August 24, 2015
Comfort Food Makes for Warm Memories

Looking back you'll have to agree that Slayton has had its share of fine eateries through the years. Some have reputations that far succeed the life of the establishment, still others have long been forgotten.  If you listen carefully, you may even be able to hear the clank of dishes, or detect the unmistakable greasy aroma of a well seasoned griddle, and wonder where the years have gone.

One of my favorites pots to frequent when I worked in the downtown area during the 80s was the Mint Cafe.  Located within the heart of the town's Broadway Avenue, the Mint was owned by Al and Arlys Husfeldt who worked loving and laboriously in their "mom and pop" diner.  One thing is for sure, Al knew how to cook and Arlys knew the meaning of great service.Their little diner was always bustling and filled with lunch crowds.

Closing my eyes I can still see Al behind the counter, tucked into the tiny kitchen, while Arlys cheerfully waited tables, visiting with each of the cafe's customers along the way.  I can tell you that my favorite thing on their menu there was a hamburger, grilled to perfection in that old fashioned manner not found all that often today.Just sitting in the Mint brought to mind the sort of diner in which Sheriff Andy Taylor might have dined with his sidekick Barney Fife.  

After the lunch rush had subsided and the coffee hour edged its way in, one could hear the unmistakable "thunk" and "tinkle" that mean Al was trowing dice with a few of the regulars. That also meant that quite frequently a round of coffee was on the house when Lady Luck wasn't treating Al so kindly.

Another favorite spot in fairly recent history was the Shady Drive Inn restaurant on the corner of Maple Avenue and HIghway 30.  What brought that to mind was the recent passing of Mary Anne Conway, who along with her husband Ron, owned and operated Ronnie's Dairy Creme on that very spot in the late seventies.Both restaurants were quite popular and iconic to the locals.

Though I didn't have the chance to visit Ronnie's, I recall many a Saturday lunch at the Shady Drive Inn with Deana Swenson at the helm.  It was there that I tasted my first "beef commercial" and fell instantly in love with the dish, which is actually a regional favorite in these parts.  

We all know that on the same site as Ronnie's and the Shady, sits a fine restaurant known as the Grain Exchange that has garnered the roots set by both drive in restaurants and grow up there. 

How wonderful when one eatery dies, that another is born to take its place.  That's what happened with the ever popular Royal Supper club, which was dining at its finest several decades ago in the seventies. That supper club has evolved through the years, at times experiencing growing pains yet surviving and thriving today. From the Royal, it became Chelsey's, then the Royal Loon and today, City Limits.

But what of the many restaurants and eateries that were a part of this town through the years and no longer exist. Surely you have your favorite of your own to tout.  There s a good chance that when you close your eyes to remember, you can almost see the crispy hash browns or the chicken fried steak, or the warm, aromatic apple pie Ala mode that you used to order at one of these diners. It's true that many of these wonderful spots live on vividly in our memories.Perhaps because the sense of smell and taste are such powerful ones.

In my case, it is the vision of aproned Al, master short order cook, or Ronnie in his distinctive paper diner cap, or cook Janet Reinsma calling out from the kitchen with an order to be picked up and delivered to a hungry customer.  Yes, those are the stuff of my dreams, vivid memories for me and they share file space in my mind along with oh so many more memories such as they.