130 Broad StreetStill not opting for the Friday night pizza.
My overtime shift took me to southern St. Joseph County a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been to Constantine many times and have pretty much hit all the eateries in the small town.
There are a couple left including the one right on the edge of town. For some reason, I always thought this was a full service sit down restaurant so I never took the time to look at it. If I was going to do that, I really like both Meeks Mills Cafe and The Harvey House.
For whatever reason, I clicked on the Google link to the Town Fryer and noticed, no, it wasn’t a full service restaurant….and they had the kind of food I really like.
Town Fryer is right on the corner of Broad Street and Washington Street (both are US-131 BL) on the north side of Constantine. The small building has been a staple in the small village for decades. It’s for sale at the moment but until then, it’s still cranking out the quick service staples as well as scooping up ice cream.
The building is mostly kitchen which is surrounded by an order counter currently decorated for fall. There are paper menus on the counter as well as an old Coke slide letter menu hanging on the wall.
There a few booths and tables situated on the front wall and around to one side if you’re going to eat in. There’s not a lot of space but they make good use of the space they have and getting a lot of tables in there.
I kept it pretty simple and ordered a Bacon Double Combo meal. I kept the sandwich to just bacon and cheese although they have the usual toppings if you’re not boring. I was going to eat in the car again and I didn’t want anything to spill on me. The cost for the meal was a little under $15.
It didn’t take long for my order to come up. I grabbed the bag and headed out. Choosing to once again, eat on the hood of my car at the job site.
I started with the fries as I was driving. They’re pretty much what I would expect from a place like this. Just frozen crinkle cut fries with just enough salt to make them palatable on their own without any kind of dipping sauce. I wasn’t expecting anything else. There were way more fries stuffed in to the bag than what I was expecting though so that was a pleasant surprise.
The Bacon Double Cheeseburger did surprise me a little bit though. This sandwich was really good. The two, thick, juicy patties were stacked on top of a slice of cheese with the crispy bacon on top. The sandwich was served on a really good, soft, toasted brioche bun. Diner burgers can either be some of the best or some of the worst burgers you’ll find and this was definitely on the best side. You’d be hard pressed to find a similar burger at this price at a quick service restaurant anywhere in the area.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Town Fryer. I got a great, cheap meal before another long night of work. I’ve driven by this restaurant so many times on my way in to Constantine. I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out this is the kind of diner joint that I live for.