OUR DINERS, DRIVE-INS–AND– DIVES

Everyone may be buzzing now about the eateries featured in the hot Food Network series. But we’ve known about these eight South Florida originals all along.

By Jan Norris

It’s seat yourself and “What’ll ya have, honey?” instead of “May I take your order, sir?” It’s paper napkins pulled from a tin box instead of crisp white napery folded on tables meticulously set with silverware and fresh flowers. And it’s definitely not $50 a plate – not at our favorite diners and “joints,” those spots we faithfully return to for breakfast or lunch in a booth, or where we perch on a stool at a counter and share the ketchup bottle with a stranger.

The popularity of these mom-and-pops is resurging, thanks in part to Guy Fieri, who profiles them weekly on his Food Network show, Diners, Dives and Drive-ins.

They operate under their own rituals, including the familiar staccato of the ordering process: Wheat or rye? Toasted or not? Sweet or unsweet? American or Swiss? Chips OK? Simple, straight to the point – and straight to our comfort eating zones.

Dozens of these places have found a home in South Florida, some of which have been doing a sizzling business for more than 50 years. The newer kids on the block try to evoke a simpler era – the ’40s and ’50s – a golden age of gastronomy on the cheap when a cup of coffee cost a nickel and “soda jerks” mixed milkshakes.

The foods may have changed slightly – tuna salads now come with fresh tuna, and tuna steaks are served over a bed of greens. Prices change, too. For instance, you’ll pay for coffee with folded money now instead of coins. Yet, despite changes, much remains the same.

To prove our point, we picked a few “joints” we’re happy to call old friends, and some new ones we’re pleased to welcome to the neighborhood.

At Hamburger Heaven in Palm Beach, there’s a sense of history centered on the horseshoe counter with 24 stools that jut into the main room.

“Originally it was almost a walk-up,” says Peggy Mohan, one of Heaven’s managers. Now the 70-seat burger joint, which opened in 1945, is a fixture that attracts all types on the island – from high-society matrons to maids and chauffeurs and everyone in between.

They come for, what else? The burgers, Mohan says, which are hand-formed and broiled by a cook who has been behind the stove for 15 years. A milkshake is the favorite burger beverage, with a slice of lemon-coconut cake – the must-do dessert.

You could find yourself in a booth next to George Hamilton or Alexander Haig, both of whom have dined here. But it’s the down-to-earth setting on a surreal island that keeps bringing people back, Mohan says. “People like us because it’s a place to come on the island for consistently good food, we’re casual, and we’re friendly too.”

Some of those same islanders make their way across the bridge to City Diner in West Palm Beach, too. The fairly new diner – it opened in 2007 – claims a huge following already, says Jo Larkie, co-owner with her son, Richard Kline, the chef.

City Diner is a 1950s-themed spot originally built as a small Pizza Hut. Now it sports a long counter filled with glass-dome covered cakes and penny candy to snitch on the way out.

“We shopped around for all the antiques, and most of it is real stuff from the ’50s,” Larkie says.

The menu features traditional diner fare, and also offers specials like Kline’s crab cakes and short ribs, brought over from the owners’ former fine-dining restaurant, Jo’s of Palm Beach. The house-made soups are a big attraction, especially with the older clientele, and everyone comes for the great value.

“Families come in – the kids love our mac-and-cheese – and our $2.99 breakfast special can’t be beat,” Larkie says. “You get two eggs, a choice of potatoes, grits or oatmeal, toast and coffee. Where else can you find a deal like that?”

Judges, shop clerks, dog walkers and a whole street full of strollers stop at Delray Beach’s Green Owl, where plate-glass windows allow a view of the U-shaped counter and ring of tables around it.

Dave Gensman has owned the Green Owl for 15 years. He bought it from his mom, who bought it a year after it opened 27 years ago.

“We’ve seen a lot of changes on the avenue,” Gensman says, referring to the explosion of businesses along Atlantic Avenue, “but not much has changed in here.”

A parliament of owl figurines perch on a shelf and decorate the walls – only one of them green. A Pittsburgh Steelers poster hangs on a paneled wall.

“We have a lot of loyal customers, that’s why I don’t change the menu much,” says Gensman, who recently opened Green Owl Boynton on Woolbright Road. “I serve stuff I want to eat, and it seems to make them happy too.”

The most popular item on the menu is the tuna fish sandwich, with cheeseburgers a close second with everyone from weekend Harley riders to city officials and the occasional celebrity.

“We buy all the meat fresh – it’s never frozen – and we hand-form the patties and cook them to order,” Gensman says.

Oakland Park’s Peter Pan Diner is another long-established local favorite. The diner serves round-the-clock, with the “graveyard” crowd the most interesting, says owner Jeronimos Kourkoumelis, whose father opened the restaurant 30 years ago.

“We get ’em all – blue-collar workers, party animals, strippers and cops – all in here together,” Kourkoumelis says.

Breakfast is on the menu all day and night, with pancakes the best sellers. “We have the best pancakes in the whole town,” Kourkoumelis boasts. “All my customers say so.”

Fresh rolls and muffins come from the in-house bakery, and soups also are made in the kitchen.

It’s the service, however, that truly stars at Peter Pan.

“It’s like Cheers in here – everybody knows your name,” Kourkoumelis says. “We sometimes sit down with customers and have a cup of coffee with them. It’s a community. That’s what makes a diner special.”

Jean Bartos of Liverpool (“the Beatles one, that’s right”) has owned the Egg & You in Fort Lauderdale for 17 years, but most of her staff has her beat for longevity. “Wanda England, everyone in the town knows her – she’s been here 30 years,” Bartos says. The cooks have been around a couple of decades as well, and several of the servers have 10 to 20 years in service here.

“Nobody ever leaves! We can’t get rid of them if we wanted to,” Bartos says.

The well-loved eatery has anchored its corner of Federal Highway since 1956, when its only neighbors were hotels on the tourist-traveled Highway – such as the Bon Soir, considered upscale at the time because of its pool; or the brand new and exotic Mai-Kai restaurant.

Today, the neighborhood folk land here for breakfast most often. “Our 10-ounce New York strip is really popular, and you can get it with eggs and hash browns for breakfast, or with potato and vegetables for dinner,” Bartos says. Eggs Benedict is popular, too, along with the omelets and crispy Belgian waffles.

While a few celebs have wandered in, and a well-known actor frequents the spot incognito, most of the diners are locals and know one another, while Bartos and her crew greet them all by their first names.

We know what they’re ordering before they do,” she laughs. “They’re the regulars.”

At the Taft Street Hollywood Cafe Diner, a checkerboard floor and a lot of chrome sets the stage for this throwback. Anastacios Kokoris has owned the diner for five years, but it’s been around for 40, now welcoming grown-ups who dropped in as kids. Today, the diner serves only breakfast and lunch from an American and Greek menu combination of traditional and updated dishes.

Best sellers are banana-nut and cinnamon-apple pancakes at breakfast, and the gyros and burgers at lunch. Even more appealing is the staff, which treats customers as if they were best friends.

Eating at a diner or small café is “an all-American experience,” Kokoris says. “It’s comfortable and friendly. You can come in with a family and everyone can get what they want. That’s the diner’s appeal.”

Ernie Seibert opened his namesake Fort Lauderdale restaurant on U.S. 1 in 1957 (although some accounts place the date closer to 1954). Back in the day, Cadillacs with big fins were a regular sight in the parking lot, as were high rollers who stopped in before flying off to Cuba to gamble. Today, Ernie’s Bar-B-Q owner Harold Hink serves a more democratic crowd.

Betty Jo Vitrano, a manager at the two-story landmark for 15 years, rattles off diners’ favorites, those decades-long staples of the menu: conch chowder, conch fritters, sweet and spicy barbecue ribs, and, of course, Bimini bread. One 30-year cook veteran knows the recipes by heart.

Recently refurbished, Ernie’s walls now sport the artwork of local mural painter Mark Vose. And, Vitrano notes, apropos for a popular South Florida watering hole, “We have a life-sized gator over the bar.”

It’s the down-home, mouth-watering food, though, that makes Ernie’s long a favorite of judges, politicians, cops, newspaper reporters and just about everyone else who gets a whiff of the place.

“We’re known for having a big mix of clients,” Vitrano says.

Fame has come to Le Tub, a “saloon and burger joint” on Hollywood Beach, thanks to a GQ magazine article that named its burger one of the nation’s top 10.

“It drove away our loyal customers for a while,” says owner Steve Sidle, “but they’re coming back now.”

And still coming for the burger – hand-formed, never-frozen meats char-grilled to order. Despite the burger’s deserved reputation, Sidle says the fresh seafood salad might be even more noteworthy.

The laid-back atmosphere of the dockside shack is a big surprise to some who expect a fancy waterside restaurant. “We’re a saloon, in an old gas station, not a restaurant,” Sidle says.

Besides the food and drinks (don’t miss the bloody Marys made with a house mix), the sunset view from Le Tub’s garden-like deck is not to be missed. “It’s spectacular – better than Key West” in Sidle’s view.

Who comes to Le Tub?

“Everybody,” Sidle says. “Peyton and Eli Manning have been here, the whole crew of The Sopranos, Billy Joel. But everybody leaves them alone. Our plants kind of protect you from view if you want. Everybody’s cool.”

IF YOU GO

BROWARD COUNTY

Egg & You
2621 N. Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale
954-564-2045

Ernie’s Bar-B-Q
1843 S. Federal Highway,
Fort Lauderdale
954-523-8636

Hollywood Cafe Diner
6791 Taft St., Hollywood
954-966-8166‎

Le Tub
1100 N. Ocean Drive,
Hollywood
954-921-9425

Peter Pan Diner
1216 E. Oakland Park Blvd.,
Fort Lauderdale
954-565-7177

PALM BEACH COUNTY

City Diner
3400 S. Dixie Highway,
West Palm Beach
561-659-6776

Green Owl Restaurant
330 E. Atlantic Ave.,
Delray Beach
561-272-7766

Hamburger Heaven
314 S. County Road,
Palm Beach
561-655-5277