The diner to New York is as the apple is to Eve - at the physical core and inseparable from its identity. You can stumble into them for any given situation - from 5am post going-out, to lunch with an acquaintance at 12, a break-up coffee at 4, or even one of those emotional rain-hitting-the-window dinners at 8 - and the fact that their menus are perennially longer than the torah gives even the most unhinged person comfort through choice. Warm coffee, omelettes and bacon, french toast, club sandwiches, inexplicably sassy and weathered yet warm staff - they really, truly have it all.
La Bonbonniere on 8th avenue at the top of the West Village is a holy grail diner serving top-shelf renditions of the dishes we all love. In normal times, you can stroll in whenever and grab a seat on a barstool at the counter and watch as neon yellow french toast goldens, troughs of potatoes brown with butter, and a melange of breakfast meats crisp. Picture linoleum floors, colorful printer paper advertising gyro specials in the window, and an overall aura of coffee breath - if that’s not New York giving you a hug, I’m not sure what is.
On a recent visit, I indulged myself in my usual order of a broccoli cheddar omelette and a side of bacon and potatoes, with the toast thrown to the wayside in lieu of a piece of their godly french toast. The omelette appears more of a scramble until you slice it and you’re able to see the literal cheddar emulsion inside binding all the pieces together. Enjoying the sharp cheddar and soft egg paired with the crunch of the charred bacon and relief of the peppered potatoes is on odyssey of flavors - one that I love to take to the next level with ketchup or hot sauce. I usually treat the french toast as a dessert course, indulging myself after the omelette to this golden challah marbled with char from the grill - concealing its soft, eggy interior in bready armor. My compliments to the chef, this meal was just as iconic as ever and that consistency and normalcy honestly meant so much more now than it ever has before.
Tragically, more and more diners shutter by the minute- with each closure robbing New York neighborhoods of community and often further bolting the coffin of local culture in lieu of high street imports. Undoubtedly this trend has been pushed into hyper-speed by Covid and local diners could really use a boost. Thankfully, La Bonbonierre has been serving outdoors on the sidewalk and in a tent in the parking lane - giving them a vehicle to weather the storm and giving New Yorkers an opportunity to find a sense of home and normalcy during a time when all else is everything but.
La Bonbonniere
28 8th Ave, New York, NY 10014
- DG
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