There was very little that was classic about this adventure. My sister Shannice and I left our house last Tuesday with a groupon coupon we purchased for Pop's Diner. Boasting classic American cuisine, we thought this would be a perfect place to sample the food of our host country. What's more American than a Diner?
First thing adventurous about this day was finding the place. The address on the website did not register on google earth or my GPS, so we ended up walking for about .8 of a mile searching for the doorway that would lead to food. Needless to say we worked up an appetite and were quite anxious to sample the grub.
We arrived and were pleased with the appearance. Bright reds, vibrant oranges and stainless steel were everywhere. Booths with leather seats and personal jukeboxes completed the feel that we were back in an episode of Happy Days. We liked it a lot.
Since I was craving a pastrami sandwich all day, I knew that would be one of the orders for dinner but what should we start with? An avid potato fan, I ordered the Stuffed Potato Skins with Cheddar and Bacon and Shannice went with the Boston Clam Chowder. The soup arrived really, really quickly which scared us a bit but I knew my sister was hungry so I let her go ahead while I waited for the potato skins.
The soup had an odd consistency. Almost like curdled milk. It didn't smell or taste spoiled but the look of the separated cream and oil was a bit disturbing. Shannice is only 13 but immediately realized that it was indeed made of canned clams. This was definitely not a hit with us. Almost 10 minutes later the Potato Skins arrived and were not worth the wait. They appeared to be boiled, frozen then deep fried when ordered. There were large pieces of bacon under a melted cheddar cheese slice. The potatoes were grainy and the bacon chewy. Yuck! A real disappointment. I love potatoes, so this was a let down.
We chose a Pastrami Sandwich with Sauerkraut, Mustard, Swiss cheese and French Fries and a Beef Burger called The Godfather. It was served with roasted red peppers, onions, mozzarella cheese and waffle fries. The open-faced Pastrami Sandwich was interesting. Too much wet cabbage on a thin slice of rye bread then possibly put in the broiler to melt the cheese that was put over everything. The resulted was a soggy sandwich. We used our fork to extract the Pastrami and feasted on it. The meat was delicious! The Burger was fresh, lacking a bit of seasoning but the roasted pepper added a nice touch of sweetness. It was well received.
Choking a bit on our food, we decided to ask the waiter for a glass of water, which was not offered at any time during the meal.
Needless to say we chose to bypass desert and pay the bill which took almost eighteen minutes because of an issue with the coupon redemption. This was not a great food experience to say the least and rather in the words my sister, Shannice, it was an "EPIC FAIL!"
We ended the evening at McDonald's with a strawberry sundae and a vanilla milkshake. Now that's American! Lol. For this not so classic American fare, we give Pop's Diner a C-. Points were given for the pleasing decor.
