CJ liked America the Diner last week

[Robin Garr]

Funny that I forgot to look for the CJ's review last week, and no one else mentioned it either. They went to America The Diner. They liked it. They thought it was like a NYC diner. 3 1/2 stars Okay, then ...
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/en ... /71317310/

I think that you are one of the few participants in these forums that reads the CJ on a regular basis, that's probably the reason nobody else mentioned the review. While I do think her wording in his review is better than her typical review I really don't agree with her description of the restaurant. While I enjoy dining there and enjoy the food I really don't think it's that close to a typical NYC diner or at least any one I've ever been to. Maybe my experience is different from others but she actually highlighted quite a few things on the menu that you wouldn't find in a New York diner and there are many others that you would normally find that are missing. It's certainly missing many of the stacked sandwiches that are typical in NYC for example. I really wanted to try one of their "Imported" bagels but I found the pricing a little ridiculous ($2.50) for bagel I would probably end up being disappointed with anyway. Overall we found the restaurant very enjoyable on our visits but we don't think it's what we expected from the original descriptions we heard of it

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea of a "diner" serving $9 hamburgers and hot dogs. My kitsch tolerance is maxed out, right now.

If it weren't for Robin posting the bad CJ food reviews, I don't think I'd even see a CJ article at all. When I do end up accidentally clicking them, I don't answer their dumb questions, and assume it isn't worth opening a different browser to get around them.

[Robin Garr]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea of a "diner" serving $9 hamburgers and hot dogs. My kitsch tolerance is maxed out, right now.

We're talking Baxter hip here, Ronnie. It's an ironic diner.

All kidding aside, I like the place, and I like the guys who run it. I just thought the review had an odd tone and some accuracy issues on the NYC thing.

We went. It was fine.

I grew up in New Jersey and while It has some attributes of the northeast diner, it also misses some of them. Like the reviewer's experience, they didn't have matzoh ball soup the night we went. To me, matzoh ball soup is the consummate diner food and to not have that did not make me feel very comfortable. I often think of soup when I think of a diner and they had only matzoh ball soup and chili on their menu. I'd have expanded that. They had a lot of very novel things and some regional favorites. You are not going to have fried green tomatoes in a Jersey diner and those were on the menu. My wife had egg salad which was really good but the bagel pieces that came with it were stale. I had a chili dog and tater tots and enjoyed them a lot. The service was okay, nothing really good nor bad. I'm going to go back and I'm hoping they will have matzoh ball soup. I'm thinking a Taylor ham, egg, and cheese sandwich on a hard roll is too much to ask, however.

My son and I hit up AtD after his high school football game tonight. It was late, so I expected the place to be packed but it wasn't. We seated ourselves per the sign, and the bartender greeted us- friendly and sincere. We order iced tea to start. Sweet for him and half-sweet for me.

It took a while to decide what we wanted to eat. There are a lot of options on the menu, so it was tough choosing. I'm not ashamed to say that the pricing steered me away from some things. I really really wanted an omelet with bacon, tomato, spinach, and avocado- but couldn't bring myself to pay $10 or it. I guess I'm really cheap when it comes to eggs. Who knew?! Instead I ordered the chicken fried steak ($12).

My son ordered off the a la carte breakfast menu- 2 fried eggs ($2), hash ($2), and waffles. When we placed our drink order and were asked if we had any questions about the menu, my son asked how many waffles came with the a la carte order, and about how big they were. Our server told us it was 2 for $3. She said the $4 price on the menu was wrong. So he went ahead and got those. I didn't notice until later that the regular non-ala carte waffles were priced at $7. I thought that was really strange. Why would ala carte waffles be priced so much cheaper than the regular order? Per the menu, nothing additional came with the regular order, like bacon or anything.

I also asked for an order of Nutella Monkey Bread to go.

Our tea came out and we both thought it was terrible. My son said his wasn't sweet at all, and I couldn't taste any in mine, either. I'm not sure if they were just at the bottom of the tea container and needed to brew more, or if it's supposed to taste that way.

The servers were doing some shifting so we got a new server when we placed our order. After a few minutes he came back and told me they were out of the Monkey Bread. Dammit. I really wanted that!!!

The food came out in a very reasonable amount of time. My steak was floured and very nicely browned. I hate battered CFS like you get at some cheap places. This had a nice crust of seasoned flour, but nowhere near as heavy and greasy as batter. It was very good. The mashed potatoes that came with it were bland and easily forgettable. Even if they just added some salt, pepper, and butter it would have made them better. You have your choice of white or brown gravy, and naturally I got white because, hello, it's chicken fried steak! I was disappointed, however, that it wasn't milk gravy as I expected, but rather a sausage gravy. While this gravy would be delicious on biscuits or scrambled eggs, I didn't think it was a good fit for the CFS.

My son devoured his eggs and hash browns (ah, the joys of trying to feed and fill up a growing teenage football player. I might need to get a second job). His two waffles were large and fluffy, just regular waffle-iron waffles. They were served with butter and syrup, as expected. I think it's probably pretty hard to screw up waffles. I would love to see restaurants serve real maple syrup, rather than the overly sweetened Aunt Jemimah or Log Cabin type syrups but the masses would probably die of shock if they were served the real thing.

All in all, it wasn't a bad meal. It definitely is NOT what I would ever consider a diner- not in fare or pricing. It was a regular restaurant, in my opinion. The prices were really high in some places, and totally acceptable in others. The $12 seemed high for mine when I considered the fact that you only got mashed potatoes and CFS. Not even a vegetable or side salad. But at the same time, it was a large portion and I certainly couldn't have eaten another side even if it did come with one.

Our service was wonderful. From the bartender who greeted us, to our initial server, to the young man we ended up with- all were pleasant, friendly, polite, and attentive. No complaints there whatsoever.

I'm still thinking about that Nutella Monkey Bread, though. Dammit.

[Robin Garr]

Great review, Alanna! Fair, frank and fun, highlighting the good and the not-so-good. You ought to be a food writer!

I don't post often but I had to chime in on this one. I really wish she would spend more time discussing the actual food. I know that she didn't like the matzo ball soup but I don't know why, etc. Somehow her opinions sounds more like a menu commercial than a restaurant review to me. It certainly doesn't encourage me to go back. And doesn't the Twig and Leaf count as a diner? To me, it doesn't get more old-school than that.

I REALLY wanted to like America The Diner. I liked Eggs Over Baxter but only managed to get there one time before it closed. The longer hours and expanded menu of ATD had me excited though and a friend and I went about 3 weeks after it opened.

When we arrived, at about 6 pm, there were 5 other tables- 1 four-top and the rest were couples. There seemed to be three servers on the floor.

I ordered a whiskey sour and thought it was good.

We ordered food. I'm Canadian so I really wanted to try the poutine. This is the one food I miss from my homeland and the only place that has come close to satisfying my craving is Louvino, which did a decent job of the gravy though it missed out on the cheese curds. ATD advertised cheese curds. I was excited but dubious. I quizzed the waiter- are they real cheese curds? He assured me that they were. I ordered regular fries and brown gravy to get as close to authentic as possible. I considered asking for the onion relish or whatever they call it on the side but didn't.

I didn't want this to be my whole dinner so I ordered a BLT. I didn't want my side (there is only so gluttonous one can be in a sitting) so I let my friend chose- onion rings. She got a build your own burger, without a side ($2 less on the menu)- and I think she just had onions and hot peppers.

And then we waited. And waited. And waited. After 30 minutes, we had seen very little food come out (some tables were eating when we arrived). Our order didn't seem too complicated and the restaurant wasn't busy. But we also didn't see our waiter in this time. I finished my drink and my friend had drained her coke.

At about the 35 minute mark, our waiter appeared and asked what side my friend would like. Surprised, she ordered tater tots. He told us our food would be right out, and about 5 minutes later everything arrived. It was obvious that things had waited for the tots, as my poutine was cold but I was too hungry to send it back.

The brown gravy wasn't bad but here's the thing. On my plate of poutine there were exactly three breaded and fried cheese curds, placed around the rim like a garnish. They had been fried to the point that the cheese had completely evaporated. The whole point of poutine is a gooey, cheesy mess of fries soaked in gravy. The cheese curds should be warmed by the gravy but maintain enough of their structure to squeak in the mouth. And the onion pepper garnish was lost on me.

I liked the "artisnal" lettuce on my blt and the tomatoes were ripe but it was weird to me that the bread wasn't toasted (I was never asked for a preference). Since the sandwich had sat, the whole thing was rather soggy.

My friend's burger was cooked well-done (again, she wasn't asked for her preference) and was dry. She was disappointed that her bun was neither warm nor toasted. The tater tots however, were hot and tasty.

Our waiter never came back to see if we liked the food, though he was really quick with the check. He certainly didn't ask if we wanted to try dessert, which we probably would have.

I LOVE the food that has come out of 10 tables and was really looking forward to some solid diner fare in my neighborhood. Based on Robin's review I will go back and give it another shot but I certainly wasn't wowed the first time (and the CJ review, despite its score, doesn't do anything to entice me to try it!)

See! Now Tracey's experience sounds more like an authentic diner.


Robin, I have reached my limit for hipster irony in the restaurant industry, enough is enough. I'm going to open a real "greasy spoon" and call it a "fine dining restaurant" to see if the irony works both ways. Paper plates and hobo napkins all around!

I'll give a brief plug for the place. My wife and I have eaten there twice, and both times we were happy with the food, if not blown away. I had a burger which was good, but not necessarily great and the price point certainly is a bit high for a 'diner' burger (Burger Boy fills that niche for us!). I liked the Nord's bun and I enjoyed the cheese curds, but man did they sit like a rock after I ate half of them. I'll add that I'm a noob when it comes to cheese curds, so who knows if they would fit the bill for those from further north. My wife had a very good egg salad sandwich. All-in-all, our lunch experience was solid.
Saturday, we tried them for breakfast and found that to be better. I loved the corned beef hash. It was well executed, from the thinly sliced hash browns to the perfectly prepared over-easy eggs on top. Lots of thinly sliced corned beef as well. I also sampled their biscuits with sausage gravy and I would give them a thumbs-up. Simple with a nice dose of black pepper (glad I remembered to sample before reaching for the pepper shaker). My wife's omelet was fluffy and tasty. She also seemed to enjoy her bagel although she did say it could have been a little chewier for her tastes.
Service has been fine. No major delays, but nothing to knock our socks off.
We'll go back.

Our waiter never came back to see if we liked the food, though he was really quick with the check.

This, along with the rest listed, was my EXACT same experience, as noted on another thread. And my server was female, so we didn't have the same one. It seems to be standard practice. I also wanted to like the place, but if bad/rude/indifferent service somehow means "authentic" to a staff, then I'll dine elsewhere.

I hate to drop a grenade on this thread, but when I go to Cincinnati-a city picking itself up by its culinary bootstraps on the same timeline as Louisville-and see all the amazing things that are going on there in the restaurant scene, it bums me out that we spend so much time (and it gets so much attention) on what we've all agreed pretty unanimously is a mediocre diner, the hallmark of a race to the bottom of a food scene. Dustin Staggers was all over Hotbytes prior to this place opening, talking it up and answering for Rumplings-where is he now to defend the criticism? Ah, who am I kidding, I LOVE grenades.

I hate to drop a grenade on this thread, but when I go to Cincinnati-a city picking itself up by its culinary bootstraps on the same timeline as Louisville-and see all the amazing things that are going on there in the restaurant scene, it bums me out that we spend so much time (and it gets so much attention) on what we've all agreed pretty unanimously is a mediocre diner, the hallmark of a race to the bottom of a food scene. Dustin Staggers was all over Hotbytes prior to this place opening, talking it up and answering for Rumplings-where is he now to defend the criticism? Ah, who am I kidding, I LOVE grenades.

I don't see this as a testiment to a "sagging" restaurant scene in Louisville. To the contrary, I think it is alive, well, and in constant motion.

I see it more as an infatuation with celebrity chefs and restauranteurs. Many people get excited about going to opening nights, avant-premiers, talking with the chef, being the first one to post about a place that chef/owner/whoever just opened and they were there. Thats fine, and thats normal.

In the case of Staggers (who I never met), according to my readings, he and his partners were doing alright at the noodle place,but not "killing it." There was also talk about franchising the new sandwich (or samich) place almost before opening it. And refering to a breakfast place as being "American" is rather strange in a world of Bob Evans, Denny's, Waffle House, Shoney's and others that are the epitome of the American dining experience.

My advice---don't put the cart before the horse and don't underestimate the intelligence of your dining clientele,especially in the Highlands. Get the basics done right before you jump ahead of yourself.

I am worried that he is trying to do too much too soon with all his restaurants. I never even got to try Rumplings, which I was really excited about. The sandwich concept is less of a draw for me, so I haven't rushed out to try it. I thought that Roux was just ok- I got the shrimp po'boy (long after the ho-hum reviews here and after things were supposedly corrected) and I think that there are better available in town. But I really liked my husband's jambalaya and thought that the cocktails were decent. So we will probably go back- I keep meaning to try it for brunch.

But there are a lot of restaurants that we can walk to from our Highland apartment. Many are in the same price point and are part of our regular rotation- so far I can't say the same for his. I agree that he needs to focus on getting the basics right instead of trying to think of the next big thing.

The Guacamole folks seem to have the formula right- I love every one of their restaurants. The quality remains high no matter how much they expand!