m and i are usually very loyal to our favorite diner (the metro 20) but recently we've had the itch to sample some other breakfast fare to see if we are overlooking some local gems. so far, all we've found is guilt and shame for stepping outside our monogamous diner relationship with the metro...
I've been to the gateway plenty of times for dinner and late night food needs, but this was our first time at the breakfast show. the coffee was decent enough diner coffee.
this is my spinach and feta omelet. sounds mouth watering, right? it was dry as hell and there was barely any feta in it. i was pretty disappointed. the bacon (as you may have trouble telling in the photo) was severely undercooked and limp. the homefries. oh, the homefries. i don't know how the gateway managed to achieve this feat, but the homefries tasted like that fake "buttered potato" in a box that is sometimes passed off as mashed potatoes...but it was also kinda lumpy, like maybe there were a few small pieces of real potato sliced in there. either way, the only flavor they had was of artificial butter. yuck. m had his standard two eggs overeasy with homefries and bacon. he was pretty satisified with his meal except for the homefries.
this wall behind m ends directly to his left and right. to the right of him there was a setback booth containing a family with two small children whom the parents weren't supervising. the one little boy kept putting the top of the salt shaker in his mouth and knocking his head back...taking "shots" of salt. it was pretty revolting.
i'd like to say that at least the gateway had a great atmosphere, but i think m summed it up best when he likened it to eating in a high school cafeteria. it was packed to the gills (expected for prime brunch time on the weekend) and loud. and it took our waiter 20 minutes to bring m the glass of water he asked for. it made us really miss our good old metro, where even if it's packed, customers still converse at a civilized enough level for you to be able to hold your own conversation too. we're going to trudge on through our brunch tour of the region, but i have a feeling that after we've had our fun we'll go crawling back to the one who has always been there for us, and been good to us.
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ReplyDeleteIt's always so disappointing when you try something new and it fails miserably compared to your normal. My guy and I tried a new diner a few months ago... the new place didn't even have fries. Who doesn't have french fries?!
ReplyDeleteI've had v for vendetta against the Gateway ever since I went there at 4am after a punk show and it took them 45 minutes to make a grilled cheese for me. 45 bloody minutes! I never went back, and this had to be six years ago.
ReplyDeleteHave you guys tried Miss Albany yet? That's where Cecil and I used to drag our hungover selves Saturday mornings and gossip about what had gone down the night before. Loves it.
@kirkland - a diner without fries?! you're kidding, right? :)
ReplyDelete@thiry - I love miss albany! we've been there a couple of times. the only problem with them is that we usually can't seem to get our asses up before they close!
oh no! a bad brunch can ruin the rest of the weekend! grrr... it's good to know you have such a yummy place to go back to though
ReplyDeleteTry Western Diner in Westmere! The portions are big and cheap and it's quieter since it's more out of the way. I remember being more than pleased with my eggs benedict.
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