This Week's Counter: Vickie's Diner (Las Vegas)

When you have a chance to eat at a counter in a liquor store, in Las Vegas, you definitely take it.  With a long weekend to spend in town after Ted was there for work and was joined by Tami and Cam, we searched for a counter for Saturday breakfast and ran across Vickie's.  Located halfway between the Strip and downtown, it had pretty good Yelp reviews so we decided to give it a try.  it's literally inside a liquor store in a run-down strip mall -- a little sketchy, but we went with it.

The place has a very long counter and a few booths.  The counter is right on top of the food prep and cooking area, so you can see everything going on.  Which could be both good and bad -- this clearly was not a high-end type of place with strong attention to standards.  But the service was really friendly, there was plenty of space, and we quickly had drinks and placed our orders.

Not too exciting, we all had bacon, eggs and potatoes.  Everything was decent, nicely seasoned potatoes.  Reasonable for the price, but not really outstanding in any way.  Same for the coffee -- just pretty average.`  It was definitely fun to give it a try, but we'll probably be looking for other options next time we're in town.

Cam says: "Good service, but didn't quite get the order right. Not very clean, but a comfortable counter. I'll give it 4 frying pans."

Ted says: "Really unusual place to go for breakfast, and that by itself made it worth the trip. Food was pretty average. For me, it's worth 6 pans."



Tami says: "Interesting atmosphere being in the liquor store -- but we were in Vegas. Food was average, service was very friendly. I'll give it 5 frying pans."

This Week's Counter: StowNut Donut & Diner

We ran across StowNut Donut & Diner in a search for new counters in the Cuyahoga Falls and North Akron areas.  It's located in a shopping plaza near the center of Stow, and seems like it's been there a very long time.  Maybe 10 small tables share space with the large counter fronting the racks of donuts.

The place was pretty busy on the Saturday we stopped in, but with so many seats at the counter it wasn't a problem.  It seems like a family-run place, with lots of regulars stopping in for takeout donuts -- the friendly staff knew everyone by name.  

The menu is much more extensive than you might expect for a donut place -- it's a full-service diner with lots of choices.  It was near lunchtime, so Cam got chicken and fries.  Ted had eggs, toast and hash browns.  Coffee was good and hash browns were well done as requested.  Overall, we liked the place, but the service was probably the highlight -- food quality was pretty average.

On the drive back we realized we didn't try any donuts -- probably should have gotten some to take home. That seems to be the main line of business here, and maybe would be better than most things on the menu.  We'll have to go back and give them a try sometime.

Cam says: "Decent food quality with a very comfortable counter and great service. I'll give it 7 frying pans."

Ted says: "Liked the atmosphere a lot -- homey and friendly. Food was OK, but a bit too greasy.  I'll give this one 5 pans."

This Week's Counter: Charlie's Dog House Diner

MILESTONE: 50TH COUNTER!!!

It's surprising we hadn't found Charlie's before -- it's not that far from home and we've been to other counters nearby.  We had to be over on the West side to get Bradley's car serviced (he's home for winter break and was able to join us) and found it in a Web search.  Very glad we did!  Charlie's is located in a small, old, stand-alone building at the corner of Brookpark and Broadview.  The outside is painted to look like a dog house, and the inside is all counter (except for 2 very small tables). Mid-morning on a weekday there were still plenty of seats.  This seems like the go-to place for people in the neighborhood -- everyone seemed to know everyone else.

The lone server was super friendly, and we quickly had menus and drinks and felt very welcome.  Coffee was great, in a nice heavy ceramic mug.  The menu has loads of omelettes, pancake and waffle variations, and a variety of other things -- very extensive.  Ted went with a western omelette, potatoes and toast.  Cam had a waffle and bacon.  And Bradley had a huge breakfast -- pancakes, bacon, potatoes, eggs and side of corned beef hash.  Everything was delicious (except the bacon got just average reviews) and not at all greasy -- really good.

The combination of the atmosphere (small place, all counter), great service and great food made this one really special -- perfect for the 50th counter milestone.  Go here -- it's pretty easy to get to from anywhere in town, and well worth the trip!

Cam says: "Incredible food quality and service, and a very cool restaurant. Conversation with employees and other customers was fun.  I'll give it 8 frying pans."

Ted says: "One of my favorites for sure!  Far exceeded my expectations for food quality, and service was great. A very strong 9 frying pans."



Bradley says: "Food was great, service was OK. Pancakes were especially awesome. Same with the CB hash. I'll give it 8 frying pans."