And so it continues ... a brand new set of tastes for 2017 ...
here's the SIXTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA
(coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!
Establishment: Lester's Diner
Location: Ft Lauderdale
Meal: Dinner
Drink: Arnold Palmer (iced tea and lemonade for those who don't know)
Appetizer: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Main: Chicken Croquettes
Side(s): Mashed Potatoes and Spinach Escarole (instead of the broccoli I had ordered)
Dessert: Sheet Cake
Server: name not gotten but she had a super long braid so you'll recognize her if you go
Website: n/a
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lestersdiner/
Sometimes you go to a diner for the atmosphere ... and sometimes you go for the food ... and in rare circumstances, you're lucky enough to do it for both. For this particular local landmark with a Greek flavor (as so many diners are), it's the first one in that list that rang the most true for our party (family was in town, so we were a group of five showing up before the 7pm specials started [although they let us order from that menu all the same]). The vibe was great ... the vittles not so much (although it is possible that maybe I just ordered wrong). As for where they ended up on the Troy-score, see below:
AMBIANCE: 10/10 (it's exactly what you want in a 24 hour diner, with an extra big room off the back from the main booths ... and you have to walk past amazing desserts on display to get there ... plus there was an outside area [although it was too chilly for it to be used that night] ... as for our group of five [again, family was visiting], we ended up in one of those big corner round tables with a circular booth that celebrities normally sit in [and see an actual celebrity sighting from that night below] ... and, as an added benefit, the big room in the back is decorated with large photos of famous people artfully presented in such a way that you can play "who's that famous silhouette?" whilst waiting for your food)
FOOD: 5/10 (if I were to follow the maxim of "if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all", the only thing I'd be mentioning in this section is the homemade chicken noodle soup -- oh so fresh and flavorful as it was ... but alas, I have committed to documenting my point deductions in a fair and judicious matter -- so ... a point lost for the overall appearance of my main dish [although those croquettes were jam packed when broken up, as seen in one of the photos], a second point lost for gummy potatoes, a third point lost because I got tricked into having TWO orders of gummy potatoes [more to come about that], a fourth point lost because they ran out of my original side order and served the mushy escarole instead ... and a fifth and final point lost because that sheet cake sure did look pretty but sure was awfully dry)
SERVICE: 8/10 (it's funny in that as the evening wore on, we grew to like the waitress more and more ... but it was definitely a case of her winning us over with her sparkling and engaging personality and not so much because of her serving skills ... a point is being subtracted for her biggest error, which was letting me choose one of my two sides as mashed potatoes even though the dinner I ordered was served on top of a scoop of mashed potatoes ... I can't not blame HER for me having that double order ... a second point is lost in this category for a hostess who refused to smile)
BACON: 9/10 (one better be able to get bacon at a 24 hour diner that serves breakfast all the time along with all the other classic diner fare, and this place did not disappoint ... with 18 references to it on the Facebook version of the menu, that's half a point for each call-out to bacon on whichever menu item it might appear ... including an entry under the section MEAT called "bacon sandwich")
BONUS: 6/10 (+3 for the Jackie Mason sighting [captured below] and +3 for being open 24 hours)
TroyScore: 38 out of 50 -- aka 76, a C
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