08.21.2009 1:00 pm
12th Street Diner (finally) open! Plus City Diner gossip.
P-D Restaurant Critic and Food Writer
Photo by Gabe Hartwig
In fairness, diner operator Eyad Tammas has had some other stuff on his plate, so to speak, during the on-and-off build out of the space. Tammas also owns Copia Urban Winery, which was gutted by an arsonist at the end of 2007.
And on a purely gossipy basis, one of the most famous diners in St. Louis, the City Diner on South Grand, has long been the subject of a rumor that it would open a satellite in Grand Center, specifically at the southwest corner of Grand and Washington in the Humboldt Building. That rumor got a boost recently when a well-placed source told me that the move hinges on the ability of landlord Fox Associates to vent the space for a full kitchen (and of continuing economic recovery). Stay tuned.
(7 votes, average: 2.71 out of 5)
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Joe Bonwich has been the restaurant critic for the Post-Dispatch since 2002 and has covered the local food scene for various publications for more than 25 years. He does his best to maintain his anonymity so that he isn't recognized in restaurants (which is why his picture looks like it does). 
Just ate there today. My reuben was tasty, but the bottom piece of bread was soggy. Note: Don’t put the sauerkraut on the bottom! The fries were excellent. Too bad about the fire alarm that went off during lunch. I guess stuff like that happens the day after you open?
Good to see it finally open. Was definitely worth another visit.
What are their hours? Their website doesn’t say.
Any news on Copia? Is it still being rebuilt? Looks really slow when I pass by.
For the time being, their hours are varying. They generally open at 11 a.m. and close around 10 p.m. They aim to be open 24 hours in the future!
Copia is on track for a planned Grand Re-opening in late December. Look for a big party on New Year’s Eve, Can’t wait to have Copia back - better than ever!
Absolutely awful. This was one of the worst meals I’ve had in a long time. Seriously, this guy had SO LONG to get this place together, yet the food is some of the worst I’ve ever had.
Listen, if you’ve got two guys in chef’s jackets walking around the kitchen alongside your kitchen staff, you have no excuse for such laziness in ingredient quality or preparation.
I ordered a country fried steak, a diner standard. They had the GALL to serve me a pre-formed, pre-frozen, pre-breaded frozen and deep fried steak. It was like extremely fatty ground beef formed into a steak-like shape and frozen. Are you serious? Country fried steak is one of the easiest things to make properly. There is NO excuse for opening a diner like this, in the location it is, and cutting corners on quality. However, given the quality drop when they bought B&T Pizza, it doesn’t surprise me.
I was also served some (surprisingly good) mashed potatoes, and fairly decent green beans. However, aside from the puddle of deep-fry grease on the bottom of the plate, there was a brown gravy on the potatoes (which tasted so awful I can’t even describe. Super salty, gelatinous) and a really awful, congealed, mix-made white gravy on the “steak”. Tasted really awful. Another thing that’s easy to make from scratch made bad by cutting corners.
The icing on the cake was the ineptitude of the servers we had. They didn’t know anything about the menu items, and couldn’t offer any advice. They also made had NO IDEA HOW LATE THE DINER WOULD STAY OPEN. The exact answer was “Oh, we’re open until something like 9 or 10 now, I think, but maybe 24 hours sometime.”
I would avoid the food at this place at all costs, until they get serious about food quality and quality of preparation.
Am I going to have to come there and show you how it’s done for @#$%’s sake?!
So -J, other than that, how was the food?
Ha ha ha, very funny.
Don’t worry, the others I ate with had equally disappointing meals. Lots of frozen-and-reheated stuff here. Nothing exceptional, especially the service.
Again, a very poor choice by the owner to not take quality into top priority.
Re:J
I went to the diner in the last couple of days as well, but had a much different experience. I spoke with our server for quite some time. She explained to me that this is their soft opening. Right now, they are trying to work out the kinks, take diner feedback and make changes when necessary. Seriously, lighten up. I’m pretty sure a restaurant with Diner in the title doesn’t really need to be a four star place. They are figuring everything out before their grand opening. This is why, as I’m sure you know, being the savvy restauranter that you seem to want everyone to know that you are, they have not advertised the opening or posted regular hours. Give ‘em a break. Plus, I think it is fantastic that we now have a fun and new place to go on Washington Avenue! No one has ever done anything like this and I think the place will be a success once they get everything figured out.