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Swayed by the Moonlight

Category: Greetings From...

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Written by Randy Garbin

Fret not, diner purists. We brought our own maple syrup for these very good banana pancakes. No, we didn't try the home fries, which we do regard as a true litmus of any breakfast menu. Next time.

The good good breakfast is truly an elusive commodity around here. While we have no shortage of breakfast joints, diners, and diner wannabees, a true standout has yet to come to the older suburbs north of Philadelphia and south of the turnpike. Still, we keep looking. We'd like to find some place that serves up something a little better and more creative than just the standard eggs, pancakes, and French toast affair found throughout this region. And if only someone around here would features a real homemade corned beef hash. If I miss New England for only one thing, it's that.

Yesterday, during the big snowstorm, we decided to give the Moonlight Diner another chance. Mrs. Roadside remembers it as the Kenyon Diner, where she and her high school friends would tumble into after her late night bacchanals. Since then, the diner changed hands and names a few times. I can't say for sure, but I also suspect that despite its current appearance, a real prefab structure once stood at this location. Today, you'd have great difficulty discerning any original features. Only the general footprint of the place indicates the possibility of any real diner heritage.

Spartan but clean and friendly, the Moonlight's interior might not inspire a hundred mile trek for breakfast, but it fits the bill for locals looking for a good place to eat.

The only other time we visited this diner -- about six years ago -- we left disappointed. The smoke in the air and the blandness on our plates relegated the place to the "avoid" category, which given the diner's proximity to the house, gave us no great pleasure. While we couldn't walk there, we might have passed it by once a week on average.

About a year or so ago, we saw the sign change yet again. A couple years ago we noticed still more renovations going on, and about a year after that, another name change. With plans to go out and buy our Christmas tree yesterday, I suggested another visit, and Mrs. Roadside agreed.

Indeed, for diner purists, the general look of the place inside and out won't do much to make the heart go aflutter. The Moonlight Diner has a slightly Mediterranean look and feel, but it does have a counter and a general welcoming atmosphere. We did enjoy our breakfasts, though. I had banana pancakes and pork roll, Mrs. Roadside had the French toast, and the child had a chocolate chip pancakes. We brought our own real maple syrup, which is de rigeur for any true road warrior who wants to fully enjoy their breakfast. Nothing spoils a pancake faster than the corn-based syrup glop that most places serve, which indeed came with the meal.

Thumbs up for the coffee as well, and the service, which I believe came by way of the owners themselves, rounded out the whole experience and took the Moonlight off our "avoid" list, hopefully for good. One quibble: Mrs. Roadside lamented the packets of Coffee Mate the diner provides for the coffee instead of real half-and-half.

Find the Moonlight Diner at 2708 Limekiln Pike in North Hills, Pennsylvania. Tel: (215) 517-7719.