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The Dining Divas

By Lisa Kampeter

I love when I find a unique restaurant for the Dining Divas to try. Put it in a unique neighborhood near the Botanical Gardens, and that’s even better. Put it in an old gas station, well, that’s about as unique as it gets. The Dining Divas went to Old Standard Fried Chicken on Tower Grove Avenue to “filler up”.

This part of town still makes some of the Divas nervous for safety reason, but it was exciting to see the restaurant thriving and very busy. When I first walked into the “station”, I thought the place was undergoing renovations, but I was wrong. The plywood benches and the 2 X 4 “walls” were all a part of the décor. At first, I was bothered by the unfinished look, but then I reminded myself that I was in an old gas station. It features fried chicken. It’s very “blue collar.” It truly is unique.

It’s not hard to decide what you’re going to eat for dinner because you have only one choice, chicken. Deciding how many pieces or what sides to get may be a little harder. The hardest part of all was the price.

The bread basket creation is one not to skip. We ordered a few to share. It came with a couple different biscuits and a few pieces of cornbread, plus our choice of butters, jams, and jellies. The lemon-honey and molasses-pecan butters were fantastic and almost transformed the breads into desserts. Warning: We needed three baskets in order for our group of ten to have some, and it cost $24 ($8 a basket). The bread baskets were the favorite of the night but pricey when bread is typically included in your meal.

I guess when you’re the chef creating your masterpieces with limited space and a limited menu, you like to spread your wings when it comes to the sides you create. Several of the Divas enjoyed a Wedge Salad. The fresh tomatoes, bacon, and delicious blue cheese made a beautiful creation.

The mashed potatoes with chicken gravy were creamy and buttery. The Mac and Cheese had a smoky paprika surprise on top, which was a welcome surprise to some Divas but not to others. Skip the sweet potato. The Disappointed Diva described it as miniscule. The Jail House Coleslaw had corn in it which was an interesting addition.

Many Divas complained that the portions were small. For this Diva, the chicken pieces were the size God meant them to be. The breast was not the size of a dinner plate, thanks to added hormones, as their chicken comes from an Amish farm in Indiana. Although the chicken was very moist, the golden, crispy breading was somewhat bland. Most of the Divas were not impressed with it.

Fried chicken is trendy these days, as well as whiskey, of which Old Standard has an extensive menu. They also have a wide variety of non-alcoholic drinks. It’s just hard to understand how a restaurant that has a hardworking, blue collar appeal to it can be so expensive. And if chicken is your thing, I think it has to have some kind of zing to it. Old Standard definitely gets the business. From what I heard, there’s always a wait, so plenty of time to throw back a little whiskey. And now they are open for lunch.

But as one Diva said, her favorite part of the night and the meal was the company and the sour cherry balls the Valentine Diva shared.

The chicken never had a chance.

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