There’s something very appealing about a diner with unnecessarily good food. I grew up going to diners — specifically the East Bay Diner (RIP) in Oceanside, Long Island — and the Denver omelettes and French toast were almost besides the point. You go to diners for the convenience, the lack of pretentiousness, the camaraderie.
Kellogg’s Diner in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is more like the kind of diner you’d find in a hipster hotel; specifically it reminded me of King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, a huge compliment because I love King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. How appropriate, then, that I had breakfast at Kellogg’s with my pal from L.A., Ben Mims.
The first sign that this isn’t your ordinary small town diner is the coffee menu: they’ve got everything you’d expect to find at a top tier coffee shop. I selected the Horchata Cold Brew and it was a surprisingly effective combination.
The food menu has all of the expected items — a BLT, a western omelette, meatloaf — but those items are the exception; the bulk of the items have a Tex-Mex vibe: Tall Nachos with Queso, Enchiladas Suisas, Stuffed Poblano. There’s also a Southern influence with fried chicken and waffles and chicken fried steak.
I went for the breakfast chilaquiles verdes with two fried eggs:
As you can see, that’s a solid plate of food right there. And it totally hit the spot: what more could you want from chilaquiles than that crisp-soft texture of the fried and sauced chips, the tanginess from the tomatillos in the salsa, a little heat, and then the perfectly fried eggs on top.
The star of the show, however, had to be the ricotta pancakes that we shared:
They were fluffy, they were light; the best part was the banana butter on top. Sort of like honey butter, except it tasted like bananas. These were so good that I accidentally started eating Ben’s portion (we divided it with a knife) and he was very nice about it, though he may secretly hate me now.
Which is all to say: Kellogg’s Diner offers an exemplary diner experience. If I lived in the neighborhood, I would be here all the time. If we go and I offer to share the pancakes with you, be sure to barricade your portion well.
Kellogg’s Diner / 518 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 / (718) 782-4505
Leave a Reply