When Amphora closed in 2021, it left a diner-shaped hole in the hearts of the Vienna community. But Emanuel Pagonis, part of the family behind Greek restaurant Nostos in Tysons Corner, was already dreaming up a solution with his family.
At brunch time Yellow Diner feels appropriately freshly baked thanks to both an interior and exterior dominated by clean whites and yellows. Even the paper napkins are printed with a sunny pattern that can’t help but wrest a smile out of even the most cantankerous customers. And even on a Thursday at 10 a.m., the new restaurant is a hive of activity with busy servers doling out plates of Benedicts and avocado toasts.
I was eager to try the shakshouka, a dish that appears on many Eastern Mediterranean menus, but rarely at diners. At Yellow Diner, the eggs are served baked in a cast iron pan filled with a tomato-and-pepper sauce punctuated with chunky onions. But going against the grain, the saucy pan is also full of chunks of spice-laden chorizo. I’ve had the dish with merguez, but this porky version was an unusual delight. I also appreciated the sourdough toast provided to scoop up every bit of goodness.
The smiling servers aren’t foiled by special orders, either. My dining companion requested the classic breakfast combination called the Americana. But he likes his home fries with American cheese on top. Apparently, it’s an Utah thing. Practically as soon as our server confirmed that there was indeed American cheese in the kitchen, it was on our table.
The home fries, sadly, were not as much of a success as the rest of the plate. The potatoes are accompanied by still-crunchy red-and-green peppers that are an uneasy fit with the tender spuds. The eggs that my companion ordered, however, were well-seasoned and cooked to the over-hard he requested with commendably crisp bacon and buttered toast.
My mother claims that in my early years, I “invented” breakfast dessert and I am still not above ordering a sweet after a savory start to the day. Among the list of treats, my server recommended either the tiramisu or caramel apple tart. I picked the latter and felt plucky that I did.
Served in a flaky shell somewhere between fluffy puff pastry and brittle phyllo, the soft apples are lightly coated in caramel sauce and served with a petite scoop of vanilla ice cream that slowly melts atop the warm dessert.
Part of the beauty of this upmarket new take on comfort food is that Yellow Diner serves up its specialties all day long, with an hour-long break before dinner. Next time I go, it will be to try evening-time dishes like salmon ceviche with strawberries, swordfish steak with lemon and garlic confit, and lamb shank with sweet potato mash.
For a town rich in community and culinary excellence, this is exactly the kind of diner that its denizens — and visitors — deserve.
501 Maple Ave. W., Vienna
Feature image by Amy Ayres
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