The Diner serves up a satisfying meal

Nothing could be finer than eating at the Diner ... at least that’s what the staff’s T-shirts would have you believe.

We’d heard of The Diner and looked forward to eating at a locally-owned business rather than yet another chain.

We visited on Sunday afternoon and our first impressions were good. The menu has a variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner options including some typical diner fare along with a few twists that took advantage of its Daleville neighbor Fort Rucker.

The prices are good — lower than your average IHOP and featured in the menu are items such as the “Chinook” and “Blackhawk” burgers along with other creative entrees that tie in with the military theme. A sign outside the yellow building reads: “Ur Tummy’s talk’n 2 ya we got what it needs.”

While we were there the restaurant was fairly busy with local families, all of whom received a warm welcome from the personable staff. The owner was there milling around, greeting customers and overseeing orders before disappearing into the back to type out more menus.

The atmosphere was good, the decor clean and non-fussy.  A variety of model helicopters hang over the bar, but in all other senses this place is a fairly typical example of an all-American diner.

The food was tasty, wholesome and in the end defeated us.

My wife, Liz, ordered a western omelette which included ham, onions, peppers, mushrooms and came with toast. She summarized the The Diner omelet experience with three words: fresh, tasty, plentiful. I ordered an Apache burger which included a thick slab of a burger drenched in special spicy Apache sauce and jalapeno peppers topped with lettuce and tomato surrounded by a pile of French fries. I’m not sure if the burger’s chopper title correlated with its spicy flavor.

Stuffed to the brim with our meal we managed to find room dessert. Liz enjoyed a vanilla milkshake and saved most of a slice of pecan pie to take home — minus a few bites.
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The Diner
Location: 755 N. Daleville Ave., Daleville
Phone: (334) 598-1794
Hours: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday-Thursday; open 24 hours, Friday-Saturday
Rating: Three-and-half stars out of four