Very few restaurants can claim to have a staff that is truly like a family. Duff’s Restaurant in the Central West End, however, certainly can. When I asked how long some of the staff had been there, I got many responses in the range of 20 years, and some even into the 30s. The head chef, Jim Voss, has been at Duff’s for 34 years, after his time working as the touring chef for The Grateful Dead. Perhaps this cohesiveness among the staff is what helps create such a family-like atmosphere around the small restaurant.

Duff’s is tucked safely into the Central West End, right across from a small bookstore, with a comfortable patio along the sidewalk and stained-glass windows looking inside. Upon entering, soft jazz and gentle lighting fill the room, which contains a few booths and a few more tables. There is a handsome bar with seating for nine and a stock that has nothing truly unusual, but certainly nothing missing. The walls are covered on one side with mirrors, on another with wall tapestries or paintings. After passing through a large, brick archway, one is greeted by a number of small wooden tables that keep a family meal intimate. The restaurant exudes the aura of a familial dining room or kitchen, with everyone sitting comfortably and enjoying the company.

The menu continues the theme of simple, family meals, ranging from $4.95 for a salad up to $19.95 for a pepper steak. The restaurant offers a number of time-dependent deals to complement their menu: The Red-Bird Special allows any of five selected entrŽes to be only $10 between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Also prior to 6:30 p.m., any three-course meal is only $25, regardless of which items are chosen. After noting these deals, I proceeded to menu. The small plate and salad section has a number of dishes offered, from typical salads such as a Caesar and a Greek salad, to more unusual smoked trout or steak salad. Some of the small plates that particularly stuck out included the creole crab and crawfish cakes and the beef carpaccio, of which I settled on the latter. The main courses were quite varied, ranging from blue quiche, which is a blue cheese quiche served with a cranberry, pear and walnut salad, to vegetable pot pie to spinach feta strudel. After hard deliberation and a suggestion from the server, I decided to try the cranberry chicken.

During the wait in between ordering and eating, I was greeted by a number of the staff, from the host to the head chef, all of whom were more than happy to share a story or two. I was even coerced into taking a look at a picture hanging on the wall of the 10th birthday of Duff’s from more than 20 years ago. I took great pleasure in watching the host point out to me all of the people in the picture who still worked at the restaurant.

Right as I finished the fourth slice of my appetizer, my server, dressed in a grey Polo and khakis, brought over the cranberry chicken. The chicken itself had a visually pleasant char to it that deducted nothing from the taste of the meat. Served on the side was a medley of steamed vegetables and a ball of  what Duff’s calls sweet potato corn bread pudding. Placed randomly over the meal was the occasional cranberry. The chicken breast itself acquired a wonderful sweetness from the savory sauce in which it rested, allowing for a wonderful complement from the cranberries.

In my opinion, however, the star of the meal was the sweet potato corn bread pudding. The corn bread was subtle and not easily detected aside from noticing that there was more to the flavor than just sweet potatoes; regardless, the flavor was excellent and a wonderful addition to the chicken itself. Perhaps it was the combination of the sweet potatoes, corn bread and cranberries that reminded me so much of Thanksgiving at home, or perhaps it was just the meal itself, but I found the entire experience to be incredible.

Duff’s truly does feel like home in atmosphere, presentation and taste. Perhaps Jim Voss’ experience traveling with The Grateful Dead helped to create that; after all, a band who travels all over the world never minds a home-style meal now and again.

Rating: 4.5/5