Phoenicia Diner – Phoenicia, NY

by Devon Walsh

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A winning brunch at the Phoenicia Diner / photo courtesy of phoneiciadiner via Instagram

It’s a lazy day in the mountains, and you’re hungry after an early morning hike. Is there really anything that will hit the spot quite like diner food? Even more so when that diner’s edifice transports you back to the sixties with its midcentury architecture and stools lined up in a row. But, we discovered recently, it turns out there is something better.

Autumn foliage of the Catskill Mountains / photo courtesy of phoeniciadiner.com

Phoenicia Diner on Route 28 in the Catskills possesses all that characteristic diner charm—the building itself was constructed in 1962 and the paper placemats serve as both menus and as a medium for local advertisements—and the grub is sustainably sourced. Phoenicia uses ingredients from surrounding farms in the Catskills and the Hudson River Valley as much as possible. This diner food isn’t just delicious because it’s greasy—in fact, it’s not that greasy at all.

Higher brow dishes like pole caught smoked trout with crème fraiche scrambled eggs and grass fed short ribs accompany staples like beer battered onion rings and a house-cured corned beef sandwich. Wash it all down with a delectably thick milkshake from ice cream made on site or a bloody with tomato juice and vodka from—you guessed it—nearby.

The Phoenicia Diner's nostalgic booths and counter / photo courtesy of phoeniciadiner.com

It’s highly likely that during your time there, owner Mike Cioffi will stop by your table to say hello and you’ll argue over who (between your table and him) deserves a thank you. The Sheepshead Bay native, and Cobble Hill transplant is new to the restaurant scene and remains alarmingly humble about the enterprise.

like any winning diner, winning diner pie / photo courtesy of phoeniciadiner.com

If you're beating the heat in the Catskills in the summer or working up a sweat walking in the fall, be sure to make Phoenicia your brunch destination. You won’t regret it! And, if you’re more partial to martinis than burgers, Cioffi’s Cocktails in the Catskills, off the main dining room opens its doors on Friday and Saturday nights.

Address details:  5681 NY-28, Phoenicia, NY 12464 (off Route 28).

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Three Floyds, Munster, IN

By Michael Mackie

9750 Indiana Parkway Munster, IN 46321

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The Three Floyds Bew Pub in Munster, Indiana / photo courtesy of the Three Floyds Facebook page

There’s Chicago. There’s outside Chicago. And then there’s way the heck past that – so far east you’re now relegated to Indiana. Think there’s nothing to do out in the sticks? Think again. One of the Midwest’s most buzz-worthy beer joints is located just a couple ‘burbs inside the Indiana state line.

Three Floyds' famous brew / photo courtesy of planetdenken via Instagram

Plopped down smack dab in the middle of an industrial area in Munster, Indiana – and under a water tower no less – you’ll find Three Floyds Brewing Company. Since 1996, they’ve proudly been crafting – as they call it – “not normal beer”. Once inside, you’ll find a wildly eclectic mix of hipstered-out college students, bawdy bikers and bespectacled businessmen commiserating in kind and pounding back Floyd’s famed homemade brews.  

From the minute you step out of your car and into the parking lot, you can smell the barley and hops from across the street. (Watch where you park, however – the joint is notorious for towing.) If you’re lucky enough to get a table without a wait, consider yourself blessed.  “There’s always a line out the door,” said our server Brandon. “People go crazy.”

Bartender Steve Meinke enjoying his long awaited Three Floyds beer / Photo by Michael Mackie

Chicago bartender and self-proclaimed beer aficionado Steve Meinke picked a random Wednesday night to make an impromptu appearance. With less than an hour until they closed, he still had to wait patiently for a bar table to open up. “Our bar will order ten cases of their beer from this place at a time,” he mentioned. “We’re lucky to get one – maybe two. And when they arrive, they’re gone.”

What makes Three Floyds’ beer so impossibly popular? For one, the loyalty of their clientele. “It’s almost like a cult here,” said Meinke. “Plus, the alcohol content of their beer is exponentially higher than most people are used to. It ain’t your grandma’s craft beer.”

Visual overload awaits any new patron. There’s not one square inch of this place that doesn’t have some sort of kitschy beer motif decoratively placed. Tap handles adorn the walls and there’s plenty of cartoon artwork which pay homage to their most popular lines of beer.  Reruns of “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” were playing (loudly) on all the TVs … because of course it was. And if you’re looking for sustenance – Three Floyds offers a hearty menu of savory small plates.

A Three Floyds bartender and his many brews / Photo by Michael Mackie

But people don’t visit the pub for the ambience … they come for the frothy adult beverages awaiting them.  Three Floyds is known for several home-brewed beers that put them on the proverbial malty and/or hoppy map.  Just dropping any of the following names is bound to make any Floyd-ite start drooling – Zombie Dust, Gumball Head, Alpha King, Robert the Bruce, YumYum.

Server Brandon serving up some magical adult elixirs / photo by Michale Mackie

In the meantime, start looking at your 2016 calendar. You’ll want to get the fourth weekend in April on your calendar now. It’s the Three Floyd’s infamous (legendary? epic?) Darklord Day where they feature a Russian Imperial Stout beer for $30 a bottle. Only problem is – over 15,000 folks line up for a chance to purchase the pub’s extremely limited supply. If you’re lucky to get your mitts on one (via a lottery-type system) – perhaps you should actually consider playing the lottery. Bottles of Darklord have been known to go for $200+ on the web.

For more information on Three Floyds’ limited lagers or exclusive ales, visit them on FB, Twitter or online at www.3Floyds.com.  If you want to join their ravenous fan base, it’s probably best to start now. Remember – supply barely scratches the surface of demand. Good thing it only takes a couple of their really strong beers to get blitzkrieged.   

The Majestic Diner, Atlanta GA

by Devon Walsh

1031 Ponce de Leon Drive, Atlanta, GA 30306

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The nostalgic sign of Atlanta's Majestic Diner // photo courtesy of li5aluna via Instagram

All-day breakfast-scape // photo courtesy of fforfood via Instagram

For better or for worse, at the Majestic Diner, it isn’t about the food. In fact, you probably shouldn’t be here if you’re looking for anything green; unless maybe it’s a mint chip milkshake. This is, as the neon sign out front advertises, “Food That Pleases.” Think diner staples: sausage and eggs, patty melts and quesadillas fried up on amply greasy griddles. The 24-hour eatery serves food that tastes best at 4am.

Here revelers flock. You’ll see all types, from the young and sophisticatedly on trend, to an assembly of muscle men in brightly colored tanks, as well as folks less apt to party, drinking coffee all alone—plus everyone else in between.

Chocolate chip waffle at the Majestic Diner // photo courtesy of foodisonfleek via Instagram

The classic Atlanta institution originally opened its doors in 1929 in Virginia-Highland, a “streetcar suburb,” or a neighborhood that arose due to its proximity to a streetcar line. The cafeteria was originally attached to a 24-hour drug store, Plaza Drugs and the two establishments served the community at all hours. Today, Plaza Drugs is no longer, but the Majestic lives on.

If you’re up late in Atlanta it’s is a must see, after a drink, or four. Put simply, The Majestic constitutes the perfect diner; oily fare in a timeless setting that’s endlessly occupied by an odd and rowdy bunch. You’ll leave pleased.

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Ergon - Skiathos, Greece

Papadiamanti 37002, Skíathos, Greece

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Ergon Greek Deli + Cuisine 

Food of the Gods

If you’ve ever wondered why the skin of the Greek gods looks so good - it’s because they ate here at Ergon.

In between their family feuds and bitter rivalries, classic figures such Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes and Zeus could easily be pictured sitting down here and share a meze plate of the freshest, tastiest, high quality modern Greek food. Their cheekbones highlighted by the dappled sunbeams through the trees or simply the result of clinking of wine glasses.

Ergon - on the beautiful Greek island of Skiathos in the Aegean Sea. It’s a lot more than a deli and food produce store and where beauty is more than skin deep.

 

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