EatingOUT: 

Right off the bat, let me say, "This is not your grandpa’s diner." Far from it. While the menu does feature the old diner classics such as meatloaf, roasted turkey (served, of course, with mashed potatoes and gravy), and spaghetti and meatballs, that’s about as traditional as it gets in this fun restaurant located in that little jewel of a town, Lewes. Wasabi and herb encrusted salmon, sesame plum tuna, and jambalaya are just a few of the "non-diner" entrees offered.

Susan and I headed off on a Saturday evening the week before St. Patrick’s Day and were greeted with a place all decked out for the celebration. Special menu items leaned toward Irish favorites such as ham and cabbage and Dublin brown beef stew. Drink specialities gave a heavy nod to the auld sod (is that Gaelic for old sot?). How two lads with the names of Mark Grabowski and Jim Paslawski, the owners, came up with such goodies is a mystery, but bless ‘em all the same.

Enough Blarney—let’s get down to the real reason we were there, great food served in a fun environment. The décor is reminiscent of a 50s diner with cheery yellow walls hung with some really well done poster art. We were seated by Karen, our server who gave us the friendliest of smiles along with our big menus. Soups, Salads and Starters offered quite a number of choices and they all sounded good.

Since onion rings seem to be a major food group for us, Susan ordered these. I dithered between

the Delmarvelous crab chowder and the grilled quesadillas. The soup won and was a happy choice for me. Lots of crab and vegetables, with enough of a tang to wake up the palette without numbing it. The onion rings were thick with beer-batter and fried to crunchy, golden perfection.

As well as the entrees mentioned above we had the choice of chicken Cordon Bleu, jumbo lump crab cakes, grilled pork porterhouse, a plump 12-ounce center-cut chop stuffed with sundried fruit and cornbread, and other hearty fare. Then there was the long list of tempting sounding sandwiches, including their famous "flat-top" burgers, one stuffed with an amazing one-half pound of beef.

Karen said that one of the daily specials, roast pork loin stuffed with a cranberry cornbread dressing sauced with a sweetened rosemary gravy, looked really good. And that cute face didn’t lie—it was delicious and the skins-on mashed potatoes were fluffy and loaded with flavor. Those and fresh vegetables of green and wax beans with carrots were served on both our plates. Susan had a yen, for of all things, liver and onions. Ordered medium-rare it came exactly that way. It’s so easy to overcook liver, but Blue Plate doesn’t make that mistake and as a result, the liver was tender, melt-in-your-mouth good. All of that, topped off with a couple of slices of homemade Irish soda bread almost left us too full for dessert. Almost.

Jim and his mother make all of the desserts fresh, from scratch. The list of choices varies, "depending on how mother’s feelin’ today." I suppose it’s possible that she could have an off day but that sure wasn’t the case when we were there. I love it when the choice is taken out of my hands and the offering of yellow cake with a layer of pineapple and coconut pistachio frosting left me no real choice. It was soooo good! Susan couldn’t believe I could finish the huge piece. Wrong. And, if you’ve always had a special place in your heart for cherry pie like your mom used to make, make way for the wonderful pie that Jim’s mom makes—a cherry pie that can hold its own with any.

The Blue Plate Diner is a multi-award winner and Delaware Today in its Best of Delaware voted it Best Diner and Best Early Bird Breakfast in the Readers’ Choice category and Best Dining Value in the Critics Choice category. All are more than deserved. Oh, and about that breakfast: there’s a wonderful, extensive breakfast menu, and maybe best of all, breakfast is served until 1 p.m.

Blue Plate Diner: Critic’s Choice, Readers’ Choice and my choice. You can’t go wrong.