Papi Perez isn't ashamed to admit that he owes a lot to his grandmother. The manager of this soul food cafe created the menu, but it was his grandma's recipes he adapted. "I just try to make them a little healthier," he says, though, after tasting his delectably rich macaroni and cheese, you stop caring about your arteries and start wishing you'd ordered the larger portion.

With its red neon signage and black curtains hanging in huge picture windows, you'd almost mistake the place for a nightclub. There's nothing in Little Village that looks, or cooks, like Cafe Aorta. The small, single room fits everything, including its customers, snugly inside: Utensils line the high shelves, and Papi and his grill can't be more than two feet from the cash register.

In addition to roast beef dinners (choose from sides like cornbread dressing and sazon, or "flavor," hash browns) and barbecue ribs for $9, there are quirky sandwiches like the Elvis Presley (grilled peanut butter and banana), huge breakfasts of pancakes and skillets.

Open weekdays at 7 a.m., stop in for a fresh fruit smoothie on your way to the Damen Pink line stop, or, if it's just the kind of morning where you need to feel like a kid again, grab a cereal box and a Kool-Aid.

The weekend brunch adds crunchy French toast to the menu, but any day of the week, Papi and his staff are the standouts here. Papi, smiling, tells you his food is all about your health and your heart, but when he puts a bag of rich, delicious Pleasure (read: butter) Cookies in your hand, all that's forgotten. You're just thankful for his grandma, too.

Centerstage Reviewer: Bill Burman