Charleston Edition: Quarrier Diner

When I was first getting settled in Charleston,  I was hearing about how unfortunate it was that the Quarrier Diner was closing. Located on Quarrier Street, the diner had a fairytale story of sorts. It was a dilapidated, art nouveau building that a couple bought in 2010. It had been built in 1946, and was on the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia's Most Endangered Properties list. The couple restored and renovated the building. But they had trouble getting customers in due to the location, the owner had said.

Before it closed, a friend and I went to check it out for my first and last visit. It was clear the staff was kind of down on their luck. The man who waited on us was cracking jokes about it closing and ran down the list of available items left on the menu. I understand them being out of a lot of food since they were closing; I just wasn't expecting that, I suppose.

I settled on their macaroni and cheese.  It was cavatappi pasta tossed with their four cheese sauce. You could also choose three toppings to add to it: spinach, peas, black olives, jalapenos, mushrooms and tomatoes. I wanted mushrooms and tomatoes, but they were out of mushrooms. So I just opted for tomatoes.

It was good. It tasted exactly like boxed macaroni and cheese with some tomatoes in. Velveeta shells and cheese with a different type of noodle. Was it good? Yes. Could I make it for a fraction of the price at home? Yep. But I won't knock it - it still tasted good. Unfortunately, I won't get another chance to go back. But they do still operated Timothy's - a bar directly below the restaurant.

Grade: C