Meat & Two Sides - are cafeterias the new culinary trend?

I am a northern boy, born in Chicago and while I have traveled a bit and lived elsewhere, it was never in any place where cafeteria culture continued to thrive. Sure, I made it to cafeteria-style places - soul food joints on the south and west side, as well as old school cafeterias that have survived in other places, places where they serve sweet tea, and other exotic foods we do not see much around here. Such places always seemed (and usually were) old fashioned, more grounded in the 1950s than the latter half of the 20th century, much less the new millennium. (I am not going to include institutional cafeterias, at work or school or transportation hub, since they are a completely different animal focused on providing slop to a captive market). There are a lot of good cafeterias around the country, but they all seem to have been around forever. The concept was old, out of date, even if it has a certain charm and can offer quite delicious food.

But now I think I was wrong. Cafeterias may just be dining for hard times, falling out of favor during the boom in the second half of the 20th century, and now returning. As I drive around the suburbs, I am now seeing new cafeteria style places where for $10 or less you can get a full meal - meat and two sides, of course - from the daily selections. These are not buffets, pizza bars, or salad bars, where a full-service restaurant complements their table service at certain times, but full-on cafeterias. Grab a tray, slide it around, tell the servers what you want, pay at the end, and find a table.

Some of these places are awful - worse than many of the institutional cafeterias that capture me from time to time. Others are really quite good, and I intend to begin posting on those. But the overall trend of new cafeterias slipping quietly into my slice of suburbia seems pretty clear, and a major change.

My favorite, btw, is a Mexican, barbecue cafeteria in Elmhurst - an intriguing concept to start, and the food is darned good, too. Even more so than the new, and completely mediocre, soul food cafeteria in Bolingbrook, that is the one that made me stop, look again, and wonder whether this is more than just another weird concept. New cafeterias in the Chicago suburbs in the 21st century - who expected that?

Anyone else seeing this?

Hi, what's the name of the mexican bbq cafeteria in Elmhurst? I'm looking for a lunch place for today in that area. Thanks.

dicksond wrote:My favorite, btw, is a Mexican, barbecue cafeteria in Elmhurst - an intriguing concept to start, and the food is darned good, too.

Is this Rosticeria los Fernandez (522 W North Ave)?

I can't say I've noticed this resurgence in cafeterias, but it sounds like something that could catch on in straightened economic times. Manny's, founded 1942.

Thanks David. I think that's the one. A quick keyword search came up with the one on North Ave. Another one that comes to mind is Priscilla's soul food cafeteria in Hillside that's also on the list of places to try.

Where are these new cafeterias in Chicagoland?

Growing up in South Carolina we would take regular trips to Columbia that warranted a stop (preferred by all in my family) to Morrison's in Columbia.

This place had the dessert choices first, then the sides, and then the entrees.

My sister & I always got fried shrimp w/ tartar sauce & french fries. My mother would usually opt for smothered liver & onions, turnip greens, salad, & sweet tea. My father generally skipped dessert & starch for greens & some sort of Surf & Turf offering.

This place was definitely not for those on hard times. It was situated in a good shopping mall.

Wow! What a great memory.

When we visit my husband's family in Texarkana, TX, I always try to cajole a visit to the big cafeteria there (Bryson's? Byron's?). We didn't have cafeterias where I grew up in California, so the experience is pleasingly novel, enough so that the food, which I am told is not a top-notch example of Southern cooking, is almost secondary. Although I do find the food, such as fried chicken, greens, dumplings, and of course giant wedges of pie, to be entirely satisfactory.

pairs4life wrote:Growing up in South Carolina we would take regular trips to Columbia that warranted a stop (preferred by all in my family) to Morrison's in Columbia.

This place had the dessert choices first, then the sides, and then the entrees.

The Morrison's I used to go to in Atlanta back in the 70's had a lady with huge hair who played the organ in the evenings. Glorious times.

David Hammond wrote:

dicksond wrote:My favorite, btw, is a Mexican, barbecue cafeteria in Elmhurst - an intriguing concept to start, and the food is darned good, too.

Is this Rosticeria los Fernandez (522 W North Ave)?

Yes, that is the cafeteria.

Maybe two new cafeterias is only a coincidence and not a trend, thus my question. Heck of a coincidence, though, given that I cannot remember the last time a new cafeteria opened, and the only other one I can think of in the western burbs is Priscilla's. The other one, which is not too great based on two visits, though they offer chicken and waffles which I will sample, is Annette's 1296 West Boughton Road
Bolingbrook. I have a strong suspicion their food is cooked way ahead of time and then just reheated before being put on the line. Not sure where that cooking is done either. That is the only way I can explain roasted fish coming fresh out of the back kitchen and being cold.

I think that the cafeteria definitely has its roots in the south.

In Atlanta, they range from the obscenely bad chain Picadilly, to the better than average "This Is It Soul and Seafood" to the absolutely wonderful, local Carver's Kitchen which serves up heaping portions of home style meat loaf, fried chicken and Mac and Cheese for ridiculously low prices.

One of my favorite barbeque joints in South Carolina while I was in college served its food cafeteria style versus buffet. If you ordered a regular plate, you could go through the line once. If you order the large plate, you could go through twice.

As a kid, growing up in Georgia, my grandmother would take us to the S&S Cafeteria after church on Sundays. We thought it was good food, the chopped steak, canned green beans and pretty good cream pies. We didn't know any better.

Mostly, even the local cafeterias have been overwhelmed by the all you can eat discount steakhouse buffets, a truly horrific display of reheated frozen food that the tasteless and tastebudless line up for in some display of value eating.

Your Pal Will noted:

I think that the cafeteria definitely has its roots in the south.

. . .and southwest. Furr's - founded in New Mexico - has been around for many, many years, and now has locations in six states, all of which are west of the Mississippi. Haven't been to one in years, but they had good desserts, if I recall correctly.

Don't see any trend toward cafeterias. There are a number of old school cafeterias in buildings downtown that seem to have been around forever. My favorite is in the Board of Trade building but there is one in the Continental Bank building too. Maybe many others. Perhaps some will post more of the "hidden cafeteria" culture in Chicago. Passers by would be oblivious but office workers are in the know and eat there often.

sundevilpeg wrote:

Your Pal Will noted:

I think that the cafeteria definitely has its roots in the south.

. . .and southwest. Furr's - founded in New Mexico - has been around for many, many years, and now has locations in six states, all of which are west of the Mississippi. Haven't been to one in years, but they had good desserts, if I recall correctly.

Furr's is still in existence BUT there are two types. The first is the standard cafeteria; the second a buffet format. In general, the cafeteria serves better food but the buffet also is pretty good IF there is a little volume.

I lived on Furr's when I was a starving graduate student but they have pulled out of their Missouri locations. I was truly impressed on how they could turn leftovers into excellent dishes.

As for the standard southern cafeteria chains, they are getting few and far between. Piccadilly's bought out Morrison's years ago. Many of the smaller regionals have gone bankrupt. And if you head to places like Piccadilly's and Luby's, you will see why. The crowd is heavily geared toward the 50+ crowd.

I do NOT equate a cafeteria with a "meat and three" location. The latter generally has a much smaller selection. It was good to see one of my favorite "meat and threes" in the Chicago tribune - Sgt. White's Restaurant in Beaufort, BC - a great plate for $8-9.

This brings back memories. Morrison's at the malls in Florida were very "nice" in their own way. Agree that Piccadilly is usually pretty bad, but there are some enormous exceptions. Some good-eating locals in Baton Rouge insisted that we eat there a few years back for a business lunch. The Louisiana ladies cooking for that particular Piccadilly knew what the hell they were doing. Fried chicken and gumbo if I recall.

The biggest, worst southern cafeteria chain of my youth in Florida was Duff's.

JeffB wrote:This brings back memories. Morrison's at the malls in Florida were very "nice" in their own way. Agree that Piccadilly is usually pretty bad, but there are some enormous exceptions. Some good-eating locals in Baton Rouge insisted that we eat there a few years back for a business lunch. The Louisiana ladies cooking for that particular Piccadilly knew what the hell they were doing. Fried chicken and gumbo if I recall.

Piccadilly got its start in Baton Rouge and, while the original downtown location is gone, I have been to one of the three or so that remain in Baton Rouge in the past year and it is definitely a fair step above the standard Piccadilly or chain cafeteria experience. Lots of localization at that Baton Rouge one -- shrimp creole, crawfish etouffe, gumbo, etc. While no organ player, when we went with my parents on a Sunday over the Christmas holiday, there was a soulful fella belting out Motown classics in a raspy voice accompanied by the smooth stylings of his synthesizer.

Matt: Thanks for the update. Good to know they are keeping up to the local standard. This is the stuff that makes LTH great.

Some of the best cafeteria food I've ever had was at the Highland park Cafeteria in Dallas, which was always on my list of go-to places there, along with Sonny Bryan's. I understand that it's undergone some changes in past years, but it's still there:

http://www.highlandparkcafeteria.com/

In Chicago, a good version of a soul food cafeteria is BJ's Market on the South side:

http://www.bjsmarket.com/

JeffB wrote:This brings back memories. Morrison's at the malls in Florida were very "nice" in their own way. Agree that Piccadilly is usually pretty bad, but there are some enormous exceptions. Some good-eating locals in Baton Rouge insisted that we eat there a few years back for a business lunch. The Louisiana ladies cooking for that particular Piccadilly knew what the hell they were doing. Fried chicken and gumbo if I recall.

The biggest, worst southern cafeteria chain of my youth in Florida was Duff's.

Was Duff's really a cafeteria? I remember it was a buffet in the midwest and most locations closed about 1985 or so. They were pretty bad.

I like cafeterias a lot as they serve a good variety of vegetables which are neglected in MOST restaurants..

Hey-- maybe you are right. I thought Duff's was more cafeteria, less all u can eat buffet, but I now think I was suppressing thoughts of drippy soft serve and corn-laced instant mashed potatoes...

I guess Old Countryt Buffet is the new Duff's.

I dream for a day when Chicago has bbq and soul food cafeterias like Texas. Bbq especially.

I surprised the Automat hasn't made a comeback.

tgoddess wrote:I surprised the Automat hasn't made a comeback.

It has in the East Village in Manhattan. Franchises available.

jlawrence01 wrote:

JeffB wrote:This brings back memories. Morrison's at the malls in Florida were very "nice" in their own way. Agree that Piccadilly is usually pretty bad, but there are some enormous exceptions. Some good-eating locals in Baton Rouge insisted that we eat there a few years back for a business lunch. The Louisiana ladies cooking for that particular Piccadilly knew what the hell they were doing. Fried chicken and gumbo if I recall.

The biggest, worst southern cafeteria chain of my youth in Florida was Duff's.

Was Duff's really a cafeteria? I remember it was a buffet in the midwest and most locations closed about 1985 or so. They were pretty bad.

I like cafeterias a lot as they serve a good variety of vegetables which are neglected in MOST restaurants..

Was Duff's a place that had revolving trays or conveyor belts with the food going by and you grabbed it off? I remember going to one in Tennessee in the 80's while on a camping trip. It was kind of frustrating because the food went by kind of fast and you had to wait until it came around again.

dicksond wrote:New cafeterias in the Chicago suburbs in the 21st century - who expected that?

Anyone else seeing this?

I haven't seen old-fashioned cafeterias, but I do think there's been a rise in specialty buffet chains like the godawful CiCi's Pizza.