Breakfast at Billy's Downtown Diner

We had our first diner-style breakfast in Bethlehem today. A 20-ish minute wait alongside a mingling of college kids, young families, a biker couple and a pair of older ladies boded well, we felt - if this mix were happy to stand and wait in one another's company, Billy's must be doing something right. A fast turn-around to compensate for the limited seating ensured that the steady stream of breakfasters and brunchers, overlooked by a smiling photo of Bill Clinton, were served just before hunger-induced fatigue set in. The menu, a mix of breakfast and lunch items, went over-and-above standard diner fare, with an extensive selection of omelettes, pancakes, sandwiches and salads. Notably lacking was a standard breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast), although we suspect one could be prepared at the diner's request.

The lead-with-a-noun (with optional adjective) approach to starting a sentence, typical of restaurant reviews, was temporarily abandoned when our food arrived - at this point we had more important things to think about. C had ordered stuffed french toast with fruit and whipped cream, the former of which came piled with a plentiful supply of the latter. As if she were afraid they would escape, C used her fork to spear as many strawberries and blueberries as could be managed in one mouthful and commented that they were delicious for the time of year. With his mouth full of hammy, cheesy, bacony omelette, P mumbled that the meat was also unusually delicious for the time of year.

For those with a fetish for detail: the french toast was prepared with two squares of texas toast, sandwiching a tasty melange of cream cheese and berries. Whipped cream, fresh strawberries and blueberries provided the base of the topping, to which could be added generic syrup from plastic creamer-like containers...perfectly fine for diner eating, but certainly not up to maple syrup standards.



The Pano's omelette consisted of three eggs, smoked bacon, ham and cheddar, was topped with sour cream (delicious) and was served with home fries and toast. C, who has a horror of overly symmetrical fries, thought they wonderful and helped herself to a sizable helping, but P found them, though yummy, a little soft and messy for his liking.

Coffee was plentiful; certainly not Starbucks, but who needs it? In these economic times we'd much rather spend our limited money on tasty food at local places like Billy's.

Billy's Downtown Diner
610-867-0105
10 E. Broad St. Bethlehem, PA 18018