For lunch on Wednesday, we walked a block up from the office to Cooke Street Diner on the corner of Cooke and the street where Tyke was shot. We had tried this small corner take-out lunch place the first week they opened. They had taken over the spot left after Mizutani’s Coffee Shop left vacant when they shut down several years ago. At that time, they hadn’t gotten their routines wired yet, but more importantly, I wasn’t really impressed with the food. I thought it was time for another try. In addition to the regular menu, there were over half a dozen specials, including two sandwiches. One of the specials was meat loaf, and I was compelled to order it. Plates came with a choice of white or brown rice, and tossed or macaroni salad. I chose brown rice and tossed salad. If it was a testament to the quality of the food at Cooke Street Diner, the place was full, and there was a steady flow of people arriving and leaving with their orders. I didn’t ask, so I don’t know for sure, but it looks like a family operation with daughter and grandma out front taking the orders and running the register, and dad and someone else back in the kitchen cooking and plating the food. My plate was prepared quickly, and I returned to the office.
There was a generous helping of meat loaf, complete with tomato sauce topping and brown gravy. There were two big scoops of brown rice, a small pinch of cabbage kimchi, and fresh salad greens. Immediately I noticed that either they had forgotten to put dressing on the salad, or I was negligent in putting on my own at the condiment counter near the door. It was fine though. The greens were fresh and tasty, and, yes, they were real baby salad greens and romaine lettuce – not kranky brown iceberg lettuce! The meat loaf was tasty and moist. The gravy was good. Toward the end, I ran out of gravy, but discovered that the last piece of meatloaf was sitting in a pool of clear melted beef fat. Those last few bites had a distinct, heavy flavor because of the oil. The rice was cooked just right as brown rice goes – soft, but still with a good tooth. Overall, I give the plate a B+. Very good quality and value for the $6.23 USD including tax.
Recommended
Three out of four grinning monkeys
0 Responses to “Cooke Street Diner”