There’s something very appealing about a diner with unnecessarily good food. I grew up going to diners — specifically the East Bay Diner (RIP) in Oceanside, Long Island — and the Denver omelettes and French toast were almost besides the point. You go to diners for the convenience, the lack of pretentiousness, the camaraderie.
A Diner for Cool People
Kellogg’s Diner in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is more like the kind of diner you’d find in a hipster hotel; specifically it reminded me of King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, a huge compliment because I love King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. How appropriate, then, that I had breakfast at Kellogg’s with my pal from L.A., Ben Mims.
The first sign that this isn’t your ordinary small town diner is the coffee menu: they’ve got everything you’d expect to find at a top tier coffee shop. I selected the Horchata Cold Brew and it was a surprisingly effective combination.
The food menu has all of the expected items — a BLT, a western omelette, meatloaf — but those items are the exception; the bulk of the items have a Tex-Mex vibe: Tall Nachos with Queso, Enchiladas Suisas, Stuffed Poblano. There’s also a Southern influence with fried chicken and waffles and chicken fried steak.
I went for the breakfast chilaquiles verdes with two fried eggs:
As you can see, that’s a solid plate of food right there. And it totally hit the spot: what more could you want from chilaquiles than that crisp-soft texture of the fried and sauced chips, the tanginess from the tomatillos in the salsa, a little heat, and then the perfectly fried eggs on top.
The star of the show, however, had to be the ricotta pancakes that we shared:
They were fluffy, they were light; the best part was the banana butter on top. Sort of like honey butter, except it tasted like bananas. These were so good that I accidentally started eating Ben’s portion (we divided it with a knife) and he was very nice about it, though he may secretly hate me now.
Which is all to say: Kellogg’s Diner offers an exemplary diner experience. If I lived in the neighborhood, I would be here all the time. If we go and I offer to share the pancakes with you, be sure to barricade your portion well.
Kellogg’s Diner / 518 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 / (718) 782-4505
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