A Square Meal

Estelle’s in Mount Vernon is a cozy spot with a menu full of soul-warming, belly-filling goodies.

Talk about welcoming. During some particularly nasty weather, I drove from Springfield to Mount Vernon to try a little restaurant on the square that we’d heard had some tasty grub. The warm greeting we got when we walked through the doors of Estelle’s on that day made the trek worth it, and we hadn’t even tried the food yet.

Estelle’s is the kind of place that serves comforting food. Things that are warm and taste like Mom made them. Things like meat with potatoes on the side, whether they come mashed and smooth or fried and ketchup-hungry. The restaurant has bistro tables and old wood floors and window frames (the attractive kind of old, not the old kind of old) make the spread-out space cozy. Under a glass case beside the counter were pies and other pretty, sugary things. Our server was as sweet as all of that. (She wasn’t Estelle; we asked.) She was enthusiastic about the menu, but not in any way that felt like a sales pitch. We asked her which appetizer she recommends, and with charmingly antsy indecision, she told us she just can’t pick. They’re all too good, she said. We went with the hummus ($4.50 at lunch, $4.95 at dinner), which came out warm with some chopped veggies and blue tortilla chips. It was sort of thick and chunky, definitely homemade. The flavor was mild (not a ton of tahini or garlic) but very tasty.

GO Magazine Art Director Kari Engel and I were drawn to the sandwiches rather than the more supper-ish entrée selections. Many of the sandwiches were grilled, and many of them were touted as having a spicy kick. I think a big draw of the sandwich menu for both of us was the option of sweet potato fries as a side, which is pathetically irresistible to me. I ordered the grilled ham and brie sandwich on sourdough bread for $6.50. As I waffled between those tempting sweet potato fries and the regular fries, our server offered to bring me a combo. “Perfect,” I said. “See,” she told me. “I knew what you wanted.” It’s fun when your server wants to take care of you and predicts your cravings. Nice talent. She also had some clever banter with whomever was back in the kitchen. After we ordered our appetizer, she shouted back to the kitchen, “I need an order of hummus.” The kitchen shouted back, “Why would you need that?” The server’s response: “I’m going to give it to somebody out here. To eat.” It was kind of cute.

Ham and brie is a favorite of mine, and I’ve had it served to me a number of ways. At Estelle’s, the sandwich is sort of like a different take on a Monte Cristo. It’s not battered and fried or sprinkled with powdered sugar, but it is hot and served with a side of raspberry jalapeño dipping sauce, much like the fruity condiment that comes with a Monte Cristo (but with that kick the menu boasted). I really enjoyed it, and I don’t even like sweet food. I wound up dipping my fries in the raspberry-jalapeño sauce rather than my sandwich (blasphemous?), and with the sweet potato fries in particular it was like a flavor party. The sweet came first, and the not-too-hot kick showed up afterwards.

Kari had the fish tacos ($6.50) that had breaded and fried cod that was tender and flaky, all piled into flour tortillas with lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream and tons of shredded cheddar.

She enjoyed hers, too, and we both took home about half of our meals. You certainly get a lot of food for little money at Estelle’s. The sandwiches ranged in prices from about $6 on up to around $10. The fish tacos were the priciest, but even those were highly affordable.

Estelle’s only serves the lunch menu Monday through Thursday, but lunch lasts until 7 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, the restaurant ends lunch at 3 p.m.
and opens again with a dinner menu at 5:30 p.m.

If I am in Mount Vernon again, I’ll try the crab rangoon dip appetizer. We saw another table’s order; it comes with wonton chips to dip in the crab rangoon concoction and looked so good.

Everything we tried felt like home cooking with some unexpected clever flair (spicy raspberry sauce, for example), and our server’s attention was like that of a nice aunt. Or maybe more accurately, someone else’s nice aunt who is meeting you for the first time and wants to make sure you are beyond well-fed before you leave her house.


Estelle’s
101 N. Hickory St., Mt. Vernon
417-466-3463
11 a.m.–7 p.m., Mon.–Thurs.
11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5:30–8:30, Fri.–Sat.

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