Parthenon Diner - Brandord, CT

The Parthenon Diner wasn't a Triple-D restaruant but it was very much a typical diner.  Enough so to make me want to review it.

Like any good diner, they had a glass cool case with lots of nice pastries front and center when you first walk in to get you thinking about desert while you are still hungry.

There was also a little model of the actual Parthenon on a shelf which was kind of comical.

I had the chicken soup to start out with because it was very cold outside on a chilly spring day.  I found it to be not too salty.  I half expected them to warm up some Campbell's soup.  So, I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't.

I ordered the pastrami and cheese sandwich as part of the soup and sandwich special.  The quality of pastrami wad really good. It came with onion and tomato on rye bread.  The quality of the bread was also very good.

Service was okay.  Because it wasn't a triple-D restaurant, my expectation level was pretty low.  So, they get a bit of a pass.

Overall, I would rate Parthenon an 8.0.  It was a good diner.


Parthenon Diner
374 East Main Street
Branford, CT 06405
(203) 481-0333
www.parthenondiner.com

Standard Diner - Albuquerque, NM

The Standard Diner is absolutely not standard.  It is kind of an upscale diner which means that it is absolutely not a dive either.

The food was creatively put together like you would expect from a triple-d restaurant.  The first clue was the chipotle butter with really good sourdough bread that they serve to you automatically when you sit down.

This was not a finger food joint like you would find in Santa Fe. This is hearty comfort food.  Whereas the people in Santa Fe were dressed in expensive trim-cut designer clothes and sipped white wine, n ABQ the people were wearing jeans and sweaters and drank original formula Coke.

I ordered the monte vista with sweet potato fries.  A monte vista was basically a hot french toast sandwich with a fried egg on top.  Not a good day to skip taking your lipator.

The hot syrup had some kind of spicy kick to it. I don't think that they put jalepeno in it but, there was definitely something spicy added.  The sandwich had ham, turkey and cheese in the middle.

I orderd a cup of their Covina coffee which is grown by some Colombian ABQ residents who went back to Columbia to grow the beans and sell them in Santa Fe.   It was really rich and smooth.  Very nice.

I was there right after new year's eve.  There was a sign advertising "break your resolutions with us."  This would probably do it.

Desert menu looked really good but there was just no way. I'm sure that there are some people that can do it.

I liked it I would give it a 9.5 on the DDD scale. Worth checking out.


Standard Diner
320 Central Avenue S.E.
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 243-1440
www.standarddiner.com