* * * * *

                       A diner the Rat Pack would love

Twenty years ago, back when I was in college, my friends and I would often
eat at the Boca Diner [1]. The primary reason: it was open 24-hours and it
wasn't Denny's [2]. It's not that Denny's is bad, but really, it's the type
of place that you end up at, not a place you set out to go to (if you get my
drift). Also, the food was better and it had a wider selection. And it didn't
hurt anything that it was a few blocks closer to FAU (Florida Atlantic
University) [3].

Alas, that was then—this is now. The Boca Diner is still around, but it is no
longer 24-hours (so I want to know how can it still call itself a “diner?”,
but I digress) and thus, we are back to Denny's, the type of place you end up
at, not a place you set out to go.

But a few days ago Bunny noticed The Flashback Diner [4], south of the Boca
Diner by about a mile, that is open 24-hours. This is a place we had to try
out.

This is no ordinary diner.

[This gives off a distinct Rat Pack Vegas Vibe] [5]
[6]

Marble topped tables. Straight back chairs. Low mood lighting. An actual bar!
It even has a glass waterfall for crying out loud!

[All we're missing is the grand piano and torch singer] [7]


And I'm still not sure how I feel about the television sets in each booth.

[A remote? Really? The TV is right there, and we need a remote? Wait? Why do
we really need a private TV in the booth? What have we become as a nation?]
[8]


And the menu doesn't exactly scream diner either. The food is too upscale for
a diner. And the prices are a bit high for a diner. I'm beginning to wonder
why this place bills itself as a diner. I mean, the only thing it has so far
in common with a diner is that it's open 24-hours. I mean, I could almost buy
this if it were in Las Vegas [9], but we're not—we're in Boca Raton, Florida
[10]. Yeah, it's an upscale type of town, but not quite this upscale … I
think.

Anyway, we place our orders. Bunny ordered the pain perdu avec saucisse and I
ordered the poisson-frites. I'll admit, the food looked good.

[Yup, it's French toast and sausage] [11]
[It's not proper fish-n-chips. For one thing, it's not served in newspaper
…] [12]


Bunny's meal was really good, and with hindsight being 20/20, I should have
ordered that. The fish-n-chips … well … this was the first time I actually
had to return a fish-n-chips order back because it was basically sushi-n-
chips. The manager was very apologetic, took my meal off the check and
returned with properly cooked fish-n-chips. The second dish was okay; I think
their choice of fish (dolphin [13]) was ill-suited for this application (cod
is more appropriate) and I doubt I'll order this again.

The desserts though … oh my!

[9′ high, 12′ across and all cake] [14]


We're talking an embedded pastry shop here. Gigantic cakes. Huge cookies.
Donuts. Muffins. Pies. It was a fantastic selection of desserts. What we did
order (turtle cheesecake) was, in the words of Bunny, “to die for.”

It was heartening to see we weren't the only patrons there at 10:30 pm on a
Monday night, and it was even better to see several parties arrive after us.
It wasn't crowded, but it was lively enough to think they'll keep the place
open 24-hours for a long time to come.

And we'll definitely go back.

[1] https://bocadinerfl.com/
[2] http://www.dennys.com/
[3] http://www.fau.edu/
[4] http://flashbackdiner.com/flashback-diner-boca-raton/
[5] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2014/03/31/thumb-tables.jpg
[6] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2014/03/31/tables.jpg
[7] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2014/03/31/glass-waterfall.jpg
[8] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2014/03/31/tv.jpg
[9] http://www.lasvegas.com/
[10] http://www.ci.boca-raton.fl.us/
[11] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2014/03/31/pain-perdu.jpg
[12] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2014/03/31/fish-n-chips.jpg
[13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahi-mahi
[14] gopher://gopher.conman.org/IPhlog:2014/03/31/piece-of-cake.jpg

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