Tom's Restaurant

I dropped the kids off at school at 8 and the household sale around the corner wasn't open until 8:30. Might as well check out Tom's Restaurant in the plaza on the corner of Hudson and East Ridge.

I was pleasantly surprised that this storefront diner had some older fixtures - fabulous yellow counter, chrome stools, and booths that seemed oddly small compared to the amount of space between them and the counter. It was hard to imagine two grown-ups sitting comfortably side by side in these booths, but imagining them doing a tango in the middle of Tom's seemed reasonable. As it was just me, just sitting and eating, the booth size was just fine.

I didn't notice a breakfast sandwich on the menu so I asked if they made one. They did. I asked what my bread options were. The waitress listed the usual: hard roll, bagel, English muffin, or toast. Then she added: "The hard roll is the best." I held my tongue and told her I was more in the mood for a bagel. She asked how I wanted the egg and I told her over easy. She looked at me as though I asked her to hold the bagel between her knees.
"It's going to be messy."
"You've got napkins?" I smiled.
"No."
"I guess I'll just use my shirt."
She hinted a smile and then headed back behind the counter and gave the order to the cook. I could hear him respond: "As a sandwich?!"
"As a sandwich."

A moment later she swooped by my booth and put a short stack of napkins on the table.

I looked around admiring the sparseness but not charmlessness of the place. Clean and tidy except for the cascade of lottery scratch-offs between the soda machine and kitchen.

And then my food arrived. Half a platter of home fries and two very long, crisp strips of bacon leapt out at me, then I noticed the bit of green on the plate: Pickles. How jolly! I took it as a nod to spring and started to put the sandwich together. The outside of the bagel was oddly matte which made me question if it had ever met water but when I took a bite it wasn't the usual soft breadel; it had the chewiness of a real bagel and was well suited to a sandwich. And then a bit of yolk oozed out onto my finger. I imagined the staff peering from behind the counter waiting to see this very thing but I didn't turn around to check. I picked up a napkin and wiped my finger off and took another bite. No more oozing. The rest of the egg was firmer and was not the mess that was anticipated.

The waitress came back to ask how this bizarre order was. "Just perfect," I said.

The bacon was crisp and delicious, the egg wasn't overdone, and the bagel exceeded my expectations. The home fries were pretty good and oh so plentiful. As with the Avenue Diner, this ended up being over ten bucks with the potatoes and iced tea. Maybe next time I bring a dance partner to split the home fries with.

Tom's Restaurant
740 East Ridge Road, 14621
Sandwich Price: $4.95
Rating: Better than expected

Mr Beenz Diner

I had to drive out to Gates a few times this winter and I noticed Mr. Beenz on the corner of Buffalo Road and Marway Circle. On one of my early morning trips I stopped in.

It was almost empty around 9:30 and I took a seat at the counter in the back. I ordered bacon, egg, and cheese on a hard roll, because I figure if you keep rolling the dice your number has to come up eventually, right? Right?!

I took a look around as my sandwich was being made: fairly typical suburban plaza diner: not a lot of character but it was clean and didn't have too much American flag decor so that's a plus.

 The sandwich arrived and the hard roll looked like the Kaiser I know and love, but alas, it was on the softer side. Actually, it was on the sweet side, too, like a potato roll, which complimented the very salty cheese and bacon. Ordered the egg over easy and it was a runny mess which was fine, though a sturdier roll would have absorbed some of that. Bacon was crispy and delicious.

Mr. Beenz Diner
1941 Buffalo Road, 14624
Sandwich cost: $4.49
Rating: Par for the course, bonus points for taking a chance with the roll

Sam's Diner

Another Wednesday morning on E. Ridge Road. Time to check out Sam's Diner in the kooky Atrium Mall plaza (across the street from Medley Center, formerly The Irondequoit Mall, this seems to be the neighborhood of retail experimentation) but Sam's is a pretty traditional diner. I walked in at 8, all eyes up at me as I walked to the counter. No one behind it but a man in an apron is sitting on the last stool drinking coffee.

"Can I get two fried egg sandwiches to go, over easy?"
"How do you want them?"
"Can I get them fried, kinda runny?"
"You want them scrambled?"
"Ummmm, no, I'll take them fried over easy if I could..."
"Sure thing, hard roll? Meat?"
The question that vexes me every time. Do I spin the hard roll roulette wheel or should I see what my other options are? Still too early for me to make decisions I agreed to the hard roll and one sandwich with bacon and one with no meat. And an order of home fries. To go.

Well, no sense in dragging this out, it's the same damn roll of disappointment that's all over this town. And, true to form, it just smushes down into gooey nothing. I think it's time to stop hoping I'm gonna score some kind of crusty deliciousness at a regular diner. Next time I ask and see what they've got like I did at the Brockport Diner a few days ago:

"The roll for your breakfast sandwich...that a Petrillo's roll?"
"I...have..no idea what that means."
"Does it have a knotted top?"
"It sure does!" Big laughs all around.
(It was late afternoon and I just needed some soup to warm me up so no sandwich to review yet.)

As for the eggs, even with the ordering confusion they were cooked to drippy perfection. American cheese for melted saltiness, and the bacon on mine added the extra salt and greasiness I like in a sandwich. Too bad about the roll. Trying to recall the home fries a week later...not bad, not great, kinda dry, kinda meh.

Sam's Diner
1780 E Ridge Road, Ste 6, Rochester, NY 14622
Sandwich cost: $3.75
Rating: It's a pretty good breakfast sandwich