REVIEW

We don’t have cafeterias where we live (at least none that we’d want to eat in), so we’re always impressed, when traveling in a cafeteria-rich region of America, with the bounty of home-style cooking that can be enjoyed in one with the same ease, and minimal expense, of visiting a fast-food chain back home. We normally avoid chain restaurants during our travels, but one cafeteria chain we enjoy when passing through Indiana is MCL. Born in Indianapolis in 1950, MCL now numbers 19 primarily-Indiana restaurants.

There is a kaleidoscopic assortment of options at the Jello salad section of the line. We don’t know the flavor of the blue cubes of Jello, but it sure does add visual interest to the lineup, doesn’t it?

MCL attracts a generally older clientele, reflecting both the reasonable prices and a cooking style that pre-dates the rootsless and restless current fashion for mix-and-match innovation. As you pass through the cafeteria line, the serving ladies are friendly, chatty, and encouraging, as is the woman who roams the dining room refilling iced tea glasses.

We find it very difficult to restrain ourselves when passing through a cafeteria line with so many appealing options.

There are plenty of homey vegetables and Jell-O salads, pies and puddings and cakes galore, hot fresh rolls, and some excellent fried chicken and catfish that does not sog out on the steam table. There is also a large roast turkey on display for fresh-carved dinners with the works. Everything we’ve tried has been good (save for a lemon pie that tasted like a lemon lollipop) and wholesome, without the mass-produced aromas and flavors typical of chain dining.

Note the huge roasted turkey breast to the left.

For a quick and homey meal on the road, MCL fills the bill nicely.

The dessert line offers many cafeteria classics.

Dine without pretense.

LAF TRAK: 

FOOD: 

BEST THING TO EAT: Fried chicken

Although this restaurant is unattached, it’s located adjacent to a shopping mall, where many MCLs are found.