As we really enjoy Rosebud, I’ve been looking forward to the opening of Ron Eyester’s Diner since I first heard word of it last summer.  With a limited opening on March 5 (serving a limited version of the menu), we decided to stop in the afternoon for an early dinner and see what we thought.  Arriving around 5, on a beautiful first afternoon of spring, the inside was empty,

although the patio (which looks across 75/85 at the downtown skyline) was packed.  We took a seat inside, as neither of us had brought our sunglasses, and made our selections.  We were seated in a window booth on the 19th street side, right by this counter.  

The decor is classic American diner, and I understand that the full menu will reflect the same mindset.   You can see the overall layout in the pictures above, and there’s this fabulous display of soup cans as you walk in the door. 

I was delighted to see that the menu contains “The Nasty McAlister” – the brunch special that took on a life of its own in a Twitter war between @theAngryChef and McAlister’s Deli over a naming issue.  Jo chose to go with the turkey burger, which is fresh made in house, along with a side of onion rings.   These rings were huge. 

In fact, the rings were slightly larger than the burger.  The burger met with approval, but it isn’t as good as the turkey burger at Yeah Burger, just up the street.

I chose the fried pork chops with whipped sweet potatoes, apples and marsala butter.  I thought I had chosen something from the “classic” side of the dinner menu.  Then it arrived, covered in brown gravy – something that was not mentioned on  the menu. 

After discussion with the waitress, this appeared to be an unintentional addition from the kitchen.  It was interesting – it’s hard to say what the dish would have tasted like without the gravy, as it covered every inch of the plate.  It was good, but they were obviously in the “getting things set up” mode.   We will try it again, maybe after the kitchen has gotten its legs under it.