Review-The Wine n' Diner

This morning we finally got to check out the new restaurant on Delaware Ave-The Wine n' Diner. The Wine n' Diner is in the location as Albany's beloved Bagel Bite used to be and the ill-fated Avenue A stood for a couple of years. I hope The Wine n' Diner can withstand the growing pains and lack of customer base that a start-up has to endure.

I think the Wine n' Diner will be able to fill a breakfast/brunch void that was left by the departure of The Bagel Bite (no, A Better Bite by the Capital is NOT just as good!), and that the over-priced Avenue A had no interest in filling.

We went in this morning for the first time and I was struck by how different it looked from it's predecessors. There is a variety of funky artwork on the walls created by local artists. There are huge wooden plank style booths(easily can seat 6) along the far wall and some tables in the middle of the room. The Avenue A bar is still there with a flat panel TV behind the bar and plenty of bar seating for singles or those who want to catch whatever is on the tube while munching out. The overall effect is very open and not at all over-crowded.

We went at about 10am for brunch and had a variety of options to choose from-egg/omlettey-breakfasty options as well as the more traditional lunch choices like salads, burgers and blue-plate specials. Yes, that's right blue-plate specials. They have a variety of them in the diner tradition and not a single one is priced over $9. Mac n' Cheese, Meatloaf, Chicken Fried Steak etc. are the blue-plates.

We ordered 2 breakfasts and a blue plate for our visit today. My 4 year old had scrambled eggs, toast, home-fried potatoes and bacon for $6. It was more than enough food for any one adult let alone a 4 year old. My husband had the Goomba Omelet ($7.50) which was an omelet filled with fettuccine, marinara, sausage and mozzarella. That's right fettuccine! We thought it might be a bit odd but he really enjoyed the flavors. The omelet had just enough fillings to make it satisfying and tasty but not too much. The omelet came with home fries as well and his were tossed in a little marinara. The waitress told us that this was one of their signature dishes and it is certainly a well put together original for us. I generally prefer my breakfast for dinner and my dinner, well anytime. I picked my favorite comfort food of all time from the Blue Plate selections-hot open turkey ($7). It was triangles of perfectly toasted white bread with sliced white meat turkey and a fluffy scoop of home-made left the skin-on mashed potatoes. Both were drizzled with a nice gravy. The potatoes were the perfect blend of creamy and lumpy in texture-the real deal. Yet they had some fluff to their consistency-maybe the whipping? Who knows but they were delish. The toasted bread was great and kept it from becoming a gluey mess under the turkey and gravy. The only thing that was missing for me was a little something cranberry-relish or cranberry sauce. That is just my thing though....

Overall we really enjoyed our meal and the service. We saw plenty of other things we want to try too-like Southern Fried Chicken &Waffles with Maple Gravy, The Turduken Trifecta (Turkey, Duck, Chicken and stuffing on a potato roll) and the Death Row Omelet (eggs, sausage, bacon, cheddar and mozzarella).

Other things you should know-Breakfast is served all day, they offer several awesome looking veggie options, they have a decent sized kids menu, all the desserts are $5 and there is a great assortment of deep-fried snack foods mixed in with the traditional pie and such.

www.wine-n-diner.com Check out the menu for yourself. I highly recommend.