The “diner” notion means many things to many people. In Kansas City, Town Topic has been (for me) the “diner” gold standard — particularly since the classic Nichol’s Lunch closed years back and the venerable Corner Restaurant (in Westport) shut down, more recently. A solid diner brings to bear a certain nostalgic vibe that somehow takes patrons back to a different era. Good burgers. Better chili. Eggs. Eating at the counter. Nothing fancy.
The 119th Street Diner, located at 14178 W. 119th St. in Olathe, strives to bring the “diner” concept into the modern era. The décor has a contemporary feel, with its bright yellow walls and colorful paintings of vertical and horizontal stripes. A big mirror makes the dining room look bigger than it is. Though there is nothing inherently wrong with this atmospheric approach, 119th Street Diner doesn’t frankly feel much like the “diner” it purports to be — at least not in any conventional sense.
One night, our waiter (who met us at the front, asking whether we wanted a booth or a table) led us to a small, purple-walled room partitioned from the rest of the establishment. The place was not especially busy on this particular week night. We felt like we had been sent to time-out, before we had even misbehaved. Our foursome was dining without the customary two children (ages 3 and 6) this night, and we hardly felt like we needed to be separated from the more civilized patrons. What had we done?
Our waiter intimated almost immediately that this was only his second day on the job. He was earnest and pleasant, though quite unfamiliar with a number of menu items. The soup of the day? He would have to check. The vegetable? He would get back with us on that, also. As the meal progressed, he seemed to settle into a decent groove —though maybe that was because, at some point, we stopped asking so many questions.
Diner food should really have a made-from-scratch element to it. In this regard, 119th Street Diner succeeded, on a number of levels. Once we received word of its identity, we tried the Soup of the Day ($3.95/$5.95) — Chicken and Dumpling. It was a hearty, peppery broth laden with onions, carrots, celery and herbs and big hunks of roasted chicken. There were scarcely any dumplings in the soup, however. Two of us shared an entrée Caesar Salad ($7.95), covered in a tremendous, creamy dressing with a rich anchovy prominence. 119th Street Diner makes all of its dressings in-house, evidently — a keen touch. At nearly $8, though, the Caesar was not of adequate size to warrant entrée pricing.
We dabbled in the breakfast, sandwich and dinner entrée realms. Within the breakfast arena, we checked out the Smoked Salmon Benedict ($9.49), a solid variation of the breakfast classic. The salmon was of good quality, and the dish was generally well-executed. Some places over-poach the eggs, though the yolk really needs to be running into the Hollandaise. This Hollandaise was good, but not really in sufficient quantity to serve as an adequate dance partner with the runny yolk. Respectable hash browns came alongside. A diner should have a good Reuben ($8.95), and this was a decent version. It is probably too much to expect a “diner” to stack the corned beef on its Reuben like a classic New York deli might. Still, the portion was not skimpy, either, and this was a good sandwich on a nice light rye. Crispy shoestring French fries — only lukewarm, at best — were served with it.
In terms of entrees —deemed “Diner Favorites” — one companion complained that the menu was noteworthy for its absence of meatloaf. A real “diner” would serve meatloaf, she insisted. We opted one night for the Fish and Chips ($11.99), and were disappointed. The crispy batter served on the fish was unexceptional, though the fish itself was fairly moist. But the portion was glaringly small — three filets of only a couple bites or so, each. The sweet potato fries were crispy and solid. We asked about the “Roasted Chicken Dinner” ($15.95) — specifically whether it was a boneless breast or served on the bone. I wholeheartedly prefer the latter. Our young waiter had to check, of course, and returned to tell us it was a generous half bird and the chef had given it his highest recommendation. It was ample, though somewhat bland, and did not seem to warrant the chef’s glowing accolades. The vegetable of the day turned out to be big, round chunks of fresh carrots, yellow squash and zucchini (far superior to the awful canned renditions some restaurants — diners and otherwise — have the nerve to serve).
The 119th Street Diner served some outstanding desserts one night — one made in-house and another made, according to our waiter, by a “European lady who bakes these pies in her house and brings them in the morning.” Regardless of her continent (or country) of origin, this lady knew how to assemble Banana Cream Pie ($5.95), with a flaky crust, rich custard filling and loads of banana. But we especially loved the unique and decadent, house-made Blueberry “Lasagna” ($5.95) — a large bowl/layered mess of plump blueberries, creamy cheese, vanilla ice cream and ribbons of pastry. The desserts evidently change (no specific desserts are set forth on the menu).
Though it may defy comfortable characterization as a traditional “diner,” 119th Street Diner certainly adds a worthwhile piece to the Southern Johnson County restaurant landscape. Even without the requisite meatloaf.
Out of Four Stars:
Food: 2½
Service: 2½
Atmosphere: 2½
