Where the menu is as eclectic as the dining atmosphere.
By Alma Adkins
HQ 51 | SPRING 2004
One of Huntington’s most popular attractions is the beautifully restored 14th Street West, Old Central City antiquing district. And, Central City Café, nestled in the middle of the district, rivals antique browsing as a major draw to the historic area. Open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday, Central City Café has become the latest hot spot for meals and conversation in Huntington.
Proprietors David and Sherry Luther opened Central City Café 11 years ago with the aim of providing a familyoriented restaurant where people could enjoy superior food in a comfortable atmosphere. Not only has the couple succeeded, but they also have managed to create an almost unheard of blend of unpretentious atmosphere with a truly urbane menu, one that would be as welcome in the largest metropolitan areas as it is in our smallest hometowns.
Central City Café provides one of the most extensive and varied lunch and dinner menus in the Huntington area, so come prepared to make some difficult decisions. Based on generations-old family recipes, the menu contains eight different soups made fresh daily, ranging from a sophisticated French onion to a soulwarming cream of potato and a winning white chili. Freshness and attention to detail are hallmarks of the 28 sandwiches and the 15 lunch and dinner plates prepared fresh and cooked entirely on premises each day.
Whether you opt for the health conscious lunch choice of a lean ostrich burger, turkey burger or buffalo burger, or you choose one of the local favorites, 100% beef “Whatta burger,” you know immediately you aren’t getting a gussied up version of fast food. Each freshly prepared 8-ounce Whatta burger has bacon, grilled mushrooms, white and yellow American cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise and is served on a grilled Heiner’s roll baked right in the original Central City bakery. All sandwiches include a side of chips, pickle spear and are garnished with a generous slice of fresh cut melon. And, in a rarity for most home-cooking establishments, Central City Café offers a large selection of vegetarian cuisine. The vegetarian sandwich is an excellent choice, served on white rye bread from Huntington’s Brunetti bakery, it is stuffed full of deliciously grilled vegetables. However, the portabella mushroom burger or the vegetarian grilled cheese are both stiff competition. Lunch combinations include a sandwich plate and cup of soup for $7.95.
When you feel like something a little more substantial than a sandwich, you’ll be tempted with a succulent London broil, homemade meat loaf dinner, barbecued ribs dry-rubbed on site with David’s own spice mixture, baked steak, salmon cakes or catfish farm-raised in London, Kentucky. And, with an eye to keeping the diners’ interest piqued, David occasionally mixes things up with items like stuffed cabbage rolls. Dinner plates are an incredible value at $7.95.
According to the Central City Café philosophy, a good meal is always topped off by a good dessert. The Café lives up to its ideals by serving Kentucky Blue Ribbon Pies of Ashland, Kentucky. The generously sized portions include graham cracker, banana cream, chocolate and lemon pies topped by fluffy meringue. A three-inch tall slice of heaven. Enough said.
Drink selections include Pepsi fountain products, Stewarts root beer and orange cream soda, and freshly brewed iced tea, garnished with slices of fresh oranges and lemons.
After being waited on by the friendly staff, diners can’t resist reflecting on the memorabilia and antiques that line the walls of the Central City Café. An original newspaper article that proclaims “JFK’s Killer Shot Dead!” is butted against photographs of John Wayne and the 1937 Flood of Huntington and a poster of boxer Rocky Marciano. Some of the memorabilia has been gifts, but David sheepishly admits that he and Sherry “collect a little” when they visit the many antique and specialty shops immediately surrounding the restaurant.
The restaurant is a family affair for the Luthers, employing not only David and Sherry but also their three adult children Michael, Nikki and Kristina. Keeping the close family ties has been an unanticipated pleasure for the Luthers.
A foundation of satisfied and loyal customers has created demand for Central City Café catering service and the Luthers currently provide full menu catering for business meetings, reunions and other gatherings. For catering information call the Luthers at (304) 522-6142.
