Cheap Eats - Far out
Galaxy Diner pleases with greasy-spoon favorites
Months ago, I stumbled across Galaxy Diner while searching for another restaurant. With its cheery blue and white exterior and tiny, shaded patio, the diner looked like a homemade version of Denny’s. A marquee announcing the $9.99 all-you-can-eat fresh catfish on Wednesdays and Fridays further piqued my interest, along with a photo of the owner on the diner’s website. Any establishment whose proprietor refers to himself as “Tommy, your friend/owner” right under his grinning mug certainly holds a bit of promise. Further exploration on the website reveals “the community photo album” with shots of customers wolfing down pancakes and burgers, and other pics of a helicopter-enabled visit from Santa. How could anyone say no to such sweet earnestness?
Hot meal and a warm smile:
Curtained by bamboo shades, the patio is most enticing, but we can’t brave the chilly weather. Booths dominate the sunny dining room. Their powder-blue vinyl banquettes have just the right balance between spring and squish. Coffee is served straight out of the machine carafe, as any self-respecting diner would have it. A predominant menu feature is the ‘round-the-clock availability of both breakfast and a range of comfort foods, such as meatloaf, country-fried steak and hot open-faced sandwiches. Greek favorites, including moussaka, pistachio and spinach pie are on offer, as well as seemingly out-of-place matzo ball soup. At $1.59 a cup, said soup is a welcome warm-up on a cold winter afternoon. The matzo ball is wonderfully dense yet light, and the rich chicken stock is clearly homemade and absolutely delicious with bits of dark meat.
Big ate:
The “big 8” breakfast special’s appeal is undeniable, with its rock-bottom pricing ($3.29 before 11 a.m. weekdays) and portions set to satisfy a lumberjack. With two eggs, two pancakes, two strips of bacon, and two fat links of sausage, the big 8 was just the hangover helper a friend sorely needed. Sometimes a griddled sandwich is all you need to set things right, and the Reuben ($6.99) does the trick. The rye bread is lovingly margarine-soaked and the corned beef is hot and tender. Long enamored of patty melts, I find Galaxy Diner’s version ($5.99) intensely satisfying, with its hand-formed, irregularly shaped patty, gooey orange cheese and grilled onions. A perennial diner winner, the chef salad ($6.99, large) delivers with a mountain of iceberg lettuce and coils of ham, turkey, roast beef and orange and yellow cheese. Our waitress is lavish with the portions of Thousand Island.
Return to planet earth:
As it turns out, our eyes are much greedier than our stomachs are large, and we can’t eat as much of the fresh catfish ($9.99) as we’d hoped. The filets are flaky, buttery and coated in just the lightest dusting of cornmeal and seasonings, accompanied by slaw, fries and hush puppies. Desserts are homemade and proudly displayed in a counter in the lobby. Jumbo eclairs ($2.49) are exactly that, oozing with vanilla pudding and dripping with chocolate glaze. The best sweet ending, though, is the crispy, sticky baklava ($2.29). The serving size is a diamond as big as my hand. A piece of it, along with the friendly service here, is the best cure for the wintertime blues you could dream of.