Nick's 50's Diner, West Palm Beach, August 24, 2013

Nick's is a '50s-style diner with some foodie twists that will keep you coming back for more.

First, let's deal with the punctuation in the name, "Nick's 50's Diner". Grammar purists will point out that "50's" is wrong, but it's that common kind of wrong usage that will probably be grudgingly accepted in dictionaries, say, 50 years from now. See how I did that? Har-de-har.



Now let's talk about the decor. Nick's is retro-styled in a black-and-white, heavy on the chrome and neon and Formica style that Hollywood tells us all diners looked like in the '50s. You've seen this diner in that movie, you know, the one you can't think of the name, but it stars that girl, you know the one. And that dude. Yeah, that one.

Anyway, you can check out a photo at Nick's website: Nicks50diner.com.

The diner has been around for 25 years. So we have a '50s-style diner, 25 years in the biz, you might think that the menu would be old and stale as well. Such a line of thinking would be incorrect. Just look at the breakfast menu on the back page of the big menu ...

You can see offerings including "Hangover Deluxe," "Sloppy Tex Mex", and "Cuban Egg Sandwich" that I'm pretty sure weren't offered in diners back in the '50s. This is a very good thing.

My point is the familiar retro blandness of Nick's decor might lead people to underestimate its food. I think such people are in for a pleasant surprise.

I'd say that Nick's offers dishes to please any palate, from people who just want two eggs and a big cup of shut up, to people who want an omelette that would choke a goat and friendly staff to talk to you while you gobble it down.

With that in mind, on with the food ...

The Food

I had a "Shepherd's Pie Omelette," which was pretty much a slice of shepherd's pie wrapped in egg and covered with string fries. Yum-yum.

The biscuit that came with it was flaky, golden brown, and delicious. I also ordered bacon, because, hey, bacon! And it was done just right, not over- or undercooked.

Kevin had corned beef hash and scrambled eggs, which came with the most generous serving of corned beef hash I've seen in a long time. And Kevin ate the whole thing, pronouncing it mmm-mm good.

Note that Kevin got grits with his meal, too. Now there are two things about grits. You either love 'em or hate 'em. And restaurants either do grits right, or they don't. The grits at Nick's got Kevin's seal of approval.

The coffee was good and hot, just the way it should be.

Cindy here: I wasn't swayed by all the fancy options, and decided to keep it simple with a make it yourself omelette. My tastebuds said ham and swiss, my new healthy eating habits added spinach. And it was GREAT. It was pretty much three of my favorite foods with a little bit of egg binding it all together. Mmmm, mmmm. I have one easy way to explain how much I liked this omelette: Nick's gives an option of biscuit, which was flaky and perfect on the first bite.... but after trying it, I went right back to my omelette and ate until I was too full to eat my biscuit. Too full? To eat a biscuit?

I was telling my husband four hours later, that I rate a breakfast place not only on the immediate pleasure of the eating experience, but also on the length of time of feeling satisfied. And now here at lunch time, I am all, nah, I'll skip. then I remembered the biscuit which I brought home with me... that was my lunch. Mmmm, mmmm. It could've been better warm. I should've heated it a bit.



Pam had the most interesting breakfast creation. She ordered two eggs over medium, plus rye toast and hash browns. Then she put grape jelly on the toast, and put the eggs between the toast, and ate it like a sandwich. She swears it was good. Her egg yolks were wee bit runny, but definitely not watery as can sometimes happen with eggs over easy. I am totally ordering my eggs like this from now on... but I'll skip the jelly and rye.

Ellie, our daughter, is ambivalent to breakfast other than bacon. Nick's was totally willing to accommodate that, and made her a grilled cheese sandwich ... with bacon on it. She said it was scrumptious and "baconlicious." But she didn't eat her crusts because they were too crispy. She also ordered her customary hot chocolate which she described as very hot, but very good.



Turning it back over to Sean:

The Service

The wait staff was generous with the coffee refills, and checked back on us regularly. The food came quickly and we were out of there in half an hour. I didn't feel rushed; it's just that things went so smoothly.

Memorable note: You get all this and free wifi. Really, what's not to like?

Worth a Return Visit?

I want to go back and try the Sloppy Tex Mex. I can see it as a place where I might sit at the bar with endless coffee refills, stoking up on caffeine and surfing the web until I vibrate right off my seat.

Location

1900 Okechobee Blvd
West Palm Beach, FL
33409

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