Ditch Plains Seems Overpriced For What You Get, Unfortunately

The Ditch Plains Sloppy Joe.

Recently a buddy of mine and I decided to check out Ditch Plains, which has a location not far from my office. I recall hearing some buzz about the place somewhere, so I thought we might give it a run.

Inside Ditch Plains

As you can see the interior is wood wood wood but not dark or dreary. Though the place was pretty empty when we arrived it was pretty filled up by the time we left. I hate to say it, but the place smacks a bit of some pretension (even though the servers were completely cool). What I mean is that the menus you’re given are secured to pieces of cardboard by paper binders. It all seems a touch precious.

I’m guessing Ditch Plains is pitching itself to a moneyed post-college crowd (if there is such a thing these days). Down in the Village I suppose there might be. Either way, the menu features items like a Po’ Boy ($12), Sloppy Joe ($12), Meatball Parm ($14) and so forth. That’s some seriously upmarket prices for some basic comfort food. On the hunch that it had to be that good to justify the price, I figured give it a run and ordered the Sloppy Joe.

The Joe.

As you can see the Joe was ground beef with a good helping of onions and a fair amount of fat runoff. The flavor was on the sweet and salty side, with some spice to it. To me, it tasted almost identical to “The Plate” at Daddy-O’s. Of course, it was also much smaller.

The remains of the Joe.

At the end of the day, it was a straightforward Sloppy Joe. I can’t think of much to recommend it above any other I’ve had. Might it be better quality? Maybe. But did it scream “I’m worth about as much as some of the best burgers in town?” Absolutely not. The spice did linger a bit, though. The side of cole slaw was not sweet, but rather on the tart side. I prefer the flavor of the slaw at Mel’s Burger Bar. Come to think of it, I prefer most everything at Mel’s.

I also want to point out that they wanted $5 for a side of fries. Now I was getting irked. We skipped ’em.

Taffies at the end of the meal.

Oddly, the free taffy they put on the table with our check were the best part of the meal. They were fresh and delicious, chewy without clinging mercilessly to the teeth. They were winning.

Seems to me that Ditch Plains is frankly a bit overpriced. I suppose it wants to be a place hip 20-somethings with some dough can go on a date. Perhaps it is a midmarket gastropub. I don’t know. But as contributor Hugh said “Money has an aftertaste.” Walking out of Ditch Plains, I felt a little bit suckered.

Ditch Plains