Kicking golden leaves across the sidewalk and relishing the bizarrely warm ‘Cuse weather, my dining partners and I moseyed down the street, craving greasy home fries and a comfortable spot to recall the previous night’s adventures. Mom’s Diner, located on Westcott Street, offered the perfect option. 

With black-and-white tiled floors, bright red walls and retro booths, Mom’s has the classic diner vibe. The joint is small and at 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning, an overwhelmingly college-aged crowd filled almost every booth. Unfortunately, only one of the tables seemed suited for a bigger group like ours, and a gaggle of young ladies already occupied it when we arrived.  Dismissing the option of splitting up between two tables, we squeezed a party of six into a booth clearly made for four.  

One of the owners handed us menus upon arrival at the table, so wefelt perplexed when, after salivating for 10 minutes over the listed options, the wait staff still hadn’t approached us. Turns out, the wait staff didn’t approach us because the wait staff doesn’t exist. At Mom’s, you order at the counter and fill your own coffee, tea, juice or whatever off to the side. Blame it on Sunday morning sleepiness, but it seemed strange that the staff didn’t explicitly explain the system.

Although the serve-yourself methodology definitely threw me off at first, it came with some benefits. I didn’t have to rely on a busy server to cure my craving for more Joe. I could walk to the front and fill my own mug the moment it was empty. Sunday mornings generally require a lot of coffee, and I appreciated being able to personally fuel my own addiction. 

Family-owned and operated since 2003, Mom’s Diner addsa Middle Eastern touch to mainstream meals. Take, for example, my order: Mom’s Spicy Sunrise. Listed on the menu as a specialty, the Sunrise brings a flavorful twist to the average eggs, meat, home fries and toast breakfast. ‘Mom’ added a signature spice combo, which included curry and hot chili paste, to my eggs over easy. The result was delicious.

I usually end up pouring liberal doses of generic hot sauce onto my eggs anyway, so this unique spiciness cinched my affection for Mom’s. The prominentcurry flavor didn’t feel too foreign.  The thick rye toast wasn’t as overly buttered as I often find it at other diners, and the perfectly browned home fries had enough grease to cure a hangover but not enough to make me feel disgusting. Chopped into small pieces,the potatoesheld a satisfying crispness, but the sausagetasted ordinaryalbeit salty and good. 

Besides the ‘Spicy’ menu items — Mom’s also offers the Spicy Sub Slam, the Spicy Omelet, and the Spicy Eggs and Toast — another specialty stuck out on the menu: Mom’s Homemade Lebaneh. This order brought a unique spin to another breakfast staple — a sesame bagel topped with a homemade yogurt cream cheese spread, garnished with dried mint and drizzled with olive oil. A self-proclaimed yogurt sauce enthusiast, I loved the yogurt cream cheese with its bitter edge and customary lightness. However, casual tasters, be warned: One of my roommates, who doesn’t share my yogurt sauce obsession, thought the combo tasted strange. 

We devoured our hearty feasts, ultimately decidingthe food was pretty damn good. However, even though the portions weighed heavily on our plates, the prices seemed a bit steep for diner food. My Spicy Sunrise cost$6.99compared to the $3.99 special at my local diner back home.Because almost all of us had ample leftovers, smaller portions would have been well worth a price reduction.   

Instead of waiting around for a check, we hopped in line at the front counter and expedited our pleasant walk home.  For those searching for a no-frills diner experience, Mom’s provides a delicious, walkable option that offers all the breakfast classics with some interesting twists. 

jidonfro@syr.edu

Published on November 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm