What is it? Grilled cheese sandwich
How much is it? $5
Where can you find it? South Street Diner, 178 Kneeland St., Boston. 617-350-0028.
How is it? Nothing special, but just right.
Sometimes it isn't just the food that makes a meal or snack so unique. Sometimes it's the total experience. That's the appeal of the Hub's South Street Diner, just a short walk from South Station.
Step inside and you immediately take a multi-sensory trip back to a classic American era. Maybe it's the wooden coat rack stuck to each booth, or the red-and-blue neon stripes near the ceiling that circumnavigate the place. Is it all the stainless steel around the grill, the old-fashioned "Happy Days" counter stools, or the oversized black-and-white photos of American icons like Louis Armstrong and Marilyn Monroe above the counter?
It's all of the above . . . and more. The South Street Diner is no Disneyesque, intentionally retro eatery. It's the real deal and dates back to 1947. It's a little tattered and worn and features a menu high on heavyweight food and low on the dainty stuff.
Plop yourself on a stool or in a booth, and you'll likely feel like you just stepped into Edward Hopper's classic 1942 all-night diner painting "Nighthawks," which is appropriate since the South Street Diner's primary appeal is to the nocturnal set. Lunch? That's only on the weekends, bub, when it's open 24/7. Otherwise, it's only open overnight from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m.
And that's what makes the $5 grilled cheese so special. What better way to chow down some badly needed calories in the wee hours? The spot makes use of truly grilled (not toasted) bread. It might be Scala bread . . . and it might not.
The sandwich is lightly grilled and features your basic cheese - anything fancy would be all wrong. For an extra half-buck you can also get tomatoes or bacon, and it's very much "diner bacon," meaning you'll likely see plenty of pre-cooked slices in a bin next to the grill just waiting to be warmed up and troughed into some bread.
A big pile of French fries completes the order. And not those prissy, anorexic fries like you get at fast food outlets. These are big, thick, fleshy fries - the kind that would make longtime Boston comic Kevin Meaney declare, "You could put your eye out with one of those things!"
