Critic's Review
During last week's debate, one of the political pundits I follow on Twitter mentioned that David Axelrod was having his pre-debate dinner at the Boca Diner; with all of the good restaurants in Boca, I figured he must have gotten a tip from a Republican. But as it turns out, the Boca Diner was a sponsor of the Debate, which I suppose obligated people to go there; I also guess mixing it up with the little people is part of the campaigning process.
For those of you who don't follow politics, that's Press Secretary Jay Carney in the center with glasses, David Plouffe and David Axelrod to his left; the Chicago political brains behind the President's campaigns, and to his right is Jon Favreau, who is the President's head speechwriter. A pretty scary bunch to a right-winger like me; but I figured it was newsworthy enough for me to give the place a try in my Saturday Breakfast Series. On the ends are the owners of Boca Diner.
On days when there's no Presidential debate in town, the place is patronized by elderly locals, at least on Saturday afternoon. The decor is mid-70s teal; reminiscent of a time in between the cool diners of the 50s and the modern establishments of today.
Music is from the same era, with Lou Rawls and Evelyn "champaign" King among the featured artists. The servers are real diner people; calling people "sweety" and lumbering around with a constant sense of urgency. The tableware is probably original equipment as well.
As usual, I contemplated eggs benedict and corned beef hash; I even considered their "Spanish" omelet, but I've been burned too often by omelets. I wanted toast, so I just went with my usual. It was ready lickety-split.
A quick examination shows that they use the miniature eggs; 4 link sausages which is nice and well-made hash browns. The potatoes were unseasoned and needed salt and pepper, but I'd have to say that everything here was pretty good. Typical diner stuff; a too hot grill and they were cheap with butter on the toast (and no extra available). No Splenda. But for $5.95 + $1.75 it's a good deal in Boca; where you usually pay more for something that isn't any better.
Service was uneven but not bad. I wasn't offered coffee until the cup was empty, and when a bunch of people walked in it's always fun to hear a server cackle "I can't take any more tables". Typical diner stuff.