By EAST AURORA EDITOR (3/25/2008 6:58:59 AM)
One thing is for sure, if you are coming into town and want to go to an eatery that represents what East Aurora is all about, be sure to visit Charlie's Diner. Located at 510 Main Street, Charlie's Diner has been around for generations and still has the original sign out front.
It is located on the second story, and when you walk in you from the back parking lot you really feel like you are walking into someone's dining room.
We arrived at around 1PM and there were a few tables available and we sat ourselves. We had to guess that this was the process because there wasn't a sign by the entrance telling us to do so. Because of that we weren't sure if the waitress would know that we were new and needed service. However shortly after we sat down the waitress prepped our table and took our drink request.
The waitress of course was very friendly. (So far we have yet to find an unfriendly waitress in East Aurora) She came back in only a few minutes with our drinks (soda) and we told her we were ready to order.
We both ordered the fish fry.
She brought bread over to the table and it was really delicious. Charlie's always has delicious bread which is home made. Whenever you go to either Charlie's Diner or the Village Kitchen, never miss the opportunity to try their bread.
While we were waiting, there was another waitress who was clearing tables across the dining area and she was concurrently talking on her cell phone. Not a good idea in my opinion. If you need to talk on your cell phone stay in the back and come out after you are finished. If a customer needed help they certainly wouldn't ask that waitress.
Our food came out very quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly. The battered fish came with fries and coleslaw. Although I do not like coleslaw, I tried it for purposes of this review and actually found it rather tasty. The fries were very good but the portion was small. There was much more space allocated to the coleslaw than for the fries. Not being a fan of the latter, dissapointing. However that is just a personal observation and to each his/her own.
The fish was battered to a perfect golden color and the batter tasted just as good as it looked. It was really perfect. The fish itself I believe was a tad undercooked. It was just a bit watery. I have since spoken to a friend and they also said that they felt the fish was watery. I am not sure how that happens and how you can correct it, however I believe that cooking it at a bit lower fryer temperature would allow them to cook the insides a little more while not sacrificing the perfection of the batter coating.
However even thought it was a bit watery, it was still very tasty. The portion was ample but not overwhelmingly so. You can finish the entire meal and feel satisfied but not full.
Cost was more than reasonable. For us $20 would have been adequate but we left a larger tip because of the great service.
This was lunch, however sometime in the future we will review Charlie's for breakfast which is really its claim to fame.
Also stay tuned as we will be allowing users to make their own comments regarding the restaurants that we review.
REVIEW DATE: Friday March 14th
PROS: Historic atmosphere, very friendly service, low cost
CONS: Fish a tad watery, but not enough to dissuade fish lovers.
OVERALL RATING: 8.9 out of 10
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