Serving Up the Best at the River View Diner

The River View Diner serves up the best American cuisine, according to lots of folks in the Fox Valley area. It even says so on the diner's sign facing East River Road. 

Waitress Sharon Edwards said the restaurant has become a staple in Montgomery. Edwards was busy with a crowded house last Friday morning, but stopped to share a bit of the diner's history.

The location at 1420 S. East River Rd. is recognizably a former Pizza Hut, then it was the Pink Cup for a handful of years before becoming the River View Diner. 

Edwards, of Montgomery, helped moved the Pink Cup from the Gray's Mill across the river in downtown Montgomery. She's now becoming a staple at the diner. She raced around the restaurant quicker than lightning to serve the early morning crowd. 

Eleno Silva owns the diner that is recognized as having the best local American cuisine, according to a Sun-Times newspaper poll in 2010.

So what makes the River View the best? It's all in the preparation, proportions and prices.

The diner serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner and doesn't skip a beat. Double-yolk eggs fill the plate, homemade soups are favorites and $8 cream pies are a hit.

The menu has a good selection of typical diner fare as well as selections all across the board, from Chinese to Italian to pork chops and seafood.

Silva says that nearly everything is made fresh, from scratch, and it's the homemade aspect that makes the restaurant a favorite among locals.

I ordered a veggie skillet for $7.95 and it didn't disappoint with fresh vegetables and perfectly cooked eggs. It came with two slices of toast. I ate half of the skillet and packed the rest for later; maybe a late night snack.

"World famous omelets" cover up more than half of a plate and "Montgomery burgers" are popular at lunchtime. 

Fresh salads, hot sandwiches and broaster chickens are also on the menu. A customer sitting at the counter ordered a slice of pie for breakfast, so I think I'll have to try that next time.

It's also fun to read the local advertising on the tables and look at the colorful nature photography on the walls by local photographer Richard Capps. 

The is open 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Visit them online at www.riverviewdiner.com or on Facebook. Call them at 630-859-3737.