A "Stick To Your Bone" menu

Do you remember "Cheers" from tv? "Where Everybody Knows Your Name"? Today I'm NOT writing about a bar, but a home-style country kitchen. Where everybody knows your name...

Right after lunch hour I visit the local diner in Elkton, a small town near the Minnesota state line. It is the home town of Norma Lynn; the new owner of "The Elk Cafe" since March 3rd, 2014.

Card Players

Norma serves daily breakfast and lunch. Her customers: farmers, other local and area people. You will feel welcome wearing your work clothes, t-shirt, jeans. Business casual oddballs with foreign accents like me are welcome too. I'm greeted by other customers and staff. They are visiting. You can also watch tv. This cafe is "off the beaten path", not located on a highway, not in Elkton's main street. No advertising. She named it after the diner her aunt and mother ran in the eighties in main street. Although a new owner, Norma is not a newbie in the restaurant business. She has worked here for years. Her customer base is steadily growing, and so is the choice on the menu. Every morning card players come in right away, followed by a crowd of dice-shakers around 7. The diner has just begun participating in the 60+ meal-program. I am wondering: how does she make it work?

The Elk Cafe at Antelope St, Elkton

On the menu: "Stick to your bone - meals".
For breakfast: eggs, toast, meats. An early special for $2.50: two eggs & toast before 8:00 a.m..
Lunch: every day a special of Hot Beef, a different special (goulash that day), burgers & fries, sandwiches and lately: salads. Customers expect a good meal, consisting of meat, potatoes, gravy, vegetables, bread. She proudly explains me about her "Hot Beef Special", a favorite. She cooks a 12 lbs. roast every other day; not a crumble to be left over. Her recipe is not written anywhere; she's got her own mixture of spices "to taste". No measures of anything. Only for baking she measures. Daily baked at the Elk Cafe: Caramel and Cinnamon rolls. Her sister Linda bakes the cookies and bars.

Freshly baked cookies

 Inspired by their late mother, Norma's sisters both help at the diner. Her dad helps with maintenance; her daughters work as waitresses, her husband helps, and her nephews. She proudly tells me that her nephew Peyton is really getting into cooking burgers. All family members help with the dishes. There is only one non-family member on staff.
Some farmers take out meals to eat it out in the field. A local factory has just started serving Norma's breakfast to their employees a few days ago: biscuits and gravy. This week Norma plans on cooking french toast for the factory-workers. Norma clearly loves cooking, but also enjoys visiting with her customers. Freshly cooked food and hospitality are important. Her goal is to run the Elk Cafe successfully for years to come. Ultimately she is dreaming of traveling with her husband.

Norma working in the kitchen

I ask the entrepreneur about rules and inspections. Are those reasonable? Before opening the Elk Cafe, she had to take lessons and pass a thorough State inspection. Norma says the guidelines for the "Save Serve License" make sense. No complaints.

No photo of the famous Hot Beef, but today's special: goulash

Time to try the special of the day: Goulash. In my home country of the Netherlands, Goulash is a Hungary-originated beef stew with onions, peppers, spices. In South Dakota, Goulash is noodles in a ground beef-tomato-sauce. It is being served with green beans, sliced bread and butter. It's freshly cooked. There is nothing too different about it. I add some salt and pepper. The portion size is just right for me. I leave an empty plate behind and no room for desert. Back to work!

View on Elkton

The Elk Cafe, located on Antelope Street, is open daily from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sundays 8 a.m.-12 p.m.. A new favorite: iced coffee. I will swing by on a hot summer day to try it. And to see how Norma and her family are doing with their new business. Where Everybody Knows Your Name