Buzzbrews : Dallas Diner Dining, 24x7

Dallas isn't really a diner kind of city[1]. Chain restaurants of every stripe, some really good high-end dining and good selection of tacquerias, but not so much on the diner front. Buzzbrews[2] is my current choice for diner-like dining with some Dallas flavor, and the only real choice after midnight[3]

My favorite diner food is a fried egg sandwich and Buzzbrews does up an excellent, if baroque, version with grilled tomato, fried eggs over hard and two strips of thick bacon on some hearty toasted bread. It comes with potatoes. They have a cute name I won't repeat here, but they're those small round ones done up with garlic. I didn't love them, but people who are into potatoes tell me they're good. I liked the coffee.

The interior looks like a small traditional diner, with a row of booths along the windows facing the Central Expressway, a row of two-person tables down the middle, and a counter with stools facing the kitchen. While I was there there were a couple of random East Dallas types, a pair of NorthPark moms with small kids and what looked like a rock band[4] The restaurant has Wi-Fi, but the place is just too small to camp out effectively. I'd say you could probably get away with an hour if it wasn't during a rush. The seating is communal (did I mention it was small?) but in the couple of times I've been there it wasn't an issue.

It's too expensive to really be a diner ($6.50 for my fried egg sandwich) so it's really a 'diner' in quotes, but the quote marks are what makes it a Dallas diner. Chris says check it out.

[1] Notable exceptions for the traditionally inclined include the Metro Diner over by Baylor Hospital and the Pitt Grill on Davis in Oak Cliff. I hear the Buzzbrews location used to be a Pitt Grill, which if true would be cool.

[2] BUZZBREWS? BuzzBrews? Capitalization unclear. And no, it's not like they're new or anything, but I was out of town for a while.

[3] Be honest, the only reason you go to Cafe Brazil is because it's open and you're too drunk to notice that the food is lousy. You know that nasty taste in your mouth the next morning? It's not from the booze, it's from the Cafe Brazil quesadilla you don't remember eating.

[4] Or what normal people dress up like on Halloween when they want to pretend they are a rock band. Black jeans, black t-shirts, dark glasses. You know the drill. They seemed suspiciously clean to be a rock band, though. Doesn't matter, the point is they were entertaining to look at. Oh, and when I say "East Dallas types" I mean people who look like they would really prefer to live in Austin.