Santa Cruz Diner

Our Second stop is the Santa Cruz Diner, located on Ocean Street (909 Ocean Street) in... yes.... Santa Cruz, just as you come into the city from the 17-N highway.  I was a bit early coming into Santa Cruz to meet up with my friend, Liz, so I decided to stop into this place, since it was the first place that I saw and I needed food/coffee. 

(I think that I should mention now that (prior to my knowledge) that show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives did a visit/segment on this diner.  I've personally never seen the segment, let alone the show at all.  After reading a number of reviews on Yelp, etc, I found that most people choose to eat at Santa Cruz Diner just because of that, and are generally disappointed.  Too bad for them.  Also, this is a two-part review, as I came back to the diner a second time at the end of my trip, thus the multiple-bacon rating.)

Anywho, so I found a parking spot and headed into the diner.  I wasn't too surprised to be faced with a large line-up, since it was the Fourth of July.  What did surprise me was that there was a spot open at the counter, so I was seated immediately!  Score!  The place was a madhouse, for sure.  Every person and their dog had come out for breakfast this day, apparently.  Regardless, I began to look over the menu and decide upon what I wanted to stuff into my face this morning.  As I was reading, one of the servers, a girl in her mid-20's, cruised by and quickly said, "I'll be right with you!"  Understandably, she was doing a million and one things, much like the rest of the staff.  It was only a couple of minutes before she came back to take my order.  I ordered a coffee and a water and with went a 2-egg breakfast combo (2 eggs, hash, bacon and pancakes @ $7.99) for food.  She jotted it all down, took the menu, thanked me and cruised off again.  She grabbed me my drinks, then went off to put in the food order and help every other person, it seemed.  As I sipped on my coffee (which was tasty!) I took a look around and people watched a bit.  The walls were lined with countless signs and trinkets, as it should be in an American diner I think!  There were a few regulars flanking me, so I got to listen in on the local gossip about work and the like.  Every few minutes, Jessica (the server) would stop by to refill my coffee, assure me that my food was coming and/or just say hey.  I marveled at the sheer volume of food that was coming out of the kitchen and the speed at which it was coming.  It was only about 20 minutes before my first plate (everything but the pancakes) arrived.  Jessica assured me that the pancakes would be along shortly, to which I replied, "You see what a huge hurry I'm in!"  It was literally only 2 or 3 minutes before the pancakes arrived...

I'm so used to having huge pancakes when I go to diners, so the smaller-sized ones that came along were refreshing for me.  Nothing worse than being given too much food that ends up just being wasted.  I dug in, starting with the bacon.  My.God.  I can't quite put my finger on the flavour, but it was fantastic.  I seriously think that it's the best bacon that I've ever had.  I'm not a big fan of shredded potatoes, but hey, these ones were about as good as I could ask for at a diner.  The pancakes were also delicious!  Not mushy/undercooked/etc, so that was lovely.  My only food gripe was with the eggs, which seemed to be a bit watery... though, they still tasted fine, so I can't really complain.  Overall, the meal was well-worth the $7.99!  I ended up sitting for another hour or so, simply because my coffee kept being refilled and I hate turning down coffee.  Okay, I admit it, I was also enjoying sitting, relaxing and interacting, as well.  Finally, after about 5 coffees, I paid my bill and wished Jessica a good day.  This was our parting conversation:

"Keep on fighting the good fight!"

"You're leaving already?"

"Already?  I've only been here for an hour and a half!" (laugh)

"I know!  I'm just stressed and you made me happy, so I hate to see you go."

"Well, you'll be off soon!  Then you can hopefully relax."

"Let's hope so!"

So yeah, I have to say that my overall experience at the Santa Cruz Diner was awesome.  The food was great, minus the little egg thing, the price was great (just over $10 after tax?  Yep!) and the service was awesome, especially considering that it was July 4th in America.  4.5 Bacons from this guy!  So yes, go go go here if you have the chance!

Stay sharp, kids

Jesse

PART II

As I said, I came back at the end of my trip.  I had spent the night in Santa Cruz, after dropping off Liz, so I figured that I'd give the diner a second go.  It was 8am on a Sunday morning, so the diner was dead and I was seated in a booth immediately.  My server this time was a kind, late/middle-aged lady that I had not seen during my previous visit.  She quickly brought me a coffee and took my order.  This time, I went for a combo, but changed it to eggs/bacon/home-fries and toast to get a different experience.  It was literally 3 minutes between ordering and the food arriving.  To some, this is a good thing... to me, it's a bad sign...

The bacon was cool, the potatoes were half-and-half warm and the toast was soft.  The eggs were done just right, though!  Anyway, so I can guess from this that they run a buffer in the kitchen, keeping the bacon and the potatoes in a warmer or something.  I can understand this, especially at a 24-hour diner during dead periods.  At the same time, at least attempting to bring food back up to temperature would be awesome too.  So yeah, the bacon still tasted good, as did the potatoes and eggs.  Still, I was a bit put off by the temperature.  At least the coffee and the service was still awesome, much like last time.  Unfortunately, I have to give my second go at Santa Cruz Diner 2.5 Bacons.  It's sad, but hey, it's true.  That said, I guess just come here when it's really busy!  It's worth the wait, I'd say.

Stay sharp, kids

Jesse