EMPIRE DINER

 There are few restaurants I have visited, and basically none at which I could be considered a regular.  But this was my fourth visit to Empire Diner, although ostensibly, at the same time, my first.  Empire Diner has changed ownership and concept so many times since it's original classic diner iteration established in 1946, and has now found quite strong footing under the leadership of the Cafeteria Restaurant group, a capable entity for the takeover.  

Never in my experience has Empire Diner been a classic diner of Americana lore, slinging hash and silver dollars, greasy burgers or blue plate specials: that was before my time.  But given the landmarked real estate, there is some of that mystique clinging to the sleeked up eatery, by no means frou-frou and still offers pretty good bang for your buck.

Because portion sizes are pretty generous!  To start things off, we took our waiter's recommendation of the roasted cauliflower over fried artichokes (which was a tough decision, 'cause I love both, and there were also shishito peppers trying to elbow their way into the decision), but my tablemate and I both loved the cauli.  True, it was cooked to within an inch of complete disintegration, but I love me a well-cooked vegetable, and this was executed in sumptuous way.  If you don't like your veggies super tender, opt for one of the others we were toggling between.  But it's sweetness was coaxed out by that generous cook time, and countered with the slight,

 nutty bitterness of tahini and a fresh herb vinaigrette.  I kind of wish it would've achieved a hint more char on the outside, but it is pretty hard to criticize after we almost literally licked that plate clean.  My tablemate opted for the tuna tartare, which was a admittedly a tad basic with avocado, ginger and soy, but the potato chips that came along for scooping it up were stellar: perfectly crispy and salty.  

For mains we went surf & turf: one branzino and one meatloaf.  The latter, while truer to classic diner form, was frankly pretty bad... although my tablemate really liked it, so...?  For me, its texture was homogenous and a little mealy, the meat bland but the tomato glaze overpoweringly tangy and sweet.  The mashed potatoes that accompanied might have had a firmer texture than the meat (they were quite good) and a hefty portion of steamed collards beneath balanced the plate well.  The carrots, on the other hand, were fairly bland and undercooked, especially paired with meatloaf.  

The branzino was more successful, a sizeable filet bedded in a similarly generous portion of bloomsdale spinach, with the crispiest of skins and topped with chunks of colorful olives. Simple but satisfying.  Maybe the crowning glory of the night were the charred brussels sprouts, kicked up with calabrian chiles and a bit of colatura for funk. 

 Some of the larger halves were a little underdone, but the smaller ones came close to perfection.  

I had my heart set on a big ol' slice of diner-style homemade pie since before even ordering our repast, but oddly enough there's no pie on the menu (at least not March).  Maybe it's a seasonal thing?  Anyway, lots of ice cream and cake options, and maybe a banana praline pudding would've been more appealing had we not been so full.  There are some certainly 'Grammable milkshakes, too, with various toppings.  

Our waiter was charming and attentive, as was the maitre d', both of whom checked in on us at regular intervals to assure everything was copacetic, which it was.  Which makes me think the current iteration of Empire Diner might stick around as long, or close, as the original.  

210 10th Avenue 

tel. 212.335.2277