By Haley Shapley
For down-home grub with a Texas twist, don’t miss local institution
Grapevine Diner.
Options are plentiful and everything is good, from the omelets to the French toast to south of the border–inspired offerings, like huevos rancheros, migas and breakfast quesadillas. The reasonably priced portions are enough to keep you full and satisfied until your next meal … as the menu entry for one of the dishes says, it’s “enough to fill up a football player in training.”
But you don’t just get a lot of food here — you also get a heaping helping of hospitality, courtesy of friendly waitresses and the owners, Karl and Melissa. They started the diner with a vision of it as a home away from home for all customers, and that’s exactly what it’s become. Although it’s only been around since 2005, the restaurant already feels like an old favorite.
Open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, Grapevine Diner also features lunch standards, including salads, sandwiches, burgers and weekday specials. If you want to join the Hot Dog Wall of Fame, all you have to do is down a half-pound chili dog — that’s a grilled all-beef Angus dog served with mustard, homemade chili, cheese and onions, all on a hoagie roll.
Since my desire to have my pic posted on a wall for all to see isn’t outweighed by my aversion to eating my entire daily caloric intake in one sitting, I’ll be passing on the chili dog, but I do have another recommendation: For the fun factor, order a Texas-shaped waffle. In all my years living in other states, I’ve never once had any food shaped like a state until I moved to this one. Texas is just special like that — and so is Grapevine Diner.