Just like it reads on the menu at Daddio’s Diner, “The diner is everybody’s kitchen.”
That’s the philosophy behind the “1960s nostalgia” at the “good old-fashioned hometown diner” in Batavia, owned for the past nine years by Scott (Daddio) and Terry (Mommio) Beltran. The St. Charles husband-and-wife team have run the place with help from their two daughters, Tess and Kristi, to keep the traditions of the American diner alive.
“We’ve got this counter, and that’s an old-school diner right there,” Scott Beltran said. “A diner is homemade cooking, it’s Americana. And what makes it so great is the people. You know everyone’s name when they come in. It’s not run of the mill, cookie cutter.”
Even though breakfast is served all day, the weekends bring breakfast specials like Mr. Potato Head and the Big Daddy Skillet.
“Weekends get crazy,” Scott Beltran said. “We have the No Way Jose and people just swear by it,” he said of the breakfast dish made with eggs, chorizo, ham, black beans, jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, crisp corn tortillas with melted Colby Jack cheese, bacon chipotle refried beans and pico de gallo with salsa and sour cream on the side.
Scott Beltran said he and Terry came up with the name before they ever created the dish. And then one week they would call each other up and pitch ingredients to assemble the No Way Jose. “I called her up and said, ‘I got it!’ and she said, ‘I’m driving! Name the first ingredient!”
Terry Beltran is the artist and Scott Beltran is the chef, according to the menu. “Terry is the backbone of the diner,” her husband said. She bakes Mommio’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Cake daily. But be warned, when the cookies or cake sell out, they’re gone for the day.
“A customer’s biggest complaint is that there are too many good things on the menu and they can’t pick,” Scott Beltran said. ‘”You have both of these today? Ugh!'”
Every day boasts a special like Taco Tuesdays or Pot Roast Wednesdays or Friday Fish Fry, Homemade Sloppy Joes four days a week or Roast Turkey Thursdays.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s 90 degrees out or it’s Thanksgiving. We’ll make turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes. It’s all scratch cooking,” Scott Beltran said.
“And our club sandwich, it’s so basic. You do simple right, like wraps, crispy chicken, BLTs and omelets. And record-size pancakes with a buttermilk base with all kinds of toppings.”
Scott Beltran will eat the Reuben sandwich with chips for lunch almost every day. When asked what his favorite dish is, he thinks for a second, before admitting, “It’s hard to say. Look at me. Everything!”
Pricing: Breakfast: Eggs from $4.95 for one egg any style to $10.50 for three eggs with corned beef hash. Omelets from $8.50 for cheese to $12.95 for Philly cheese steak. Skillets from $9.95 for choice of bacon, sausage, ham or corned beef hash to $15.95 for a sirloin steak skillet. Record-Size Pancakes from $8.50 for a short stack to $7.95 for sweet cakes. French toast from $6.25 for Two High to $6.95 for Three High. Belgium waffles from $6.25 for plain to $8.95 for strawberry and pecan with whipped cream. Daddio’s Specials from $4.60 for half biscuit and sausage gravy to $15.95 for steak and eggs. Lunch: Daily soup from $3.95 to $4.95. Chili from $4.75 to $5.25. Soup cup and half BLT, tuna, egg or chicken salad sandwich $7.75-$10.50 for full sandwich. Sandwiches with homemade chips or carrots and celery from $4.95 for Grilled cheese to $10.50 for Philly steak sandwich. Club sandwiches from $8.95 for BLT to $9.95 for a BLT grilled chicken club. Burgers from $6.95 for a hamburger with homemade chips or carrots and celery to $9.50 for Godfather Burger. Salads from $8.75 for Farrell’s Salad to $9.95 for strawberry chicken pecan. Kids’ meals from $3.99 for peanut butter and jelly sandwich to $4.25 for ham sandwich.
Hours: Open 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, 6 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, 6:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday.
Daddio’s Diner is at 134 W. Wilson St., Batavia. Call 630-879-5299 or go to daddiosdiner.biz.
Shonda Talerico Dudlicek is a freelance writer.
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