One of the most beloved institutions in Cedar Vale was "Herb's Cafe". The first time I remember this jewel of a cafe (which might be called a diner) was as a young lad. We lived in Winfield, and returning from a visit to my grandparents farm (south of Moline) my dad stopped to order a sack of hamburgers for us to enjoy on the way home.
Almost never did we "eat out" so this special treat lives in my memory. The hamburgers were greasy and just wonderful. My taste buds are tingling just in remembrance of this mouth-watering experience.
When we moved back to Cedar Vale, I was delighted to live close by to "Herb's". My dad gave me a quarter daily to eat at the grade school cafeteria. Instead, Tommy Gordon and I would walk down to Herb's and I would partake of two hamburgers and a bottle of pop. If I needed some ink for school I would have just one hamburger, one pop, and a bottle of ink from "Hankin's Drug Store" for my twenty-five cents. Later, while working at L.C. Adams Mercantile Company I spent my precious break time at this hamburger joint of culinary delights.
It has been said that Herb had early success in his diner and decided to open a "real" restaurant on main street. It was not nearly so successful so he moved back to the diner with seven revolving circular stools and barely enough room for hungry kibitzers to stand.
The chili was thick and could be ordered with or without beans. It seems that I have never tasted such extraordinary chili. Many folks would bring containers to have filled for later consumption of this culinary delight. As I remember, the menu consisted of burgers, chili, beans, and pie.
Herb Marshall was indeed an important and special person in the history of Cedar Vale with his "Herb's Cafe".
10 comments:
The criminal thing is that no one seems to know the recipe for that wonderful chili. I am like you are and always looking for chili that tastes like that did.
I'm informed by the best of sources, Don Cox, that Herb's chili was actually purchased in bricks from the same packing house (Maurer--etc.) as the hamburger. Herb added rolled oats for thickening, plus some other spices (Cumin, is my guess).
Small correction Phil, you can count the stools in the picture on my web site; 7 stools.
Although I have tried for nearly 50 years, I have newer found chili powder that tastes as good. I believe that the meat was pork, with plenty of fat. (or maybe just the fat) The beans were brown beans and you could order a bowl of beans separately. I always added vinegar to the chili. Thanks for the Cumin hint earlier Gary, that helps. Now, if I could find the right chili powder...
Thanks, Jay. I (too) added vinegar to the chili and occasionally added a bit of mustard. One of the stories that I remember my dad telling was that during the darkest days of the depression folks ordering chili in diners would often add much catsup. This would be added prior to and during consumption to increase the volume of the foodstuff.
We add a can of beer to the pot after the chili has cooked for a couple of hours and then let it simmer for another 30 minutes. This adds additional flavor to the chili. Of course it is not as good as Herb's, but still pretty tasty.
Since we're all adding ingredients to the pot, I'll suggest, as I did in my post called "Dining Out in Cedar Vale" on Sept. 7 of last year, that one of the ingredients was almost certainly sugar. There is nothing like a little sugar in a salty dish to make the taste buds pop!
I love to make chili on a cool fall evening, although mine isn't a prize-winning recipe it's pretty good. Anyone want to post their recipe?
Diane's Chili
2 lbs. lean ground beef (or 1 lb.
and 1 lb. ground turkey)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cans tomato soup (or 1 can soup
and 1 can tomatoes or sauce)
A can or two of water
Simmer this mixture as you add one envelope of William's Chili Seasoning (Is this cheating?)
Add two cans of beans - your choice of type. I like dark red kidney beans.
I'm serious! I would like some other recipes. I'm waiting....
I make my chili similar ro yours Diane with a couple of differences.
I like to use ground venison which I get at the Locker plant during deer season. I saute the venison, onion, and a clove of minced garlic, then put everything into the crock pot along with a few dry pinto beans. I let it simmer all night. It may be tweaked with hot sauce, vinegar, or more tomato after the final tasting. I then have a nice meal and plenty to put into containers and freeze. Yum Yum !!
Thanks, Don. Sounds great, and the venison is much better for us than ground beef.
Anyone else have a recipe to share?
There was an interesting history of Herb's cafe in the CV Outlook recently. (I just got the paper yesterday.) If you don't get this paper you are missing something.
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