Moonlite Diner – Fort Lauderdale, Florida

First impressions can be deceiving, and that was the case when we checked out a new breakfast spot recently.

Moonlite Diner looked awesome from the outside. It looked like the kind of place we drive miles to find. A throwback to earlier days and Mom and Pop gems in the small towns in America.

As we walked toward the building we noticed that the outside even included a wonderful patio where you could sit to enjoy a meal in the fresh Florida air.

Then we stepped inside.

We were greeted (and I use the term loosely) by an unsmiling server who told us to sit anywhere. And she meant it. We chose a booth and sat down. The place was nearly empty, but we still waited for what seemed like forever to be waited on.

As we studied the menu, I noticed special salt and pepper grinders on each table, and I realized the Moonlite Diner must be a franchise since they package and sell their own products, so the Mom and Pop vibe quickly began to vanish.

Our server finally brought us some coffee, then she eventually returned to take our order. I chose Eggs Benedict, as I so often do.

The coffee was good, and the poached eggs and hollandaise sauce were OK, but my hash browns were a complete mystery to me. They were very pale, partially uncooked and barely warmed through. And just as I began to question the cooking method I heard one of the only other diners in the place ask his server for a new serving of hash browns…cooked crispy this time. And you know me…I just HAD to ask him if he’d eaten at the diner before. He assured me he eats there on a regular basis, and he loves the place. And he loves the food. But he was as shocked as I was about the hash browns he was served that morning.

When his new order of potatoes arrived, I snapped a picture of both plates…

and he told me the new serving tasted delicious, the way he says they usually taste at the Moonlite Diner. That was good news to me, since I was hoping to give the place the benefit of the doubt.

We finished our meal, and as we left we both remarked at how right and how wrong first impressions can be.

We would be willing to give the place another try, but when it comes to breakfasts in South Florida we have many more new places to explore before we head back again…even if the hash browns are usually crispy and the servers more friendly.

Life is too short for unsmiling servers and pale hashbrowns. Especially when you’re as old as I am!