Bites Nearby: Court Diner, Service with a Smile Any Time of Day

In my younger days, I would stay up until all hours. Sometimes it would be doing constructive things (working, cleaning, organizing), other times it would be doing useless things (watching TV, talking on the phone, procrastinating by playing Solitaire on my computer). Regardless of what I was doing, whenever hunger struck I would head to a 24-hour diner.

For me, there is nothing better than breakfast any time. In the movie Swingers, the diner menu in Vegas says the same thing, and Jon Favreau pretentiously asks for "pancakes in the age of Enlightenment." It's hilarious when the waitress calls him "Voltaire" on her way back.

I love a good diner, even when it's not open 24 hours a day and doesn't have sassy servers. The in Media is a good diner.

The best meal at a diner is breakfast. Yes, some diners may have a killer BLT, milkshake, or cheeseburger deluxe, but my heart belongs to breakfast. I went in bright and early one morning and ordered the "eat'em" hot cakes with strawberries and sausage and a cup of coffee.

Inferior coffees insist on the addition of plenty of sugar and cream, but this was not the case here. Robust with a smooth finish, the cup of joe was good enough to be enjoyed black.

I thought the pancakes would come with slices of fresh strawberries (they are in season right now) but thin slices of strawberries were cooked into the pancakes themselves. There was a good rise to the pancake batter so the cakes were light and fluffy. There was a slight flour-y taste which faded after a few bites. Though advertised as being served with Vermont maple syrup, there are carafes of both pure maple syrup and imitation syrup on the tables. (The real maple syrup is lighter in color and much less viscous.)

The strawberry pancakes were enjoyable (even with the imitation syrup). The sausage was well-cooked and there was a nice snap when I bit into each link.

The decor is typical of a large diner. There is a large clean counter with plenty of stools. There are milkshake machines, coffee makers, refrigerated cases with baked goods and bags of coffee on display. The booths are spacious and comfortable with colorful patterned seats. There are some fake candles, fake flowers and overhead fans throughout the space.

The service is very friendly and accommodating. My server answered all of my questions and brought everything to me as soon as he could. The coffee was piping hot and the pancakes fresh off the griddle. Since I was reading and checking email, he kept his distance but was never out of sight.

I heard him helping the booth behind me, and he was equally polite and patient with the regular, his out-of-town guest, and child. He smiled constantly and was easygoing with everyone who crossed his path, unlike the people in any of the diner scenes in the film Pulp Fiction.

I can't say what I love more, diners or movies, but I can add another diner to my go-to list. It's a shame that Court Diner closes at 10 p.m., but at least I know another place where I can fill up on some grub with affordable pricing so I don't feel like I'm being robbed.