Big Ed's Chili Mac's Diner

Big Ed's — also variously and elusively known as just Chili Mac's and Ed's Chili Parlor — hangs its apron smack dab in the middle of North Broadway's industrial warehouse district. Inside this tiny, utterly authentic joint you'll find all the requisite diner trappings: a counter lined with husky patrons perched precariously on red vinyl stools, the oily hiss of a grill and servers whose polite gruffness to strangers turns quickly into familiar banter. Big Ed's has daily blue-plate specials, overflowing tuna salad sandwiches ($5.15) and burgers ($1.85, single) that are fine and forgettable. But Big Ed's real reason to be is its chili mac ($3.85). The chili is characteristically St. Louis style, with finely ground beef and your choice of beans or no beans in a smoky, black pepper-fragrant brown gravy. The mac is spaghetti, with just the right al dente bite. Together, they are irresistibly silky and substantial. Chase it down with an extra carb boost of hot, crisp fries ($1.85) — and, perhaps later on, some Pepto — and all will be right with the world.