STUART – I really enjoy my Florida lifestyle, but I will always be a Jersey girl at heart. New Jersey is known as the land of 24 hour diners and I’m so excited Stuart is now home to one of them.
City Diner is such an example of what a restaurant should be. When you walk through the front door – Pow! – there it is, a glass pastry full of homemade treats. Cheesecakes, pies, muffins and more invite you to save room for dessert. Or, better yet, to eat dessert first.
After looking at it for too long, we walked over to a large, comfortable booth and started browsing the menu. How exciting that great breakfast selections like Benedict’s ($ 10.25 – $ 13.99), Pans ($ 11 – $ 13.50), and Shrimp and Oatmeal ($ 13.99) ) are available whenever you want.
Fancy a gyroscope ($ 9.50) at 3 a.m.? You can get it here with other dishes, including shepherd’s pie ($ 12.99); open turkey or roast beef sandwiches ($ 12.99 / $ 14.99) with mashed potatoes and gravy; or a fondue galette ($ 11.50) to name a few.
For the appetizer, I was intrigued by the unique sweet potato tots topped with marshmallow fluff and cinnamon sugar ($ 8.99).
But we changed course and went for the perogies ($ 6.99) with six meatballs stuffed with potatoes and cheese sautéed with beautifully grilled sweet onions, served with sour cream and chives. We got off to a good start.
My meat-loving husband chose The Mayor, ($ 12.99) a large serving of roast beef, turkey and pastrami topped with coleslaw and breaded fries on a thick Italian bread. It was served with more fries on the side and a pickle.
It reminded me of a sandwich you could get at the Pittsburgh-born Primanti Brothers Sandwich Shop without having to make the trip to Fort Lauderdale.
Knowing that I was definitely going to have dessert, I went the health route and ordered a Greek salad ($ 10.99).
It was a whole head of chopped romaine overflowing with colorful grape tomatoes, Kalamata olives, banana peppers, cucumbers, red onions, feta cheese and a Greek vinaigrette made with oil and vinegar that really didn’t thrill me, so I asked for a side of tzatziki sauce and seasoned the salad with it.
I added chicken to the salad ($ 2.99) and was impressed with the presentation of two beautiful skewers of perfectly seared chicken breast pieces.
Finally, the moment we had been waiting for since we entered had arrived. It took me at least 15 minutes to decide which confection we would share. They really need a dessert menu of the day because it is too difficult to decide without a label or description.
I ended up going for the Bavarian cheesecake ($ 5.95), a very creamy layer of cheesecake topped with chocolate mousse and topped with an alcohol infused chocolate cake was a hit. You know it’s good when you want to lick the plate, but you’re afraid you’ll end up in a viral Facebook video.
The city dinner is very inviting. It was neat and clean with lots of TVs, well lit, locally decorated and there is a very nice outdoor patio.
Service was friendly, but a work in progress. I was disappointed that our drinks were never replenished as the mango iced tea was delicious. City Diner will certainly be my destination when I feel like having a snack at home.
CITY DINNER
Food: American / Greek
Address: 2660 SE Federal Hwy, Stuart
Telephone: 772-291-2794
Hours: open 24/7
Alcohol: Beer and wine
In line: www.citydinerofstuart.com
Susan Dennis dines anonymously at TCPalm’s expense for # WhatToDoIn772. Contact her at [email protected]
