The Depot
The Depot isn’t your ordinary greasy spoon: chef-owners Jim Perino and Robert Nava have backgrounds in fine dining. Nava, a Bronx native, conjures a nostalgic vibe at this new space occupying a longtime diner–52 years and counting–in the far-west-side enclave called the Island (because it’s cut off from the rest of Austin by the Eisenhower). The menu offers egg creams–the east-coast specialty made with milk, sugar, vanilla, and seltzer water–and other homey standards like open-faced roast beef sandwiches and chicken salad, and blue-plate specials such as meat loaf or grilled pork chops with country gravy.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Perino labored in his late teens and most of his 20s as a coal miner in downstate Carlinville until he was seriously injured in an accident in the shaft. He’d always enjoyed cooking–his grandma coached him in pie baking, and on weekends he’d whip up Julia Child recipes. He had friends in Chicago, and, searching for a new line of work, he started at Kendall College in the late 80s.
Lasagna had a ricotta filling so fluffy it was practically a light pasta dish; a club sandwich was stacked high with fresh roasted turkey and bacon. For dessert the crowd-pleaser is red velvet cake, a mild, not terribly sweet, deep red chocolate cake with cream-cheese frosting ($3.52).
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photos/A. Jackson.
