Eat-Rite Diner

Well it’s Dave’s Diner now and they have cleaned the place up. It’s smoke free now so no cook smoking while making your meal. The food is decent and cheap. Cash only.

Eat Rite or Don’t Eat At All!
On my journey to St. Louis, I had to get my hands on another foodie find — the slinger. This is definitely a small, local joint and the customers didn’t seem too friendly. The lady next to me glared as I took pictures and aside from the wait staff, I felt pretty ignored. But they did greet many of the customers by name and no one ever needed a menu. They’d just have the usual.
So I had a slinger, which is considered to be a St. Louis late-​night culinary original. They typically consist of two eggs, hash browns, and a hamburger patty (or any other meat) all covered in chili (with or without beans) and generously topped with cheese (cheddar or American) and onions. Hamburger wasn’t an option so I had sausage and I ordered my eggs runny. With a glass of cold milk to wash it down, I was in heaven! This was probably my favorite St. Louis foodie find of the whole trip. Too bad the people sucked because they would have loved me. Just sayin’. The exterior is a little sketchy, the inside not much better, but this is a very very old establishment of ‘da Lou. Get you some.

Love this place! Work right up the street and have been coming here a long time. The ladies are always sweet. Headed down now… Slinger or the Fried Chicken Dinner???

Ahhhh… Eat Rite Diner… What to say. This place is a Saint Louis classic that has not changed at all in the last 30 years lol. If you go here don’t even bother looking at the menu. Order a Hamburger Slinger with the hash browns well done and the eggs sunny side up. What is a slinger? Well a slinger is a Hamburger, Eggs, hash browns, chili, and onions. I like having them put gravy on this as well because well I figure if I am going to have a heart attack I might as well go all out. The fries here are very good as well. The Jukebox adds a nice touch and is very cheep. No, this is not anything to write home about but it is definitely a place to try!

Sometimes, you just know. And a month or two ago as my friend Steve and I pulled up to the Eat Rite Diner on Lindbergh we just knew we were in for an interesting experience. Perhaps it was the fact that it was sandwiched between a Palm Reading shop and a Paintball store or perhaps it was the flashing lights that surrounded the Eat Rite sign – whichever it was, we knew it was truly going to be a diner-​tastic experience.
Now, I’ve been to a few diners and I feel that I can speak with some expertise on the subject. In comparison to previous diners I’d been to, this one had the same «dirty,» greasy décor. The jukebox in the corner, the stools at the counter, the wood paneling walls, the Cash Only sign on the register. All the components were there.
Then again, one thing was missing – the friendly worker behind the counter. Where a cheerful waitress or kooky clerk usually sat, at Eat Rite there was a stiff haired old broad who literally didn’t speak to us until we ordered. (Perhaps she was upset that the last time Eat Rite won the RFT People’s Choice Award was 1990?) Anywho, despite having to find our own seats, catch menus that were harshly tossed at us, and dodge evil glares that the woman seemed to be shooting at us, we managed to look over the short but sturdy menu that offered 24 hours of breakfast, sandwiches, and burgers.
I decided that, though breakfast was tempting, I would get the burger (with everything on it) and fries. My friend Steve ordered the French toast, eggs, and bacon. It was ready in the blink of an eye, as food at a diner usually is.
Everything ended up looking pretty good – of course, it’s always hard to watch someone cook your food and it seemed especially difficult here. The lady behind the counter (with her long fake nails and frizzy red hair) pretty obviously picked up the majority of our food with her hands. She even set my burger on the counter without a plate… It just seemed unsanitary. Of course, I’m sure this happens at every restaurant in the world, but when you can see it happen… it’s a little different.
Luckily, I don’t mind germs every once in a while… because the food was pretty good. Not the best I’ve ever had but I’d go there again. To be honest, the burger wasn’t anything to write home about. The patty was thinner than the slice of tomato, but it had a good taste and the bun was nice and toasty. One of the shining stars of the whole experience was the large plate of fries that we had. They were pretty perfect; crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, salty, and straight out of the fryer. I won’t lie – we ordered seconds (sorry Club Fitness… I’ll do better next time!).
In addition to the fries from heaven, the cup of coffee that I finished my meal with was also excellent and the jukebox played 5 songs for $ 1. AND, both meals (plus the extra fries) only cost $ 15. Not to shabby for a Friday night.
All in all, I did think that the Courtesy Diner was better (in both atmosphere and food), but I enjoyed the good meal at Eat Rite. Plus, I’ve come to learn that Eat Rite is a St. Louis classic with a catchy little tagline — «Eat Rite or Don’t Eat at All!» So, next time you are looking for a quick, cheap meal, a rude waitress, and an excellent plate of fries – check out Eat Rite and let me know what you think.

Maybe I’m not as American as I thought I was. If you grew up here, you should know what to do at the Eat-​Rite diner. They aren’t trying anything new here. It’s the quintessential American diner. Hollywood could NOT create a more authentic diner than this. I am an American and I can recognize the authenticity of the place, but I didn’t know what to do.
I walked in to see three old men having lunch alone at the counter and three women in matching black dresses. Not the «little black dress» that would be worn to an awards dinner, but the kind with sleeves and an apron that have only ever been worn by a diner waitress. (Were there really aprons, or am I just imagining this? Not sure.) Anyway, there was a special written on a chalk board — bbq burgers — but no other indication of what was served. Now, being an American, I knew they weren’t likely to offer a sashimi platter or lamb vindaloo. I also knew a burger and fries was a very real possibility. But after I sat down and the waitress just walked up and asked me what I wanted, ready to write, I asked for a menu like some manner of foreigner. I guess the regulars usually know what they want and there aren’t a lot of new customers rolling in. No one’s been in to update the tables or put new paneling on the wall, either, but that’s as it should be. All perfectly clean, which it also should be.
So the menu has all the diner basics: Breakfast on the left, lunch on the right. Burgers under $ 2, Most sandwiches under $ 4. Fries are extra — $ 1.75. The fanciest item might be fried mushrooms. All made to order, of course.
I had a cheeseburger and onion rings with a Diet Coke. They were very good. I’ve had a better burger, but never a more authentic diner experience, and that’s what I came for, after all.

This is the only eat-​rite that I have had the pleasure of eating at.
I was a bit concerned at first because it was not free standing like the other locations. It’s located in a small strip mall. However, from the old fashioned lighted sign out front to the time warped décor if you like diners it will welcome you. Let me not forget to mention that this place is super clean.
If you’re going to eat here might as well go all chips in and order a slinger.
What’s a slinger? Well, its eggs, hashbrowns, mini hamburger patties, covered with cheese, chili and topped with onions. Served with toast on the side for control.
To be honest it looks like a «hot mess,» but it is an explosion of flavor to overwhelm your taste buds.
The women working here are the best. If in the area give this spot a visit.

Being a South Saint Louis native, I have never been to this Eat-​Rite location until a couple of weeks ago. I went with a friend and I had large order of biscuits and gravy and a large milk. Wow. Did that hit the spot!
On my next visit, I will ask if I can get my biscuits toasted. I felt the biscuits as-​is were a bit too doughy.
The place was quite clean, contrary to what I anticipated. I liked the wood paneling on the walls and the quarter-​slot physical fitness meter located at the door (photo coming soon!).

Just to be clear, none of these stars are for the food. It’s greasy, heartburn-​inducing slop that will keep you up all night after you stumble home, still drunk. Order the Slinger for the novelty if you haven’t had one yet, then you can nod and look off into the distance wistfully the next time someone else mentions one.
No, the three stars here are for the people watching. Sure, you get a lot of drunk frat boys broing out, but there’s plenty of smoky old drunks, too, and you can get a pretty good game of «Trucker or Homeless?» going most nights. Once a friend of mine even scored a free burger by making out with the 70-​year-​old lady behind the counter.

Ahhh, the home of The Slinger. It always seems like a good idea when you’re completely wasted, but you’ll pay for it the next day!!!

This is certainly the original South County greasy spoon. There is not one thing on this menu that could even resemble healthy. In fact, everything on this menu is utterly artery clogging… and that’s why people love it.
This is the home of the slinger… at least, that’s what I have always been told. If you are from St. Louis, you understand that the slinger is one of those things that you likely tried when you were 20, got incredibly sick, and then spent the next 5 years trying to convince your friends that they haven’t lived in St. Louis (or visited St. Louis) until they have tried it themselves. The difference at Eat Right is you can get sausage gravy instead of chili on it if you so desire… just in case the thing wasn’t bad enough for you. I thank God I am a vegetarian and no longer have to be told I must eat this thing… though delicious, no food has ever made my stomach so upset.
Otherwise, this place has all your diner favorites and they are all fairly tasty. I usually opt for egg and cheese on a butter slathered bagel. No, it’s not health food, but it sure hits the spot after a long night out. Also, open 24 hours… that’s a St. Louis dining experience for you if you ever wanted one.

Greasy Spoon, and I loved it. If you like to go out for breakfast and want to go to a place where people will know your order when you walk in the door this is the place.
I had the basic breakfast fare (eggs, toast, bacon, and hash browns) and it was quite good. There is nothing fancy about this place. If you like simple diners with good simple food, you will enjoy Eat Rite.

In St. Louis, one of the most famous foodstuffs is the slinger. A slinger is eggs, potatoes, hamburger patties, and lots of cheese and onions covered with chili. And, may I add, quite possibly the best thing ever. Only at Eat Rite have I found a worthwhile variation of the famous slinger where they cover the plate of artery-​clogging goodness with sausage gravy instead of chili. For breakfast, or anytime really, it is tasty, savory and salty, and hits the spot. Eat Rite also has the coolest look of all the diners in St. Louis. From the second you sit down, you feel transported to a different time as this place hasn’t been updated since about 1965. And you wouldn’t want it any other way.