She ate: More chorizo, please

The diner is owned by two local guys, which I like. I also liked when, on a recent visit, the boyfriend and I walked in and interrupted a conversation between owner and cook about the merits of Terrance Howard. (“He’s a modern-day Denzel,” they said. “He can play anybody from a pimp to a lawyer.”) I like that everything on the menu is affordable. But most important, and this is something that has managed to elude many restaurant owners in the area, it’s open on the weekends.

Saturday and Sunday.

On our first visit, the boyfriend had the Diesel Breakfast (at $9.99, one of the most expensive items on the menu). This plate comes loaded with two eggs, two pancakes or French toast, biscuits and gravy, bacon and potatoes. His meal was typical diner fare. Granted, these usual suspects don’t allow much room for creativity, and creative they weren’t.

My Miklo omelet ($7.99) was much better — a three-egg omelet with chorizo, pickled red onions, potatoes, cheddar cheese, queso fresco, sour cream and cilantro. I have been absolutely housing chorizo-stuffed breakfast casseroles and frittatas for the last few months, and this omelet gave me exactly the fix I needed. The chorizo was spicy and a tad greasy — just as chorizo should be — and the queso fresco and sour cream topping cooled things off a bit. I ate the entire omelet, a few of the uninspired and lukewarm home fries and one bit of toast. The toast was thin, unbuttered grocery store bread, so I wasn’t missing much. I drank more than my fair share of hot, fresh, constantly replenished coffee ($1.99) and the boyfriend enjoyed his gargantuan glass of orange juice ($1.99).

On a return visit, I noticed a board advertising $1 breakfast tacos. I remembered the above-average fish tacos I had from the Good Truckin’ food truck last summer — and since the boyfriend and I remarkably weren’t trying to out-eat each other that day — we decided to split four tacos and an order of French toast ($6.99).

The tacos are where the diner shines. They show personality in their bold (and, for the record, absolutely correct) choice of corn tortillas over the more popular (and way crappier) flour tortillas. The tortillas are filled with scrambled eggs, shredded cheddar cheese, and a choice of meat (we picked chorizo, obviously) or potatoes. For $1 a pop, you can’t beat these little breakfast tacos.

The French toast was completely milquetoast. I would say that we didn’t even finish it, but that would be a lie. However, the thought did cross our minds. It just wasn’t worth the calories to eat something that tasted so strongly of nothing.

I returned with a pal for lunch. Being a normal person, I chose to each lunch food for lunch. My weirdo companion chose to drink coffee and eat a Good Truckin’ Morning ($4.99) — two scrambled eggs, home fries, toast and bacon. He said the eggs were well prepared and the home fries were properly seasoned and crispy. I ordered the toasted ravioli ($5.49) and the Bacon Me Crazy sandwich ($7.99), and added fries for an extra dollar. The toasted ravioli made for an interesting and flavorful appetizer, and I was happy to pack up more than half of the order to take home for the boyfriend. The sandwich had strips of bacon, greens, an oddly flavorless roasted tomato and poblano aioli on grilled sourdough. I could have easily, and with minimal effort, slapped this sandwich together in my own kitchen. The fries, while hand-cut and freshly prepared, were completely unsalted and, again, not worth the calories. Maybe I should have stuck with breakfast food.

And that’s what I will do in the future.

I’m thrilled that Good Truckin’ Diner is within walking distance of my house and that the hours make sense. You want people to come in for breakfast? Be open early. Want people to eat at your place on the weekends? Be open on the weekends. This little place has some kinks to work out, but this enthusiastic eater sees a lot of potential.