Michelle's Diner

Michelle's Diner in Allentown is where we picked to breakfast this Saturday morning. And no, not "the" Allentown, PA à la Billy Joel, but the Allentown neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Bit of Pittsburgh history/trivia: Allentown is the only neighborhood left in Pittsburgh that still allows the Trolley to run on it's main street (think Mr. Rogers).

I don't want to say that Allentown isn't a "nice" neighborhood, but when Michelle's closes for the day (in the early afternoon) it pulls a big garage-sized door down to cover the entire front door and windows area.  But on this rainy Saturday morning, they were open for business.  Michelle's is different from the typical diner, because the front half is a mini grocery store(??), complete with a deli, frozen foods section, and all kinds of pantry items.

So you walk through all of this to find the most adorable restaurant area with booths and diner-counter seating. Everywhere you look is something pleasing to the eye - Lots of coca-cola collectibles, photos on the wall of classic TV sitcoms (I Love Lucy, Three Stooges...) and of course, Pittsburgh sports. On the counter I spied some classic lunchboxes that I wasn't brave enough to investigate more closely, but they looked really fun nonetheless...

The place was not at all busy, but those who were there were certainly regulars. The waitress was super friendly, and our food came pretty quickly. The menu was not unlike most local diners, several omelet selections, and other egg/meat combos, along with griddle food. 

Husband picked the most unique item called the "Fat Boy Breakfast #1" consisting of 3 eggs, gyro meat, home fries, toast, and 2 pancakes. And I, as per typical, ordered Texas style French toast and bacon. Interestingly, everything was served on disposable plates, but we ate with "real" silverware.

So the food was okay, but the atmosphere was the true highlight. I love places like this where only the locals go - nice to see small businesses making regular people smile.