Oregon Diner

Like baseball and jazz, the diner is an American institution. Diners dot the roadsides and major routes across and up and down the country. Diners serve comfort foods; dishes that take us back to our childhood. Within the past 20 years or so, diners have added Italian, Jewish and Greek fare to their large menus, as Americans have a taste for ethnic foods.

And so, in my quest to review all of South Philly’s diners, I made two recent stops at the Oregon, which pretty much never closes. You can tuck into a burger at midnight or enjoy scrambled eggs at 6 p.m.

My husband Edward, my mom Berthe and I pulled into the packed parking lot around 6:30 on a brutally hot Sunday evening and were shown to a roomy booth. The wait staff is courteous and friendly, and service was excellent during both meals.

Mom and I decided to try two of the monthly specials. Our waitress brought us a complimentary fruit cup brimming with fresh melon and grapes. We nibbled on old-fashioned dinner rolls and finally made our choices. By the way, a glass of wine is included with dinner specials, which is a nice touch.

You also get a choice of either soup or salad. Beef barley soup was piping hot and prepared with homemade beef stock. Bits of tender beef and vegetables, along with toothsome barley, were a delicious way to start dinner.

Mom ordered salmon stuffed with crabmeat ($15.95). She received a good-sized portion of Atlantic salmon, which was topped with a big glob of ordinary bread stuffing. None of us could taste any crabmeat in this dish, but the salmon was tasty. Mom enjoyed a baked potato and fresh broccoli.

My baked crab imperial ($14.95) contained bits of good-quality meat, though the dish was overcooked. My broccoli was fresh and perfectly cooked, topped with a light butter sauce.

Edward’s fried seafood combination ($15.95) consisted of a rectangular piece of flounder, a couple of shrimp and a crab cake. His French fries were fresh but arrived a bit cool. The coleslaw was tasty, loaded with neither sugar nor vinegar.

Mom’s dinner and mine came with a choice of Jell-O, rice pudding or regular pudding, but we opted to share a slice of cheesecake ($2.25) instead. It was a tasty way to end the meal, being on the light side with a slight lemon flavor.

On our second visit to the Oregon Diner, soups of the day were vegetable and chicken with bow ties ($1.10 per cup). Both were winners, as good as the beef barley we had on our previous visit. The vegetable soup was tomato-based and included tiny shell pasta and spinach. The chicken soup was homemade and contained bits of fresh carrot, onion, celery, chunks of chicken and egg noodle bow ties.

After finishing a cup of vegetable soup, Mom was in the mood for scrambled eggs ($3.35). The eggs arrived hot and were perfectly cooked, though Mom said she would have preferred them a bit fluffier. The tasty home fries also arrived hot. Another nice touch: If you order toast, you receive a small ramekin of whipped soft butter.

Edward is the Reuben maven in the family; he eats them everywhere and likes to make comparisons. The Oregon Diner’s Reuben ($7.45) was good, but it would have been even better if it were prepared with Jewish deli corned beef and Jewish rye bread, both of which really make the sandwich. The Reuben was open-face and contained sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese, with very good potato salad and coleslaw on the side.

Now for my heavenly dinner. I am a big fan of open-face hot turkey sandwiches, as they take me straight back to my childhood. The cooks at the Oregon Diner use delicious home-style white bread for their version ($8.15). This bread has good texture and is not cottony like ordinary white bread — important when building such a sandwich. It was piled high with real roasted turkey breast, which was nice and juicy and not a bit overcooked.

Hot whipped potatoes, creamy and free of lumps, were also on the plate. The turkey and potatoes were topped with homemade turkey gravy, which was delectably rich and hot. One of the vegetables of the day was fresh spinach, which was flecked with saut�ed onions — yet another nice touch.

The waitress from our previous dinner walked by and said hello. "You didn’t get any cranberry sauce," she said. "I’ll get it for you." I am so glad she did. Turkey is not turkey without cranberry sauce. Another server came back and cleared Mom’s plate. I had a big glass of homemade iced tea ($1.40), while Edward sipped a martini ($3.85).

The ever-popular Oregon Diner was busy on both visits. Service is first-rate, especially when three waitresses take good care of you. They constantly watch the tables.

Two tips of the toque to the Oregon Diner.

Oregon Diner
302 Oregon Ave.
215-462-5566
Cash only
Wheelchair-accessible
Open 24/7