GOTham and Eggs Answers South Grand's Bat Signal for Outstanding Diner Fare

Shani Knight likes to joke that the real reason she agreed to open GOTham and Eggs (3139 South Grand Boulevard, 314-833-8355) with her husband, Jason, is because she wanted her house back. Prior to opening the South Grand superhero-themed diner, the only venue for Jason's massive, mostly Batman-themed collection was their home. When you see the restaurant, you understand why their rooms were overflowing. The space is as much a museum as it is a diner, with every last inch covered in comic books, figurines, posters, a life-sized Batman figure, artwork and any other collector's item you can dream of. It's a passion that's been a part of Jason's life for years, and one that's grown over time to include some sort of daily Batman nod in his wardrobe. If she'd only let him open a superhero-themed diner, Shani figured, she could reclaim their home and bask in all the extra space.

For all of her joking, Shani was actually excited when Jason came up with the idea to open a restaurant together. As she recalls, it was New Year's Day 2023, and the pair were enjoying breakfast at one of the diners they frequented when Jason, seemingly out of nowhere, looked at her and said, "We could do this." Pressed on what he meant by "this," Jason began dreaming out loud about what they could do with a space of their own. Having spent most of his career working in fast-casual restaurants, he was ready to do his own thing, and because of his and Shani's longstanding tradition of going out to breakfast on the weekends, he knew they had a good reference point for what would work. Before they knew it, they were coming up with menu ideas, sketching out a concept and looking at places to bring their vision to life.

The South Grand storefront where GOTham and Eggs is located was particularly attractive to the Knights thanks to its longstanding history as the beloved City Diner. The restaurant, which closed without warning in August of 2022, was their regular haunt, and they felt it was important to make sure that the building's legacy as a community gathering spot remained intact. When they first looked at the space, the landlord was planning to subdivide it into two different businesses, but even though it was a stretch for their budget, Knight and Jason felt it was important to the diner's history to keep it whole. They signed the paperwork in March and welcomed their first guests in August.

Even so, the Knights do not see their restaurant as a continuation of City Diner; they believe that, despite some rough spots during its last few years in business, it was a special place that should stand in its patrons' memories. In that spirit, they see themselves as stewards of what the original owners created: a daytime gathering spot for the neighborhood where people can come as they are for straightforward yet thoughtfully prepared breakfast and lunch dishes. Though they understand there will be comparisons, the pair have been excited to put their own touch on things, and in the process, have created a new restaurant that is destined to be as beloved as its predecessor.

Consider the Robin's Nest, a GOTham and Eggs breakfast signature that starts with a bed of crispy, seasoned waffle fries that are smothered in diced bell peppers and onions, seasoned milk gravy and crumbles of sage-scented breakfast sausage. It's then topped with an over-easy egg, and the yolk mixes in with the gravy, forming a rich melange that coats every bite of a dish that can be best described as a fry-based version of a slinger.

For slinger purists, GOTham and Egg's version is shocking in that it balances being deeply satisfying without making you feel disgusting. Credit goes to Knight's recipe for vegan chili, a rich concoction chock full of various beans and vegetables that has the rich flavor profile of chili without the grease. You can keep the dish completely vegetarian, paring the chili with cubed potatoes, bell peppers, onions and an egg, or you can add beef to it. Either way, it's mind-blowingly delicious and does not require you to immediately take a nap.

GOTham and Eggs' country fried steak, on the other hand, is a hearty dish, featuring a thinly pounded beef cutlet coated in crisp, peppery breading and deep-fried. The restaurant's signature milk gravy, infused with a hearty amount of thyme and black pepper, coats the deep-fried steak. A side of biscuits and gravy, covered in optional pork sausage crumbles, adds to the decadence.

Pancakes are exactly what you want from a diner — golden, slightly fluffy and crisped up around the edges. The restaurant's signature sweet breakfast option is the French toast rolls, which, on my visit, were stuffed with cream cheese and strawberries, rolled up, deep-fried and coated in cinnamon and sugar. The result is a glorious handheld offering that's like a fruit- and cheese-stuffed churro. However, you don't need the fillings to make GOTham and Egg's French toast exceptional. The kitchen amps up its version by deep-frying it and coating it with cinnamon sugar the moment it comes out of the fryer so that it clings to every surface. This is the one recipe the Knights carried over from the original City Diner, and it's clear why they were insistent on keeping it around.

GOTham and Eggs offers several lunchtime dishes as well, including a surprisingly wonderful quinoa bowl, which pairs the lemon-dressed grain with avocados, onions, cucumbers and blueberries. It's a refreshing counter to the restaurant's heartier items, such as the Philly cheesesteak, which is more like grilled cheese stuffed with chopped steak and onions. Served on buttery griddled sourdough, the sandwich is overstuffed with gooey provolone and mouthwatering seasoned, chopped steak, which caramelizes around the edges like the lacy edges of a perfect smashburger.

And the restaurant's actual smashburger? Such a flawlessly executed sandwich is the embodiment of everything you want from the form. Perfectly seasoned meat that is juicy in the center and crispy around the edges, gooey American cheese that oozes into every crevice, a pillow-soft bun — it's no wonder that a gentleman who was uncannily reminiscent of Sam Elliott's "The Stranger" from The Big Lebowski declared to me and my dining companion that it's the best burger he's had this side of Dodge City, Kansas.

Something about his comment, his cowboy hat and his gravelly voice made me feel like I was in a film. Then again, I think the fact that I was surrounded by a Comic-Con's worth of vintage superhero memorabilia made the scene all the more surreal. I suppose I can understand, then, why Shani Knight wanted a different vibe for her house. And thank goodness she did: South Grand is all the more delicious for it.

Open Mon.-Tues. 7 a.m.-4 p.m.; Wed.-Sat. 7 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun. 7 a.m.-4 p.m.

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