Critic's Review
I wasn't around in the 50's, so I can't vouch for the authenticity of Ellie's 50's Diner, but it seems to me that a diner that opens at 8am and closes at 10:30 on weekends isn't really the kind of diner that I'm used to.
I'd gotten a tip that they place served a great Spanish Omelet, and their menu description of a "spicy sauce" sounded promising. The place is a bit further than I usually go, about 2 miles north of downtown Delray, but I felt like a late breakfast. They serve breakfast until 2pm.
Inside, the place seems overdecorated, with all sorts of 50's photos, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe dominate. The keep the silverware and napkins in the old refrigerator.
I was seated in the only available booth, right next to a big Marilyn statue. I could barely squeeze into the table (see gallery).
Omelets come with toast and a choice of potatoes or grits, and potato pancakes were an option. Cool, something different. So I ordered a Spanish omelet, potato pancakes and rye toast. It's also served with a "fruit medly", which is actually just a thimble full.
Unlike Lester's, where your food comes out before you can finish sugaring your coffee, I waited at least 15 minutes for the food. When she put it down, I tried to hold back my disappointment.
Good grief. This isn't a Spanish Omelet. Salsa is not a "spicy sauce" What is going on here in south florida? Why do so many diners have exactly the same wrong idea of what a Spanish Omelet is? Feel free to google for recipes and you won't find one like this. This was a peppers and onions and mushrooms omelet with a side of salsa.
It wasn't a bad omelet for a peppers and onion and mushroom omelet, it's just not what I came all the way out here for. Seedless rye, and I don't know what the potato thing was, but it certainly wasn't a potato pancake like I've ever had before. It looked they they squished a bunch of home fries together and called it a pancake. There was something mushy in it; it wasn't terrible, but not what I was expecting.
Service was abysmal. I had to wait to get coffee, wait for refills, and wait to get my check. Breakfast shouldn't take an hour. I had to scrap what I was planning to do afterwards as I expected to get out of here in a half hour.
I noticed other tables getting questionable service; one server brought out a partial order promising to bring out the rest and she never did. This is a retirement diner; there isn't much authentic about it except for the decor.
