| Diner Deluxe an upscale taste of retro
The food and travel magazine Gourmet contains a monthly column by Jane and Michael Stern entitled "One for the Road." The intrepid Sterns travel the United States, stopping in truck stops, coffee shops and diners, consuming ham steak, chicken noodle soup and banana cream pie. Diner food is solid, stick-to-your-ribs, traditional fare, and the Sterns, along with John Thorne and other food writers, have led a rediscovery of this cuisine in recent years.
I don't think that Diner Deluxe (7 Ave. N.E. and Edmonton Tr.) is a diner in that specific traditional sense, but that doesn't mean it isn't a decent place to eat. We had good food and good service, in over-the-top retro surroundings. The prices are also higher than at a traditional diner, but they’re still reasonable. Chef Dwayne Ennest, lately of Brava and the River Café, has been splitting his time between Diner Deluxe and Saltlik, the soon to open steak house on Stephen Avenue Walk, and the food reflects his urban, professional touch. They do the small things well here.
The first thing you'll notice is that the interior is a total gas. All the tables and chairs are formica and chrome originals from the ’50s and ’60s – if your grandmother lived on the prairies, you've eaten at one of these tables for sure. There's a counter for solo dining, movie posters from obscure Bob Hope and Tony Curtis films decorate the walls, and those nutty triffid-like lamps are everywhere. There used to be a store in Calgary called Retroville – Diner Deluxe really is retroville.
The food is more roadhouse than diner – it is "deluxe" after all. They offer roasted potato wedges instead of fries, for example, and much to my disappointment, you can't get a hot hamburger sandwich (that's a hamburger with gravy on it, a prairie diner staple). However, you can get eggs benedict ($8.25) on rye bread with smoked salmon – I don't think you can get that at the Blackfoot Truck Stop. The eggs were nicely poached, the Hollandaise fresh and lemony, and it was served with a sprig of parsley. This came with good homemade hash browns, which had peppers and onions mixed in.
The hamburger ($7.75) was also decent – the bun was fresh, as were the condiments, and the accompanying mesclun salad was good, too. Dwayne's "amazing" mac and cheese ($8.25), made with a super-sharp cheese, was very tasty – putting ketchup on it would have been a shame. There's also a veal meatloaf, which I'm dying to try.
The dessert was excellent. We had a homemade brownie, hot from the oven, with saskatoon berry ice cream. Yum. The pie of the day, also saskatoon, wasn't available when we were there, as it was still in the oven. (It's a great sign that they're baking pies on the premises, and I'd definitely have the pie the next time.) I'd also have a coffee, because the coffee at Diner Deluxe was the best cup of restaurant coffee I've had in a long time – it was dark, rich and fresh.
In the end, I think that the groovy decor at Diner Deluxe is a hook to get you in – if the food wasn't good, you wouldn't go back. But I will, if only to hear the Platters crooning "Only You" over a cup of joe and a piece of homemade pie. |
