Westchester Breakfast Club

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 31 South Central Ave.

Hartsdale NY 10530

914.428.5457

 

We needed something close, quick and easy, so it was off to the diner!

 

 

 

Attendees: :jump_to_Shelley:, :jump_to_Sylvia:, :jump_to_Andrew:, :jump_to_Jeff:, :jump_to_Alan:, Jenny

 

:a_Shelley:

Time for a simple breakfast, and this morning it was the Fountain Diner’s job to deliver. I opted to go simple and ordered egg, cheese, and turkey sausage on a roll. I asked for the roll toasted, but I think our server didn’t hear me (she was a bit distracted this busy morning). My sandwich arrived last. (And come to think of it, my breakfast at Sons of Essex arrived last also. Is it me?)

The roll wasn’t toasted. Oh well. What was also disappointing was that the sandwich was disproportionate. There were two slices of turkey sausage to a very thin fried egg and a barely detectable piece of cheese on the bottom. It was “eh” at best. And for about $7, not really worth it. I could have gotten a better quality egg sandwich from a local deli. From the diner I would have gotten more bang for my buck with an omelette or even just some scrambled eggs.

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:a_Sylvia:

There really isn’t anything particularly special about the Fountain Diner that would merit a special visit from anyone who wasn’t already in the area.  Located between the Chase and Chef Central (my playground) and across the street from IHOP, it’s a tiny little neighborhood diner that remains a fixture (like the fountain out front) in Hartsdale, and rightly so.

We were a rather large party for such a small diner, but they were able to slide a couple of tables together in a jiffy.  Our waitress was a bit gruff with us to start with (she eventually warmed up to us), especially since we arrived in two waves, the last one about 5 minutes after the first.  I guess she was in a hurry.

I ordered a short stack of the cinnamon raisin challah French toast (which meant one slice) and two eggs, sunny side up.

The French toast was well cooked and pretty good.  There were enough raisins to give enough sweetness so I didn’t have to dip into the small container of maple flavored anti-freeze (breakfast syrup).

Coffee refills were plentiful and frequent.

The czar says:  Pretty decent diner that is a great alternative to IHOP for you Hartsdale folks.  In fact, I’d readily choose the Fountain Diner over IHOP any day.  Something about the coziness of a diner, variety, and the ability to choose from a menu not legally obligated to show calorie counts.

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:a_Andrew:

A diner is only as good as its sausage and the sausage at the Fountain Diner passes the test. That small, wrinkly, fruit/maple syrup/could possibly be 70% soy/meets minimum federal guidelines for labeling as sausage product, that’s not sausage.  If it’s thick and juicy, that’s sausage. I would get sausage as a side to any item; waffles, pancakes, fruit cup, I’d say cereal and oatmeal as well but who orders that? This is not innuendo, this is serious sausage business. Well Fountain Diner has the goods, it has the good sausage. and also a healthy heaping of corn beef hash. You can get eggs to go on top of it. I like the eggs as a kind of blanket to keep the hash warm, scrambled of course. Toast comes buttered, which saves me a step, more time to eat my hash and sausage while it is still hot, then wash it down with buttered white toast.

When you need a hearty breakfast before a long day of thinking about house repairs, the Fountain Diner has you covered. They also have a couple of High Def TV’s in the dining area so you can catch replays of the Olympics.

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:a_Alan:

The brunch adventure with the Westchester Breakfast Club continues and brings us over to the Fountain Diner.  It was a typical diner.  The interior layout kind of reminded me of a particular IHOP in Queens. (Fun Fact: There’s an IHOP right across the street from the Fountain Diner.)  Although, beware of the sprinkler on top of the building because it sprays water around the perimeter of the building and wets any unaware pedestrian walking into the diner.  It was quite interesting, but the idea of getting wet before entering or leaving the diner is questionable. 

I ordered a regular mushroom omelet.  Nothing really special about it, but I enjoyed it either way.  However, the side of hashbrowns not to my liking.  The potatoes were crumbly and very dry.

The service really was not as great as I expected in a diner.  It would take forever for someone to come by and refill our coffee even after we requested it.  The waitress who took our order seemed to be in a bad mood, which made me feel uncomfortable when ordering.

Overall, the food was average to mediocre and service was horrible.  If they improve in these areas then this diner would be a great place to grab a bite to eat, otherwise I would just stick with IHOP. (Did we mention IHOP is across the street? Because it is.)

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:a_Jeff:

I feel like if you’re going to call yourself the Fountain Diner, then you should really have a nice fountain.  Not some small, skrawny fountain that looks out of place.  But, I suppose the owners of Fountain Diner think differently.  Let’s hope their lackluster judgment on fountain doesn’t extend to their judgment on food.

Well, it’s a diner.  It’s got diner food.  At diner quality.  It’s nothing really to write home about.  What I did notice was the other little things that don’t really pertain to the food.  The server for our table started off in a bit of a crabby mood.  I suppose it was busy and somewhat overwhelming. Also, my coffee wasn’t always filled in a timely manner.  Yes, it’s nitpicking, but if I’m looking for any reason for a diner to be a choice over a “nicer” breakfast establishment, then in all fairness, I have to point out all the negatives.

This review seems overly critical.  I feel it neccessary to leave on a postive note.  The food was good.  I had the California Omelette.  It was pretty good.  I really got it because it had avacados in it.  The coffee, when in my cup, was also acceptable.  It was actually a little strong, which is what I like.  Would I reccomend this place to others?  Maybe, maybe not.  I suppose it depends on what you’re in the mood for.  I’m sure there’s better breakfast down the road in Scarsdale, but if you’re in the area and you really want diner food, Foutain Diner is where to go until City Limits re-opens from their renovations, which I’m expecting the WBC will review promptly when they do.

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