Places like Corner Cafe can confirm either the best or the worst in people.

 The little greasy spoon is right across from the El Paso County Courthouse, so it catches all sorts of people who, for one reason or another, find themselves hungry and pressed for time in a fairly desolate block of downtown Colorado Springs: jurors due back in court, clerks and lawyers grabbing a bite between cases, plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses, the guilty, the innocent and even the newly exonerated — the whole unlikely cast of the local judicial system.

 All these folks would settle for utilitarian grub — gray burgers and canned potato salad. And it would be easy take advantage of that, serving grim lunches at stiff prices. But instead, there is Corner Cafe, a quaint little place run by a caring couple who serve a fresh, tasty menu of sandwiches, burgers, soups, salads and breakfasts at a good value.

This place is classic diner: A patchwork of Americana covers the walls. A counter at the back holds homemade pies and, usually, the owner, Virginia Smoot. Her husband, Bob, is just through the order window behind her, clanking his spatula on the grill. The couple moved from California in 2004, where they had run a similar restaurant.

If you are lucky, you’ll get to experience their California heritage through the Animal Burger ($8.25). It is an In-N-Out-style burger with classic grilled onions and Thousand Island Dressing. The burger, wrapped neatly in paper, just like the real thing, is made even better by using juicy local hormone-free beef.

The same little flourishes show up again and again. Expect a little better than should be expected from a little diner. The chicken sandwiches all come with Red Bird chicken — a premium brand that is much more flavorful and juicy than the standard rubber chicken breast. You can taste the difference in things like the Malibu Chicken Sandwich, which showed up recently on the specials board. The juicy, pounded breast was topped with good Boar’s Head Black Forest ham and Swiss, then shredded lettuce and sweet, tart honey mustard ($8.75). It was not only delicious, it was easily big enough for two people.

Grilled cheese? Here it comes in the form of brie and tomato perfectly melted on multigrain bread with a bowl of soup on the side ($7.50). The soup changes daily but is always from scratch. Sometimes it is a good, rich chicken noodle.

 Always you can get a cup of the green chili, which people rave about, but, like so much green chili, is only so-so in my book. For me, real green chili is dominated by the taste of real, fresh, New Mexican roasted green chilies, and little else. Here it is quite good, but mixed with others spices and flavors so that it is more of a Texas chili that happens to be green. Even so, the one here has a nice spice level and is lovely over a breakfast burrito stuffed with eggs, real hash browns, Colby-jack cheese, lettuce and tomato and bacon, sausage or chorizo ($6.75).

Sandwiches run the gamut from unusual to welcomingly classic. There is an array of cold deli sandwiches ($8), but also egg salad with applewood-smoked bacon on toasted white ($7.25) or the very good Vegetarian ($7.25) with cucumbers, banana peppers, sunflower seeds, lettuce, tomato, olives, provolone and cream cheese on multigrain bread. Think of it as a salad to go.

Corner Cafe is dominated by customers with a limited amount of time for breakfast or lunch, but if you find yourself with an extra 10 minutes, consider the pie ($3.80). It is always made from scratch. Sometimes it is coconut cream. Sometimes it is simple apple, but always it is worthwhile.

In fact, worthwhile may be the best way to describe this great little diner. It is not just a worthwhile stop if you are trapped for some reason near the courthouse. It is worthwhile to seek out whenever you are looking for a good, simple meal downtown.

Burgers and salads are two of the most popular fare at The Corner Cafe, co-owned by Bob Smoot. Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011. Photo by The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett