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• John's Famous Stew

Mild Stew for $6.99 at John's Famous Stew. (Heather Charles/The Star)

Peach cobbler a la mode for $3.50 at John's Famous Stew. (Heather Charles/The Star)

Elk burger with fries for $7.95 at John's Famous Stew. (Heather Charles/The Star)

In my sad, almost broken car Ben and I went out on a sad, dreary day in search of some happy food. A little cheering up was in order.

We drove down sad Kentucky Avenue, corrugated metal buildings and vacant lots surrounding us. What could possibly be fit for human consumption here?

The mood

Found it, in John's Famous Stew. Although unattractive from the outside, the restaurant is warm and well lived-in -- a place where locals go.

A mother's stew recipes were translated into restaurant fare by two of her sons. This, thankfully, meant only preparing them in larger batches. The business started back before even yo mama was born, in 1911.

Wood everywhere made for a lodge-type feel. We felt like we had stopped at some roadside restaurant on a vacation day.

A massive bar lines one wall. And, while lingering is encouraged, I didn't see this as a place to grab a drink. Do stew and liquor even go together?

A server, cute in that "older lady" kind of way, swept our way, apologizing about the crumbs on the table. She wanted to serve us soda, tea, coffee, everything under the sun, but we settled on waters.

The food

She returned to our table at 2-minute intervals to see if we had decided, and didn't mind that we repeatedly responded in the negative.

The menu also offers salads and sandwiches. Ben chose a mild stew ($6.99) and I chose an elk burger ($7.95). Soon, a piping-hot bowl of meat, potatoes and a few other veggies arrived along with a basket of crumbly bread. Even though it claims to be kind to the "spice wimp" palate, it still packed a little heat.

My "exotic" elk had a wee bit of a gamy flavor, but otherwise, this burger -- which I topped with lettuce, onions, and pickles -- had the taste and texture of super-lean beef.

I'm glad we saved room for dessert. The peach cobbler a la mode was heaven.

The drinks

Two ice waters with lemon. Ben finally took our server up on that tea, free of charge, long after our meal was done.

The damage: $20.09

Ben finished sipping his iced tea and we left in a much better mood than we had arrived.