering for a reuben and was focused on trying The Depot Diner's version, which, according to his post in the reuben thread he quite enjoyed.

Soup of the day, creamy tomato rice soup, savory, rich, comforting, was the perfect accompaniment to grilled cheese with sliced tomato. Not just any grilled cheese w/tomato mind you, but a triple decker where the cook took the time to lightly griddle the tomato slices prior to putting them in the sandwich. This extra step kept the texture constant and nudged a bit of extra flavor from the winter tomatoes.

Grilled Cheese w/Tomato

Picture by Steve Z


Nice lunch time crowd, they were just featured on Metromix, and the service was friendly and efficient as always.

Enjoy,
Gary

I sent the above picture and description to my husband, hoping that this would be the enticement needed to get him to agree to the trek again. He has a very special history with grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, dating back to a time in a Tennessee diner when the waitress flatly refused to make one for him because the combination of cheese and tomato was poisonous.



I assume said waitress never put ketchup on her cheeseburgers.

Good times at the Depot* tonight. Split pea soup was delicious, with both a fresh pepper flavor (a pureed jalapeno or two?) and a smoky note from good ham reinforced with seasoned salt. Blue Plate special (served on an actual blue plate) was baby back ribs, which were the boiled and sticky kind, not completely falling off the bone, with a homemade tomato-and-honey sauce. Reuben was good but not spectacular - in an effort to show off the house-cure, the beef is cut is a bit thick for my taste, and the bread wasn't perfect (a tad too sweet, thick, and soft), but the stacked combination of flavors and textures is more than the sum of its parts, sort of a Gestalt Reuben. Coconut pie was excellent. Everything continues to taste more homemade than any other "out" place I regularly encounter.

*One friend is affectionately calling it "The Despot" and another a very downstate Illini "Deppit" with the accent on the first syllable and pronouncing the final 't.'

Back to the Depot after a few week hiatus.

Pretty much as I left it, same staff and menu though we did have some awkward food issues which surprised me.

On of the party was veg and we asked if there was anything vegetarian available.
In actuality I was assuming they would offer us something not on the menu since all of the specials had meat in them and all the regular menu options for lunch are ovo at least.
No dice. We were offered salad.

The food was good as usual with the exception of cooking doneness.
Splitting the grilled cheese we noticed the cheese wasn't quite cooked all the way through. Not really a big deal since the tomato slices were notably excellent and a grilled cheeses is not exactly temperature dependent.

Then, having the donuts for desert about half of the donuts were still wet and doughy in the middle, completely uncooked.

I don't really know what the deal was, the place was almost empty and there were no take out orders getting prepared.
Maybe just an off day but I still find it difficult to explain undercooked donuts, that is a first for me.

On a high note the service was great as usual and the chicken blue plate special was dineriffic.

Did anyone see it featured by the Hungry Hound?

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectio ... id=6103414