Betty’s Café appearing on ‘America’s Best Restaurants’

By Chris Fortune

A South Side homestyle family diner is in the spotlight after being featured in a show highlighting independent restaurants.

America’s Best Restaurants filmed an episode at Betty’s Café, 6307 King Hill Ave., in May. It is set to stream on Wednesday evening and can be seen on the restaurant’s Facebook page starting at 6 p.m.

The South Side staple at 6307 King Hill Ave. opened in 1989, serving dishes that remind hungry guests of home.

“It’s kind of like you can’t always have mom around, but Betty’s kind of seems to be lingering for generations,” Loren Larkin said.

Larkin finds himself visiting the diner several times a month with family, so he’s had a chance to enjoy many of the dishes on the menu.

“We love the chicken fried chicken, we love their french fries,” he said. “Their pancakes are good, meatloaf, fried chicken — just about everything they cook we enjoy.”

The breakfast and dinner menus are popular, but another frequent guest says Betty’s specialty lies in the pies.

“If you like pies — as you can tell, I don’t need to eat pie — but if you like pie, they’ve got great pies,” Rich Post said.

Post would know since he visits the diner about three times a week. The friendly staff and good food keep him and other customers coming back.

“There’s times we come here to eat that we have to go someplace else for the simple fact there’s no place to park or no place to sit,” he said.