When you say the word cafeteria, thoughts of college and hospitals come flooding to the brain. And normally it’s not always in the best perspective from a dining and culinary standpoint. But of course I couldn’t help but be a bit curious about the ol’ stand-by, K&W Cafeteria over in Cameron Village. An old-school Southern tradition, K&W offers up classic, comfort food and pies in a humble setting so off I go for lunch!
First of all, K&W Cafeteria has been
at its location at Cameron Village for years in the back of the plaza near Smallwood Road. I normally see a steady trickle of families and seniors walking in. Inside you’ll find a small foyer area with cashier, I head around to the left to the waiting area which is empty at 11:45 am, woohoo! I scan the buffet line as I walk in to see what up. All down-home American eats on steam trays along with a nice selection of pies and desserts at the end.
I grab a beige tray and roll of silverware and shuffle down the line with my cane (just kidding). There are about 8 or so entree choices but I spy some baked spaghetti which I’ve never tried before. Further down are the veggies and sides, I go with the yam souffle and broccoli with cheese sauce. At each food station there’s a nice lady who offers up a large portion of the K&W eats. At the end are the pies and of course I can’t resist and go with a large slice of dutch apple with crumble on top. There’s also sweetened and unsweetened tea as your beverage. They tally up my food and hand me a bill which is paid at the END of your meal at the K&W exit.
Out in the dining room which is large and spacious, K&W has some attendants milling about but the tables are pretty much self-serve. I grab a smallish two-top on the side and get ready to eat all mah food! The dining room is decorated in a fairly innocuous beige (popular theme here) and the dining room is already partially filled with silver-haired peeps. I feel like a young pup eating here at K&W!
I dig into my sides first, the yam souffle is quite good and pretty sweet. Soft fluffy, yam mousse with a traditional marshmallow topping. Definitely there won’t be anything low-cal in this meal! The broccoli with cheese sauce is not quite as successful. Over-steamed to the point of softness, there’s not much texture left in this cruciferous green. But I’m trying to be sorta healthy here. The baked spaghetti is a large portion of soft pasta in a rich red meat sauce that has a chili-sweet taste to it. Topped with some melted cheddar on top, it’s a hearty portion of pasta, meat sauce and more but again, very soft. The food at K&W is definitely made for the senior crowd in terms of taste and textures, teeth are not needed to eat here!
And finally the dessert. I tapped out and brought it home with me but it was nicely done with a good filling and sweet topping, a very nice version of apple pie. Service in the dining room was fine and I was able to check out at the cashier really quickly. The whole meal runs $10 and some change with entrees at about $5, sides at $1.50 and desserts at $2 so it’s about average for a lunch at K&W but probably a good deal for dinner. I’m not sure if/when I’ll be back next but I was glad to finally try out this classic Southern cafeteria. It’s tasty, down-home food but a bit over-cooked for its audience. But if that’s what you’re pining for, K&W Cafeteria will be a great visit for you if your bar isn’t set too high. Enjoy it for what it is and isn’t, simple Southern comfort-food without any frills or style, just good eats!
K&W Cafeteria, Cameron Village
511 Woodburn Road
Raleigh, NC 27605
919.832.7505
Larry cox says
Ate lunch there on 7/13/16. Got egg custard pie along with my wife as I always loved it. After gulping down about half of it my wife looks at it and says what’s in your pie. Something green looking. She called the waiter over and asked him what it was. He took it to the kitchen and came back and said the eggs had gone bad. Must have been setting out too long. The manager Bill Wheeler came over and paid for our meal and wrote bad food on the receipt. He gave me his card and said call him if I became sick. I called him the next morning and told him I had been nauseated and diarerra all night and that I had broken out in a rash on my arms. He said he would file a report. Later that day I went to the dr and she verified I had a rash probably from the bad eggs. She put me on steroids. Later that night I got s call from someone I guess in corporate who wanted to do a recorded interview. I answered every question and when she stopped the recording she said she had heard nothing about bad eggs and the baker said it was probably food coloring. I said check with your manager and employee and she became rude and said all they would do is pay the dr bill. I told her that wasn’t good enough as I did not know the long term consequences of this. To this day 7/18 I am still broken out with the rash. I have not had any follow up from k&w and this is very disappointing. I hope I have no long term effects from this and I didn’t want anything but customer care ie real customer care not some rude person offering to pay my dr bill. Does anyone at k&w care. Let’s see if I get a response to this.
Ron Wen says
Hi Larry, this food blog is not directly associated with K&W so best of luck with your situation!
Ron
Larry cox says
Just where is your customer care? Good question. Wish I could get any respond.