The Decatur Diner - Greek Omelette and Homefries

Greek omelette, homefries and wheat toast with jelly

The Decatur Diner is now closed -  It probably has been closed awhile but I just noticed it. 9/19/12 

 

The Decatur Diner opened a couple of weeks ago.  I had been observing the restaurant since this last summer and wondered why noone was ever inside which is never a good sign.  Come to find out, it had not opened yet.  Anyway, I wanted to check it out and see what they had going on up in there. It is located in the City of Decatur, AKA Downtown Decatur which is only a few minutes away from the Atlanta city limits.

I love the idea of a diner in the mix of what downtown Decatur has become. It has completely transformed itself since I first arrived in the ATL over twenty years ago. I know that someone, homegrown, of another generation is reading this who will say…Now let me tell you about downtown Decatur! I’m sure that they can tell this mid Atlantic transplant a thing or two about downtown Decatur. But anyway, for good and for bad, it seems that the city has cleansed itself from hole-in-the-wall, gritty restaurants and any appearance of the working class. I remember a diner along Ponce de Leon that a friend and I used to go to. I think the diner was called Square Table. It was a beautiful little authentic place where the owner and his wife were also beautiful, weathered-looking people who came out and talked to us about their family, their lives and just about anything. But that was back when downtown Decatur was still more of a small town with a few gas stations along the main corridor. Some of these gas stations have been cleverly reconstructed into trendy restaurants. Back then, the City of Decatur was not a destination place for those visiting the ATL from out of town. It is now after substantial planning and redevelopment. 4.4 million dollars alone was spent just to redevelop the MARTA train station located right in the middle of the town square. I completely get it and I enjoy most of what it has become. I understand that this isn’t unique to downtown Decatur and is common to many cities across the U.S. I’ve dumped a lot of my own dollars into the area as a former tax-paying resident and one that continues to support the city’s businesses and restaurants. At the same time, it seems that something was intentionally lost in translation.

The Decatur Diner kept all of this in mind. It looks rather contemporary. Two sides of the diner along Church Street and Ponce de Leon have huge windows at least 6 feet in height. The chandeliers throughout are made of wrought iron and amber glass shades. They look like they belong in one of the nearby condos and not a diner. But like I said, this is Downtown Decatur.

I enjoyed my breakfast at the Decatur Diner. I selected the greek omelette made of tomatoes, onions and feta cheese. It came with homefries and wheat toast. Grits may be substituted for the homefries. I requested that the omelette be made with egg whites which was done without an extra charge. They gained some points on that one.  I felt satisfied after my meal which is what I expected from a good, decent diner. I enjoyed sitting in my booth, with the tall windows, watching people pass by as they walked along Church Street. The music was good and I enjoyed listening to How Deep is Your Love by the Bee Gees. The staff was very friendly. I heard my waitress talking to the customer in the booth behind me about a scripture that she had read. Maybe he had a bible out or something but that isn’t unusual in the ATL. People will break out into a testimony.

With any restaurant, they have a few challenges. I could tell that they were still working out staffing kinks. There was a little too much running around and the place wasn’t even a third full. I asked my waitress, the scripture lady, about validating parking. She said they didn’t and us employees have been parking all around this city and that one place across the street is $7 dollars a day. I know, being a transplant and all, that $7 a day is a drop in the bucket to pay for parking. However, she raises a valid point. Many people who live in metro Atlanta still do not feel that they should have to pay for parking. Some of the businesses in close proximity to the Decatur Diner validate parking. Other restaurants have occupied the same space but have not remained opened. Hopefully, it isn’t due to bad location Karma. A few really good breakfast places are just down the street, and my favorite one, Pastries A Go Go has free parking. That’s just reality. Decatur Diner is decent diner food and that’s what I expected. I’ll probably be back.

Breakfast Tacos

One morning before work, I opened up the refrigerator in search of something quick and tasty to eat. I felt a little flustered. What to eat? I started to close the door and just go to one of the many fast food restaurants, strategically and evilly placed, along my route to work. I wouldn’t even need to get out of the car. Yet, it is never that easy. It is usually a nightmare getting into the parking lot, going through the drive thru and back onto the major thoroughfare. And when it is all over, after I’ve gobbled it down in the car or at my desk I often wonder…why did I eat that? I’m not even going to go into my concerns about the processing of fast food and food handling practices in spite of the restaurant scores.

However, if you have any abilities in the kitchen, you know that you can create something healthier and tastier than what you’ll find in any fast food restaurant. The key is to linger a little longer at the fridge, take a deep breath and allow yourself time to come up with something. Of course, it helps if you keep your pantry and refrigerator stocked with a variety of items. Of course, this means that you have to spend some time at least once a week creating a grocery list and shopping. I find grocery shopping to be cumbersome and annoying, however, it is much better to be annoyed once a week instead of repeatedly throughout the week.

On this particular day, as I lingered at the fridge, my eyes came across the smoked salmon (pastrami style). I remembered that earlier in the week I had bought a bag of spinach, corn tortillas and egg whites. Breakfast tacos! Along with a small cup of orange juice, I had come up with a cheap, tasty, filling and healthy meal. Later that morning, I enjoyed a cup of coffee at my desk and patted myself on the back.

Breakfast Tacos
2 Corn Tortillas
Smoked salmon (palm full)
Egg whites (enough to cover the pan)
Spinach (handful)
Olive oil, margarine or cooking spray

Add enough oil to lightly coat a non-stick cooking pan. Heat the pan to medium heat as you would when making an omelet. Add the spinach and salmon and stir. Once the spinach is wilted, add the egg whites. When the egg whites have firmed up, stir the ingredients in the pan until done. I usually like to warm up my tortillas by either heating them in a pan or in the microwave. Divide the mixture in half and place it in the center of your two tacos.

***Additional seasonings were not included because the pastrami style smoked salmon has enough flavoring for the entire recipe.

*** I tried this with a little salsa on top and didn’t like it. It was one too many ingredients. I had gone too far.

Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book

Sometime last year, my mother came for a visit and brought me her Betty Crocker New Picture Cook Book. This was the cookbook that we used growing up. We, refers to the female members of our household which was me and my mother. I don’t ever remember my father or my brothers picking up Betty Crocker. They could have cared less about that cookbook. Of course they cared greatly about the benefits of our use of it. My mother is a very good cook so it primarily functioned as a reference book in the same way a writer would use a dictionary or thesaurus. She was more than a proficient cook but from time to time had to look something up or was in search of a new recipe, especially side dishes. Karen…hand me that Betty Crocker. I used it a lot when baking cookies except for chocolate chip and oatmeal since recipes were always on the packaging.

Mom's Betty Crocker New Picture Cook Book was published in 1961. It is the third printing of the first edition. I’m not sure exactly what that means since the first Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook came out in 1950. The cook book poignantly captures a generation seemingly from a long time ago. People presented themselves more formally back then as aprons were worn in the kitchen by women in skirts and tables were set for dinner. Betty was actually a popular name.

On the first page the Betty Crocker New Picture Cook Book there is an announcement about a new kind of flour called “Instantized Flour”. It then goes on to tell how to use instantized flour and the advantages of its use. You gotta love these four advantages:
1. It pours like salt; it’s easy to measure.
2. It feels clean. It’s dust free.
3. It disperses instantly in liquids to smooth the way for lump-proof mixing.
4. It does not pack down, so measurements are always uniform
The cookbook has been held together for several years by an irregular-sized blue rubber band. When my mother brought it to me she thought I might have some ideas about putting it back together again. Maybe I could have it re bound or take each page and put it in a plastic cover and then into a notebook. I did none of those things. I have shown it to a few friends and periodically look through it. I really have no intention of disturbing it in any way or doing anything to try to preserve it. It mostly sits on the top of my counter in view. I like it there.

Ria's Bluebird...Best Pancakes in Atlanta!!!

Recently, I discovered the best pancakes in Atlanta at Ria's Bluebird (riasbluebird.com). By discover, I mean that a friend told me about it and I trusted her food judgement. I went two consecutive Saturdays just to check that these were the best pancakes I've had since arriving in the ATL way back in 1987. Pancakes are always on the menu, however they also have a specialty pancake each week...like the blueberry pancakes that I had. What made these pancakes the best was the fact that they were very light and served hot. The pancakes had just the right amount of juicy blueberries throughout. The second time I went I had the pecan pancakes (in photo) and these were nicely done as well. Pancakes come with warm maple syrup. Most pancakes served at restaurants are very heavy and sometimes can be a little uncooked. It also seems that restaurants have a hard time serving hot pancakes although it is generally understood that it doesn't take long for pancakes to get cold.

Ria's Bluebird is located in the Grant Park section of Atlanta. If you approach the restaurant from either end of Memorial Drive you may question whether or not a really good restaurant exists along this particular stretch of Memorial Drive. It is an area in need of development. However, I always find that the most interesting restaurants are found in unlikely places. It is located across the street from the Historic Oakland Cemetery. This cemetery is so historic that it dates back to 1850, has its own website and walking tours. To the rear of the restaurant are the beautiful, historic homes characteristic of Grant Park.

Ria's opens each day at 8 am. Both times, I visited on a Saturday around 9:30 am. There was a line waiting outside and the wait was about 15 minutes. There are two areas for seating. The front of the restaurant is the best. The back of the restaurant was a little drafty but tolerable. Be prepared to do some parallel parking along the side of the restaurant. As with most intown restaurants, there is limited restaurant parking. The website isn't always current but has some interesting videos on it.