Top Diner reopened a week ago Thursday, under new ownership-management. The owner is Darryl who also owns the building. He offered jobs to the prior staff, and apparently (at least some of) the cooks are back.
Top Diner update 448adventuresome, truth be known, except that I-we have a friend from rec.food,cooking who has gotten us out and about occasionally over the last few years. Dim sum, sushi, hole...
Tamara, waitress of the short shorts all year round, and generally warm hearted person, has found some kind of employment elsewhere. Bummer. She was part of the reason that Top Diner used to have the Cheers Everyone knows your name kind of feel. It really was a bit of a let down to not have her call out our names when we walked in.
Top Diner update 447I would recommend that you try Victors. It frankly looks like a shack and it is pretty small - maybe 6 or 7 booths, one 4...
However, Darryl and the waiter Rick, a nice young man, welcomed us warmly and gave us the scoop on their plans (follows below).
The report thus far is good. I had my typical Ranch Breakfast (2 eggs, choice of different meats varied by price, hash browns or pancakes or grits. I went with my usual bacon and hashbrowns with onions. My wife wanted her usual blueberry waffle and sausage. Unfortunately, the waffle iron was not working - so she went with blueberry pancakes.
Where WON'T you shop 451P T For me there are a couple of restaurants I won't return to because of bad service. For example, Embers. Good grief! The last time I went there is was...
Seemed like the same fare that keep us coming back mostly weekly ever since Top Diner relocated from a smaller shop just up the road. I initially found TD when I posted my search for outstanding hash browns after the Town Talk Crabby Gals closed. At that time, the diner was in the midst of the move, and we had to return several times until we found it opened.
The menu looked like standard fare, but I did not see the Costa Rican dishes. I also neglected to ask for the Costa Rican Lizano sauch that Tamara used to bring me for my eggs. I wouldn't be surprised if this is not available.
Darryl said that they plan on maintaining the weekly specials (such as Tuesday night enchiladas), and I think he said that the lunch buffet will be returning shortly. He said that intially he plans to give people what they expect.
But the menu will be expanded eventually to include Cajun-Creole type dishes, and I believe he said some Soul Food type fare. This apparently reflects his wife's cooking (they are 13-year transplants from Louisiana). It sounds like the family is quite established in North Minneapolis - his brother is a pastor at a northside church.
At this point, we will probably return and will be very interested in seeing what happens with the menu expansion.
We may not return weekly as before, as during the time Top Diner was closed, we began frequenting Victors 1957 Cafe again (38th Street and Grand Avenue). This is another great place, where regulars are greeted by name - owners Victor and Nikki Valenz are awesome community supporters (such as using their email list to encourage people to buy flowers at Petersons' after their recent fire).
I have essentially become powerless over the Cuban Hash, and would probably need a 12-step program if I were to attempt abstience. I also find that Victors is less packed than it used to be (likely due to them expanding into the dinner hour). This allows us to linger over coffee and the morning paper - which was formerly hard to do without intense guilt feelings from the sad gaze of those who were waiting for tables.
I would be interested in hearing other people experiences with both Top Diner and Victors, as well as other recommendations such as are often made on this ng.