It's Easy To Trace The Trucks of My Cheers (Summer 2019)

As mentioned in a previous blog post in the Autumn 2018, I have veered toward notable experiences with the area's food trucks instead of comprehensiveness due to the sheer number of food trucks that roam Central Ohio these days. With that said, two of the three trucks featured here are well-established veterans of the scene which my spouse and I have had the chance to visit numerous times, while the other reflects a culinary trend in the local area that I hope is a continuing one.

Fetty's Street Food - my spouse's niece, who had spent some time studying in South Africa near Durban earlier this decade, mentioned one her favorite dishes she ate there was something called Bunny Chow. Originating with the Indian population of the area, this popular dish involved a nicely spicy curry poured into a hollowed out portion of a bread loaf.

Southern Road Trip: Best of the Rest (Pt. 1)

As much ground as the previous couple of weeks of Southern road trip blog posts covered, not every place we visited made it in. However, that by no stretch of the imagination means that they aren't worthy of a mention. These next couple of posts touch on an eatery from each of the major cities we encountered during this road trip that we found to be worth the consideration at the very least.

I know I can't personally start the day without a good cup of coffee, but the following two places add much more to the equation other than that caffeinated elixir.

Dallas - Cuban Dulceria International Bakery & Cafe

A longstanding Dallas-area tradition, the Vasquez family has been serving their Cuban specialties to Dallas-area residents since 1979. They may have remained pretty much only on the radar of the locals, but a couple of unrelated pushes from as different spheres of fame as you can imagine (President Barack Obama efforts to normalizing Cuban relations and a Khloe Kardashian reference to cortaditos) has bumped into modest eatery much higher onto the culinary radar. In fact, the demand created has encouraged the owners to open up a second location in the area.

Just Like Clockwork: Starliner Diner

The Bay Area has its share of diner-style places fitting many vibes, from the classic 50s (Lori's in San Francisco and Bette's Oceanview in Berkeley) to 80s new wave/rock (Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe in Emeryville), to country homestyle rustic (the Fremont Diner in Sonoma) to city historic (Grubstake Diner in San Francisco is fashioned out of an old streetcar.) However, nothing I've encountered yet in my old home area quite matches the combo of unique kitsch and brunch deliciousness that Starliner Diner in Hilliard brings to its diners.

Visual kitsch abounds at Starliner Diner, giving the diner a lot to see

Open for roughly 20 years, Starliner Diner gives the visitor a lot of kitsch to look at, from the colorful murals to sports-related memorabilia (some of the waiting area chairs appear to be old stadium seats) to the numerous retro clocks that dominate the one wall and randomly appear at various other places in the interior. While no one decor or era totally dominates, the cumulative effect lends an overall cool and kitschy feel that is welcoming and seemingly familiar.

The dishes come flying out at a fast rate during the busy weekends

During the busy weekends, the waiting diner (even at its busiest, Starliner seems to get people seated in relatively quick fashion) can add the numerous delicious dishes awaiting pickup to their visual distractions. One of my fun tasks on my first visits was trying to figure out what dishes were what, and trying to figure out what I was truly hungry for on that particular visit.

On our last visit, my spouse went with an favorite for both us, their Chilaquiles, a hearty combo of scrambled eggs, peppers, onions, black beans, and cheese with tortilla chips; meanwhile I went with the Mexican Chorizo Omelette with chorizo, peppers, onion, garlic, cheese & cilantro with a side of Cuban Toast.

These dishes, along with most of the other Starliner's breakfast items, have rarely disappointed. From the Cuban French Toast (their Cuban Bread cubed up and prepared) and Cuban Breakfast, Huevos Rancheros, and various usual specials (Blueberry Pancakes and Azteca Breakfast Enchiladas, to name a couple) provide hearty and delicious early morning fare at reasonable prices (basically less than $10 per dish) with leftovers to spare on most days.

Oh, did I mention they serve lunch and dinner as well? Frankly we're still having too much fun with breakfast at Starliner, but one of these days, I swear we will sample those wares as well.

Starliner Diner
5240 Cemetery Road
Hilliard, OH 43026
(614)529-1198
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