Standard Diner has the winning recipe for foodies
Standard Diner has the winning recipe for foodies
Standard Diner on Central is like an elegant roadside diner out of the past.
Slick neon finishes on the outside signal to timeless weary motorists that the dining room and comfort-food menu inside are worth stopping for.
Weary motorist or not, eating at Standard Diner is definitely worth it.
My meal started with a big cup ($4.99, a bowl is $6.99) of tomato soup that was thick and creamy, and had a great flavor. It was filling, though, and their idea of a cup is most restaurants’ idea of a bowl, so it was worth ordering.
The best part of the meal was the special appetizer, the buffalo chicken sliders ($8.99 for three), and I would gladly make another trip to Standard just for these: three freshly made mini rolls come stuffed with shredded chicken drenched in a delicate, not-too-spicy buffalo sauce, and topped with a fantastic coleslaw salad, and finished with fried sliced pickles on top.
The sliders were great. Shredded chicken is an unexpected twist in a buffalo chicken sandwich — most are either breaded and fried or grilled — but here it made for a nice texture and carried huge flavor. A hint of vinegar mixed with the spicy peppers in the buffalo sauce and the crunchy cabbage in the slaw, and it might just make the perfect appetizer.
The main dish was also good, but the sliders were a tough act to follow. I ordered the mac and cheese with carne adovada ($11.99, extra $4.99 for carne adovada) and wasn’t disappointed, although the creamy cheese sauce could have used a bit more of something: it was packed with cheese and was plenty savory, but it didn’t quite have the sharpness or richness normally associated with mac and cheese.
The dish came with three cheeses, primarily Gruyere, with sharp cheddar and a little Parmesan on top, and the corkscrewtube pasta held onto it well.
I might have found more flavor had I