Reader's Digest picked the best Delaware diner. 10 more suggestions for breakfast, beyond
Reader's Digest compiled a list of what they said were the 50 most iconic diners in America.
To find the absolute best diner in every state, editors looked at customer ratings, TripAdvisor scores, and investigated "local gossip," according to the magazine.
The nod for Delaware went to Lucky's Coffee Shop in Talleyville.
Lucky’s, which gives good retro diner vibes, was once the home of the former Ranch House, a place where many late-nighters went to sober up and carb load on burgers, fries, pancakes, sausage, bacon and eggs.
A Ranch House breakfast wasn't bad, though; for the most part, the food was merely adequate.
When Corner Bistro owner Mickey Donatello and partner John Schulte purchased the site, it was renamed Lucky's, and the interior and menu were given a much-needed overhaul in 2007. Reader's Digest says Lucky's is the place "for pancakes with a side of sizzling scrapple." It also notes that "you can turn any omelet into a breakfast hoagie." It comes on an Amoroso roll. We also like Lucky's huevos rancheros.
In 2016, singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett came to Lucky's, filmed scenes for a video, and was photographed by celebrated artist Mark Seliger. Lovett played a concert later that night at The Grand in Wilmington.
The Reader's Digest list got us thinking about even more diners in Delaware.
Here's a list of some breakfast and diner-style food places in the state we think also are worthy of a visit:
Crossroads
4579 Kirkwood Highway, Milltown; crossroadsdelaware.com
Crossroads was a Howard Johnson's for 37 years and adopted its current name in 2001. The landmark diner at Kirkwood Highway and Limestone Road was owned by Lee Doyle and family members for more than 20 years until they retired from the business in 2020.
The thriving business was averaging 1,000 diners a day before the coronavirus pandemic, according to the real estate listing in 2020, which also noted the restaurant's gross revenue was $3.2 million. Breakfast is served all day. In 2021, Matt Tyrawski and business partner John Schulte, who run Tyler's Bar & Grille in Pike Creek, purchased the business. Schulte, along with Mickey Donatello, also owns Lucky's Coffee Shop. Donatello is not an owner of Crossroads.
The "Big Daddy" breakfast for $12.99 has two eggs, two pancakes, two slices of bacon, two sausage links and home fries. Dinner platters include roast turkey, liver and onions, and pot roast. There's a menu for senior citizens (smaller portions, less expensive) available upon request.
Crossroads is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Goober's Diner
1203 N. Lincoln St., Wilmington; goobersdiner-de.com/
If you're looking for a stainless steel retro classic diner, Goober's is your place. In 2020, the "Great American" 1950s-style modular building was shipped from Atlanta in pieces and reassembled at its Wilmington site behind the Dunkin' store and across from Grotto Pizza at 13th and North Lincoln streets.
The two-story diner has seating in its cozy, red and white tiled dining rooms, as well as counter seating. Co-owner Tom Hannum, former executive chef of the Hotel du Pont's Green Room, oversees the kitchen and the food is often more elevated than usual diner fare. Breakfast is available all day. House specialties are the crackly pile of hash browns fried in clarified butter. Homemade cinnamon sugar cake doughnuts and creamy, thick milkshakes are customer favorites.
A Belgian waffle topped with butterflied and fried chicken breast served with whipped butter and pancake syrup is $15.95. Dinner includes meatloaf and pan-roasted flounder.
Co-owner Vance Kershner is an avid car collector and keeps his classic automobile in the Goober's Garage next to the diner. He sometimes opens the garage to the public to view the collection.
Hours for Goober's Diner are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Angelo's Luncheonette
1722 N. Scott St., Wilmington. facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063757201826
Don't let the name fool you. Angelo's is open for lunch, but breakfast is a big deal at this old-school diner in Wilmington's Forty Acres where 70% of the customers are regulars. The 56-year-old mom-and-pop business is run by August "Muzz" Muzzi, who is well-known for his Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes and sunny disposition.
It's a cash-only establishment, though there is an ATM machine where the old candy counter used to be. Almost nothing changes at Angelo's, and that's the way Muzzi and his longtime patrons like it. The last renovation was in the early 1990s when booths replaced tables.
It's open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. It can be tough beating the regulars to one of the 12 counter stools.
What to order? A fried egg and meat breakfast sandwich, grilled cheese and Campbell's tomato soup, Italian sausage sandwich, root beer float, Angie's burger.
Kozy Korner
906 N. Union St., Wilmington; kozykorner-restaurant.com
The diner on Wilmington's west side, known for its scrambled eggs and bacon, home fries and hot coffee and Greek omelets with onion, tomatoes and feta cheese, has roots in the city going back 100 years.
Hearty and affordable breakfasts are the staples of Kozy Korner, which first began operating as a candy store and later as a luncheonette in 1922 at Delaware Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Wilmington.
The Vouras family had to close the business in 1984 when the building they were leasing was razed to make room for a high-rise that includes the Sheraton Suites. The long, narrow restaurant reopened at its present Union Street location in 1993 and is run by the founder's grandson John Vouras.
The restaurant also has a catering menu, celebrating the family's Greek heritage, which includes dishes like spanakopita, moussaka, dolmades or stuffed grape leaves, and rice pudding. Gyros, $8.25, are on the lunch menu.
Kozy Korner is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to about 2 p.m. John's son Nick, who made and sold pizzas at the restaurant after closing, is opening his own brick-and-mortar location Nick's Pizza this fall near Prices Corner.
Cosmos Restaurant
316 S. Maryland Ave., near Five Points; cosmos-restaurant.com
The laid-back Wilmington diner has been serving Greek and American classic comfort foods for more than 40 years. Cosmos, founded by John and Elena Alexopoulos, on April 1, 1981, has all-day breakfast and dishes like chicken and dumplings and cream-chipped beef on toast.
Greek dishes include avgolemono (Greek lemon-chicken soup), pastichio, moussaka, spanakopita, souvlaki and Greek spaghetti. Sandwiches like the corned beef Rueben, liverwurst and onion, and hot roast beef are hearty and filling.
Check the board for the daily specials, which on any given day can include beef stew, chicken pot pie, kielbasa and sauerkraut, and ham and cabbage.
Don't miss the dessert menu, which includes baklava, rice pudding, coconut custard pie, and cherry cheesecake.
Cosmos is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Sunrise Restaurant
2300 Coastal Highway, Dewey Beach; sunrisedeweybeach.business.site
Dewey Beachers have long started out the day at the Sunrise. Owner Ismet Bulut has been feeding locals and tourists alike at his humble diner for about 40 years.
The low-slung, oceanside building hugs Route 1. Customers slide into plastic seats at one of the four-top tables and eat the most important meal of the day, any time of the day. The service is quick, the portions are generous, and, as a testament to its popularity, the lines are usually long.
The gyro omelet, $13.95, is stuffed with sliced lamb, fat chunks of feta cheese, green peppers, tomatoes and onions. The omelet is so big, it practically flops over the plate. But the crowning jewel is the side bowl of tzatziki sauce blended with fresh shredded cucumbers, oregano, garlic powder, and made in-house yogurt.
Another customer favorite is the chicken breast and cheese omelet, $13.95.
The Sunrise also is known for its fried potatoes. The potatoes are peeled and boiled the night before and kept overnight in a walk-in. In the morning, the potatoes are cut into chunks and fried with garlic, butter, paprika, oregano, salt and white pepper.
Sunrise is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Brandywine Diner
303 Rocky Run Parkway, Talleyville; brandywinediner.com
The Brandywine Diner is sprawling, it has 300 seats in the dining room, but due to its retro stainless design, it still retains the diner vibe. In 2020, it took over the site of the former Famous Dave's in Talleyville's Brandywine Commons center. The owner is Andy Elghawy, also co-owner of the Springfield Diner at 720 Baltimore Pike in Springfield, Pennsylvania.
Breakfast is served all day, so that means you can get silver dollar pancakes (10 for $8.50) or a 12-ounce New York strip steak and two eggs ($17.95) with a side of $8.95 "disco" fries (french fries loaded with melted cheese and gravy).
Diner classics include club sandwiches, western omelets, corned beef hash, chicken croquettes with gravy, and liver with onions or bacon.
It's open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Mary's Kountry Kitchen
222 Main St. (off Limestone Road), Stanton; marys-kountry-kitchen.com
Mary Marsh founded this family-owned restaurant in Stanton in 1973. Mary's is known for Southern-style foods. Some of the "country" dishes include hand-battered catfish and two eggs, $8.95, with a side of either home fries or grits. Customers also can order catfish on a steak roll for $6.95.
Other specialties include chicken and waffle, $9.95, or shrimp and cheese grits topped with onions and bacon, $9.95. The coffee is bottomless and a children's menu has Oreo and chocolate chip pancakes with bacon or sausage.
Smyrna Diner
99 S. Cory Lane, Smyrna, smyrnadiner.com
The Smyrna Diner has been a Delaware institution since 1956. In 2008, owner Sandy Margist and her family, who have run the diner since 1972, said goodbye to the classic stainless steel operation and moved to a larger location a few miles down Route 13. The move was made to double the capacity.
The walls of the current diner are decorated with photographs of the former site and much of the menu remains the same. Breakfast is still served all day, which means customers can order homemade sausage gravy over buttermilk biscuits or get the diner's signature creamed chipped beef on toast with home fries morning or evening.
Smyrna Diner has scrapple, of course, and it comes from Hughes Delaware Maid Scrapple, which is made in Felton.
An All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast Buffet is available every weekend from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The Crystal
37300 Rehoboth Ave. Ext. 1, Rehoboth Beach. facebook.com/p/Crystal-Restaurant-100063713724085/
Rehoboth has plenty of good breakfast spots. Egg is a hip spot for siracha bacon "candy" and the "Uncle Charlie," sauteed chicken livers, bacon, and shallots served over fluffy scrambled eggs with sides of home fries and toast. Many claim allegiance to Robin Hood, a classic diner that's been around since 1968 that operates daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
And when it comes to another traditional down-home style diner, you can't go wrong at the humble Crystal. Long touted as one of the local haunts, it's also gotten kudos from the New York Times.
Lone diners can grab a spot at the bar for the crispy home fries and creamed chipped beef.
The eatery opens at 7 a.m., and locals come strolling in soon after. Sleepyheads can relax. Breakfast is served all day until the Crystal closes at 3 p.m. The Crystal has a full bar and can serve any kind of liquor or alcohol. Definitely get a Bloody Mary.
Contact Patricia Talorico at ptalorico@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2861 and follow her on X (Twitter) @pattytalorico.
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: What iconic diner was named Delaware's best? Plus 10 more to try
