The world is a' changing, and so is BG's

BG’s Olde Tyme Deli is one of the few restaurants to which I’d give the title of “Cape Girardeau Staple.” It has been around since 1980, forty big years. I will admit that I haven’t visited BG’s that much lately. We would go in when my husband got a craving for their potato skins, but that was it. I remember when the menu was enormous, a long rambling thing that had a little bit of everything on it, a little overwhelming. Well, that’s all changed.

The outside of the place, however, is unchanged. The same frontage, the same sign on a pole, all of these things were lulling me into a false sense of sameness and regularity. The world is a stable, unchanging thing, I thought. But as soon as I walked into the front door … stained glass lampshades, gone. Recessed mirrors in the ceiling, gone. Brick floor, gone. Movie icon posters and cutouts and paintings of bygone legendaries — gone, gone and gone. Instead, I was greeted by a slick white room, clean and open, with a fresh white ceiling and a wood-grained floor. The salad bar was also missing, and a new greeter’s table sat in front of the door, complete with a spray of delicate flowers. It was a completely different place. I kept looking around, trying to remember what used to be where, and that was difficult, because everything was just so changed.

The only things that were the same were the stained glass accent windows, and I fixated on them like an old friend. I looked at the menu, visiting about how the place had changed and feeling unsure about how I felt about it. The room had definitely lost its old timey (some would say outdated) feel. The restaurant was 40 years old, after all, and the grand place was starting to show its age. But it was supposed to be an “Olde Tyme Deli,” right? There was little that was olde tyme about it anymore. However, the sheer cleanliness, the crisp feel of the place and the stained glass windows convinced me to wait on the food and decide if I liked the changes then. After all, if the dining was updated and the menu was not, then what was the point of stepping into the 21st century at all?

BG's Potato Skins in three delicious flavors, still a classic.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

From first glance, the menu was indeed updated. The favorites were wisely saved, such as the potato skins, chili and catfish; the chaff was cut; and everything was streamlined and pared down to a delicious and concise menu. The potato skins now came in three flavors: Original, Louisiana and Pig Skins, and we tried all of them. My husband didn’t even want to order the Louisiana Skins, because they were topped with grilled chicken, hot sauce, cheese and bacon with a side of sour cream, and we’re not huge hot sauce fans. This flavor ended up being his favorite. The hot sauce didn’t burn my mouth and added that perfect pop of flavor. The Pig Skins had pulled pork, cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce and a side of sour cream, and they were sweet and meaty. My favorite is still the Originals with cheese, bacon and sour cream. The skins are fried golden and crispy, and nothing beats a classic baked potato flavor combo. Still good after all of these years.

I ordered a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich and added sautéed mushrooms, because why not? The sliced beef rib-eye was tender and delicate, the enormous sliced roll was toasted to keep the whole thing from getting soggy, and the extra mushrooms were generous and flavorful. It was a large, tasty sandwich, and I’d order it again. My husband ordered the BG’s supreme, a beast of a sandwich with roast beef, ham, pastrami, bacon, cheese and the House sauce. It was a meat-lover’s dream, loaded up obscenely high and mighty. He loved it, and I thought it tasted pretty good, too. Dense, for sure. And the fries were thick and cooked perfectly, crunchy and golden on the outside, steamy and soft on the inside and seasoned well.

So go check it out. BG’s is an old place made new — 205 S. Plaza Way in Cape Girardeau. The food is of a better quality now, in my opinion, and the service was excellent. The name may be the same, but the soul has changed, and all for the better.