Best Lunch Counter

Jennifer's Pharmacy & Soda Shoppe
30 North Central Avenue
Clayton 63105
314-862-7400
What is it about lunch counters that's so dang inspiring? More than any old diner, truck-stop café or other greasy spoon, an old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness lunch counter can make the spirit hum with all of mankind's dizzying benevolence. Passing a paper napkin to the stranger seated next to you, asking for a little extra mayo, smiling kindly when the bill is put before you — such throwaway exchanges betray humanity at its most wholesome. But enough rhapsodizing. The real reason to stop in at Jennifer's—which operates as drugstore, gift shop and lunch counter all under one roof—is the homemade yummies, like a boffo brownie iced with melted chocolate and caramel chips, or a story-high apple pie served á la mode. A 1930s soda fountain pumps out phosphates, shakes, floats and egg creams, while the apron-smocked women working behind it prepare Mom-style tuna- and chicken-salad sandwiches for stool-seated customers, many of whom have turned into devout regulars even though the lunch-counter facet of the business only debuted about a year ago. Feed your belly, nourish your soul.

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