Galaxy offers looks only
Heather Saunders - March 6th, 2008I wanted to fall in love with the Galaxy Diner. I’m a fanatic over diners and to have one so close to home was going to be perfect—I thought.
Galaxy Diner is located at 931 W. Route 66 and is open Sunday to Thursday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Their menu covers breakfast to dinner, and everything is served all day, which is delightful. I’m one of those who can get a pancake craving at 8 at night, so all day breakfast is an exciting rarity.
The ambiance of the diner is engulfing. From the neon light outside and the jukebox in the corner to the retro décor and entertaining menu offerings, the Galaxy Diner sweeps you off your feet into the era of poodle skirts and hip-shaking Elvis fans. The time warp continues with Saturday night swing dance lessons and a classic car show on Friday nights. Truly, Galaxy Diner has perfected the feel of a classic ’50s diner.
Guests can chose to dine upon quaintly named dishes, such as the Chubby Checker Triple Decker, Potsie’s Potroast or even Wolfman Onion Rings. There are trivia tidbits on the menu and classic diner style food to keep every option covered and every taste satisfied.
I was seated and perused the menu luxuriously, giving my waitress plenty of time to make it to my table. Not only had I decided on my meal, read the entire menu (plus the trivia), before she showed up, but I had sketched a number of little faces on my napkin. I gave her my entire order, plus extras I knew I would want, because I could sense that she would not be back very often.
I was right. She delivered my meal, which took a very long time to make considering the place wasn’t busy, and then left me alone until she dropped off the check. I didn’t receive any refills and she seemed to sigh when I asked for a chocolate shake instead of the bill. She dropped off the shake and the revised bill, and left me alone until I was gone.
My food came out and it didn’t even look appealing. I ordered the classic breakfast set up; pancakes, eggs and a meat — in this case, bacon. My pancakes looked fake, as if they were made of plastic, the scrambled eggs were runny and the bacon was so hard and over-cooked, it broke into splinters when I tried to pick it up. I love pancakes. I could eat them for every meal, and usually diner pancakes are the best you can find. Sadly, these pancakes couldn’t even compete with McDonald’s Hotcakes. Even covered with butter and syrup, they were hard to get down. The eggs and the bacon were even worse.
After a rather disappointing meal, I ordered a chocolate shake. If there’s one thing diners do well, it’s mix flavor and ice cream like no other. I was absolutely delighted with the shake. It was creamy, chocolately, smooth and served with all the extra shake and for a rather reasonable price.
As hard as I tried, I couldn’t like the Galaxy Diner. It’s everything a diner should be: loud, nostalgic, cheap and quirky. However, it forgot to include scrumptious, or even edible, eats. Now the only time I go back to Galaxy Diner is to have a milkshake with friends —when I know I’ve got plenty of time.