Helllllooo Big Daddy!

I love diners. One of my favorite things about growing up in NJ were the late night post bar diner excursions where I would indulge in a scrambled egg, Taylor ham and cheese on a toasted bagel; loaded with ketchup and washed down with a cup of steaming hot chocolate with whipped crème.

I would be remiss to exclude the occasional split of an order of "disco fries" as an added bonus to our diner delight. For those not in-the-know, disco fries are steak fries with brown gravy and mozzarella cheese and don't knock it until you try it.

So when Big Daddy's Diner replaced Chango restaurant on Park Ave and 19th Street, I was very excited about the prospect of having a diner within walking distance from home. Don't get me wrong; there are diners in Manhattan but the true blue non frou-frou ones are located on the far western outskirts of Chelsea or Midtown.

Tonight, Noche & I were meeting up for an inexpensive casual neighborhood place to catch up and Big Daddy's Diner seemed like the perfect fit. Noche works in the neighborhood and gave her stamp of approval on their turkey burger and hey, that's good enough for me.

After perusing the menu, I decided against the many interesting salads offered and instead kicked it old school with the "Ruben Kincaid, Remember This Guy?". Yes, that is the official name of Big Daddy's version of the diner classic and being a Partridge Family fan who am I to judge?

The corned beef was generous without being an overwhelming portion, chunky without being overly fatty. The golden brown sauerkraut was tangy and tart and there was just enough Russian dressing to pull the sandwich together in all its marbled rye glory.

The thin fries were dipped and seasoned just right although Noche's tater tots really brought me back to junior high!

We were a bit too full to partake in dessert which is unfortunate because I was really curious about their pies, but I did enjoy a hot chocolate; complete with mini-marshmallows and whipped cream a la Redi-Whip. Oh Daddy!