Diner #2: The Dining Car

We arrived at The Dining Car in Philly B.C. -- before coffee. Wiping the sleep from our eyes, we perused the menu, looking for the specialties Guy Fieri highlighted: Chicken Croquettes, Scrapple and Chipped Beef.

Now, chipped beef over toast with hash browns and scrapple are relatively normal breakfast items. Ok , perhaps not, but chicken croquettes? And keep in mind that the croquettes are served over mashed potatoes and come with a salad and two sides -- your choice of spinach, french fries, beets (yuck!), coleslaw and applesauce (weird). We bit the bullet and ordered it all.

First came the salad. A little weird for breakfast, but heaven knows we needed the roughage. For the main event, the chipped beef arrived in a cream sauce that allowed it to stay in its salty, meaty spotlight. The scrapple, with its crispy exterior and soft porky inside was delish according to Evan. (Compressed pig parts aren't my thing).

The croquettes came as a pair, very suggestive of the female anatomy. They were good, but it was the buttery, sage-infused gravy that made the dish. If all my food were served with this gravy, I could die a fat and happy woman. I made a pretty good dent in my meal, but the two sides and the complimentary (and completely superfluous) cinnamon bun defeated me. We'll meet again, Dining Car!