When I heard that a new diner was opening in Trenton last fall, it immediately piqued my interest. With a menu that's less cumbersome (and less likely to be out of a freezer) than many of its peers, and more of an eye for menu design, it raised my hopes for diner classics that have more love (and skill) put into them.
The menu has a handful each of apps, soups and salads, and burgers, plus about ten classic diner entrees. My first visit had me coming by for a late lunch, so I opted for a diner standard - the club sandwich.
It was fairly quiet at the restaurant, so my food came out in quick order.
The long fries were hand-cut, and on the darker side of golden brown. They were decent, but could have used a blanching in water to remove excess starch and then a double frying to make them crisper.
It's hard to have a straight up bad club sandwich, and it's almost even harder to have a truly great one. Like many other restaurants, P&C's falls somewhere in the middle. The bacon was good and crisp, and while the turkey was house-roasted, I wouldn't call it an overly generous portion. The bread was toasted enough that it held up well, but didn't eviscerate my mouth, and a pleasant amount of mayo held things together.
A return visit had me coming by with my wife for a late lunch on the weekend. The menu switches modes to have an all day breakfast section, as well as some of their regular items that are available after 11:30am.
Leaning toward the breakfasty items, I went for the classic western omelette, while my wife opted for the Coop Deville, a fried chicken sandwich.
The crowd was waning as we had arrived in the last couple hours of them being open for the day, so our food arrived quickly.
My omelette was a delicious hot mess, with the added-on cheese amping up that mess factor significantly. The eggs had some nice browning like a good dinner omelette does, without being tough or rubbery.
I appreciated that the home fries were hand cut, but they were greasy and not where they should have been for crispness.
My wife's Coop Deville was a solid fried chicken sandwich - a thick chicken breast with a crisp coating, good amount of bacon, and a hint of sweetness from honey butter, all in a soft and squishy potato bun!
P&C's could use a little polishing on their fried potato fare, but they're still a nice little diner that's using some more modern dishes to breathe some life into a familiar format. read more