I love diners, and the closing of the Ritz's Jefferson Street location hit me pretty hard. Thankfully, two former staff members from Chatham Café decided to go out on their own to open a new diner in the former Jungle Jim's space on Peoria Road. They delivered exactly what you expect – basic but good food at an affordable price.
I hadn't been to Jungle Jim's in many, many years and so don't have a recollection of what the interior looked like. However, I feel fairly confident that the new owners did a substantial makeover. The shades are primarily grey and whites, and the seating looked to have been reupholstered. The flooring is made of tile, which tied in nicely with the half-tiled walls. The seating was a mix of booths and tables.
We arrived at 11:30 a.m. and Fairgrounds Cafe was about 90% full of what mostly appeared to be families and friends out for a good meal. We were quickly seated, given menus and our drink orders were taken. As to those drinks, as all good diners do, Fairgrounds Cafe was obsessive about keeping up with refills. Another thing we noticed with pleasure was that, unlike some of its competitors, the ketchup bottles at each table appeared to be completely full. It's a small thing, but it makes a difference.
About half of the menu is dedicated to breakfast items, including a variety of egg Benedict and skillets. The crab cake Benedict caught our eye, as did the breakfast burrito and steak and eggs. The remainder of the menu is devoted to salads, burgers, wraps and sandwiches.
All sandwiches come with a bowl of soup and fries. Tater tots and a side salad can be subbed in at a small additional cost. The day we visited the soups offered were chicken and dumpling and beef and rosemary. I went with beef soup. It had good flavor, but the orzo was too mushy, an inevitable problem when soup is kept around all day. I still ate the whole bowl and sponged up the residue with the roll that was served alongside.
I intended to try Fairgrounds' chili, but unfortunately, it's not a popular enough dish during the summer months, so Fairgrounds only serves it in the fall. Reason enough to return again.
My guest and I considered the BLT wrap (bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, cheddar cheese and avocado at an added cost), the gyro sandwich (sliced gyro meat on pita bread, topped with onions, tomatoes and gyro sauce on a side), and the hot pork tenderloin sandwich (served with mashed potatoes and gravy instead of fries).
My guest decided to stick with the breakfast side of the menu and went with the bagel sandwich. She's a bit of a picky eater and asked for her hash browns and bacon to be extra crispy – both requirements for a good bagel sandwich. Fairgrounds delivered in both respects, especially with the hash browns. They had that nice darker brown color that provide extra taste and some necessary texture. She also appreciated that it contained two eggs and that the bagel itself had been nicely browned. All and all she advised that each bite had a satisfying mix of creamy, tangy and salty flavor notes.
I went with the turkey club sandwich (turkey, bacon, tomato, lettuce, mayo and Swiss cheese on toasted white bread). I love club sandwiches but can be easily disappointed
when they don't stand up to my expectations. A good club sandwich is a classic tower of flavor and texture, with each layer contributing to a satisfying and balanced bite. Fairgrounds' version more than met those expectations. It was the classic club with thicker slices of turkey, fresh lettuce, ripe tomatoes and crispy bacon for its savory crunch and smokey flavor. It was one of the larger club sandwiches that I've seen in Springfield. I did note that instead of Swiss cheese mine came with American cheese. I was fine either way and actually may have preferred the creaminess of the American cheese. Also, as a pickle lover, I particularly appreciated that it came with a small stack of dill pickle slices in case I wanted to add those to the mix.
The sandwich (cut up in quarters and secured with toothpicks, naturally) were then covered with a very generous serving of fries that must have just come out of the fryer. They had a small amount of coating on them, which I usually don't prefer, but the flavor and texture were spot on.
Fairgrounds is a welcome addition to Springfield's diner scene. With good service, food made with quality ingredients, generous portions and reasonable prices it's not surprising that I've been hearing good things about Fairgrounds. I wish it much success.
