I love diners. New York is full of them; every small town has at least one, and Albany has three. So far we've found two in Houston: the Avalon Diner, located just a few blocks from our house, and the 59 Diner, located a bit further away. While you might be saying, "So? A diner's a diner", a brief recap of breakfast at both shows that these two places couldn't be more different.
First, we went to Avalon. We arrived early on a Saturday, and the place was crowded. This had happened once before, and one of the waiter had asked us to share a table for four with another couple we didn't know. We passed on that. This day we got our own table, but not because anyone seated us there. Instead, the older lady behind the counter said nothing to us as we entered; no "how many", no "seat yourself", not even a grunt or a nod. So we assumed it was seat yourself, and sat down.
Our waiter was in his early teens and very busy texting on his Iphone. He might have also been busy experiencing the effects of some sort of chemical substance, since he seemed unable to remember anything. He mixed up our drinks on the short trip to the soda fountain and back. He handed us the menu, and then asked us what we wanted to order before we had a chance to open it. After we got our food, he forgot to check in even once to make sure it was right or we were happy -- even though he was waiting on the table right next to ours. Something was clearly lacking in the service.
The kicker is, the food was OK. I got the breakfast wrap with eggs, cheese, and bacon wrapped up on a flour tortilla. It wasn't spectacular, but it was certainly filling, and had the experience been different (ie: decent service, clean silverware, a hostess who spoke to you -- or at least made eye contact -- when you walked in or went up to pay your bill), it may have been worth the $7.25. It's a shame it wasn't, since it's so close to our house.
The 59 Diner is a whole 'nother animal. Some may say it's more corporate. Unlike Avalon, which has only 2 locations in the Houston area, 59 has 5. Not exactly a chain restaurant, but not a family owned place either. Normally I would deduct points for something like this, but if "corporate" means clean silverware or decent service, I'm all for it in this case. I had a classic diner breakfast: a BLT with a fried egg, and homefries. The food was about the same as at Avalon. My egg was cooked over-medium, with a little run to the yolk, and the bacon was crispy and tasty. In the end, however, diner food is diner food. I like it just about anywhere. It was the service -- or lack thereof -- which made 59 the clear winner over Avalon.
