Eat Rite (Eat Somewhere Else)

The Eat Rite Diner
Cheateau and 8th
Downtown








Soooooo.... I have waited a long time to review the Eat Rite downtown. There are many, many reasons for this but they can be summarized in one phrase:

“I wanted to like it”.

Other then the Courtesy on Kingshighway there is no other diner in town that has the same authentic feel. It looks from the outside like a White Castle, or like an old White Castle, one of the little ones, cut in half, or maybe quarters. It is tiny.
It is also incredibly convenient for me as it is on my way to work and I pass it every day. There were years when I thought of it as being in a “bad” neighborhood until I realized that it is really in no neighborhood at all. Other then Ralston Purina (Nestle) or our Lebanese friends at St. Raymonds there really is not a whole lot going on down in that neighborhood, unless there is a baseball game and then people often park around it.

It has a small yet disasterous parking lot with steep grades and spots that are too small. The place, well, to be pleasant... lit looks like shit. It is formerly a white building but is now caked in dirt. The windows are...dirty. There has been a sign in the window for years saying that they sell 4 Hamburgers for $4.80 dollars. There is rarely more then one or two cars in the lot. There are normally people in there then cars and you get the feeling that some of them walked... and that some of them might have no other place to go. They are open 24 hours which explains some of the patron as they have probably been drinking coffee there since the 3 A.M. bars closed but it is still a little icky. Don’t get me wrong, I like characters but these characters are of the trite, uninteresting (even to themselves) variety. If you are a person who is afraid of dirty, surly people (and I am talking about the staff as well as the patrons) don’t go there.

When you go in you will be impressed (apalled) by what you see inside. There is one excellent griddle, a fridge, a back room with a fan and either one or two nasty looking, women of indeterminate age. These women must live under a bridge near the place. They are not rude, so much as they clearly do not give a shit. Inquiries such as “do you have iced tea” are at first met with silence followed by “only in summer”. She will then look away without inquiring if you want anything else. They will of couse serve you hot coffee without even asking. On the plus side the food is cheap. The food is served quick. The food is greasy. The hash browns are shredded. The food is cheap. They have a pin ball machine that is older then me. They have a juke box that is even older.

But... it is dirty. it feels dirty and worst of all for me...iced tea is seasonal. How can that be. If you are downtown and need the experience, go there. If you need a nice breakfast, served by nice women... go to Bog Ed’s Chili Mac Diner on Pine.
AOL’s City Guide has some nice comments, even compliments:

http://cityguide.aol.com/stlouis/restaurants/eat-rite-diner/v-111714489

The Eat Rite has the slinger... they have cheap greasy food. It is “authentic” but authentic in a sad way. There is very little joy at the Eat Rite.