Dream Diner offers true diner food

Imagine a cold winter morning with a hot cup of coffee and – wait for it – Cinnamon Roll French Toast ($7.99), and, yes, it’s as good as it sounds – gooey, buttery and fragrant with cinnamon and maple syrup. In fact, it sounds like a dream apropos for the Dream Diner.

If attendance is any indicator of a successful eatery, the 13-year-old Dream Diner is all that. On a recent weekday, the parking lot was packed, and inside, old friends were shaking hands, regulars were getting their meals without having to order and new customers, like us, slipped into the retro red-and-silver banquette booths at Formica tables with iconic 1950s boomerang motif and discovered why it was so popular.

It’s not really the faux-’50s look – there are a lot of retro-style diners around with that going on. It’s really more about the food – lots of it, homemade and hearty – and the feeling that this is a home away from home for many of the patrons.

The staff are always nearby with pots of coffee to replenish cups and to answer any questions.

We wanted time to look at the menu, so we decided to share one of Dream Diner’s homemade Cinnamon Rolls ($2.50). which are split and grilled in butter. Cholesterol shmesterol. This was a taste treat, but, admittedly, a weird way to start lunch. No regrets. This was so much fun to eat, and it made us understand why the confection would inspire a French toast version.

On to our main meal. Mrs. T for T chose the intriguing-sounding Greek Burger ($7.99). The patty was the size of a dessert plate – ground beef stuffed with spinach and feta on a toasted roll, with tomato, lettuce and sliced pickles, with chips on the side.

Mrs. T for T, a big Greek food fan, loved it and felt like she was eating a complete meal in a sandwich. But for those who are not huge spinach fans, you might want to choose something else or ask them to go lighter on the green stuff. The spinach definitely was a dominant flavor.

Mr. T for T went with the Meatloaf Melt ($6.99), made with a brick-sized hunk of homemade meatloaf with sauteed onions and Swiss cheese grilled between slices of sourdough bread, with a bowl of homemade mashed potatoes on the side.

It was as hearty and filling as it sounds.

Although the Dream Diner isn’t a genuine ’50s diner, it definitely has genuine diner flavor and genuine diner portions.

The Dream Diner just started serving wine and beer, and Mr. T for T had his meal with a cold Heineken ($1.75).

Nephew T for T ate his Hot Turkey Sandwich ($7.99) with a Strawberry Frappe ($3.99), which was served with whipped cream in a tall glass inserted into an old-fashioned soda glass holder and a metal blender tumbler filled with another glassful plunked down beside it. You can also get a Root Beer, Creamsicle or Coke Float ($3.50) at the diner.

His open-faced sandwich with stuffing, steak fries and a side of gravy was also a mammoth portion, with slabs of freshly carved roasted turkey breast and an inch-high layer of stuffing. The sandwich was great – although the stuffing tasted a little like Stove-Top, but it was a minor problem.

We were all too full to try dessert, although the lemon meringue pie looked enticing.

We are definitely going back to the Dream Diner, and thankfully, it is now serving dinners on Friday and Saturday nights, when diner favorites like Fish Cakes and Beans ($7.50), fresh turkey and ham dinners, and liver and onions are offered. Or, if you want to eat lightly, the eatery also offers Quiche of the Day with fruit ($6.25).

And did we mention the diner’s 37 different kinds of omelets and Sweet Potato Pancakes for breakfast?

Hey, it’s cold out there. Bulk up for winter at the Dream Diner.