Cafeteria culture in Indiana – Lonely Planet

Strawberry pie, blueberry pie, cherry pie. Fluffy lemon meringue and gooey, crunchy pecan. Chocolate cream, banana cream, coconut cream, all piled high with gravity-defying layers of whipped topping.

I’ve never forgotten the lineup of pies at Gray Brothers Cafeteria in Mooresville, Indiana, 10 miles south of Indianapolis International Airport. As a child growing up in nearby Bloomington, an excursion to Gray Brothers, where there’s always pie for dessert, was an extra special treat. And it’s the pie that still draws me to this Indiana institution whenever I’m back in the Hoosier state.

With more than 400 seats behind its limestone facade with a steeply pitched roof and dark wood beams, Gray Brothers, which opened in 1944, is just one of the cafeteria-style restaurants that remain popular across Indiana. As Indianapolis-based author Sam Stall notes, “Indiana seems to have this weird proclivity for cafeterias.”

Indiana has plenty of old-school diners, like The Oasis in Plainfield or Nick’s Kitchen in Huntington, serving all-day breakfasts alongside classic Hoosier dishes like pork tenderloin sandwiches, the fried breaded meat overflowing out of its bun. The state has soul-food restaurants drawing on Black culinary traditions and all-you-can-eat buffets, including the Amish-owned Blue Gate Restaurant in Shipshewana, where for one price, you can fill up on soups, roast beef and mashed potatoes.

But for many Hoosiers, like Stall and me, cafeterias hold a special place in our hearts. You pick up a tray and slide it along the metal railing, and the bounty of options is arrayed along the line for you to choose: salads, hot dishes, vegetable sides, and freshly baked rolls, cakes, and pies – especially pies. You help yourself to the cold dishes, which are pre-plated and set behind glass partitions. As you move down the line, servers stand ready to scoop up your requested main dish and its accompaniments, handing you a heaping plate.

“You get to see what you’re going to eat before you order it,” explains Casey McGaughey, president of MCL Restaurant & Bakery, which his grandfather Charles founded as MCL Cafeteria in 1950. “You can shop with your eyes.”

“For an entire generation, or maybe two generations, this was a perfect substitute for…