When you first walk into Five Star Diner you’ll almost certainly be forced to ask yourself at least a few questions – “Am I in the right place?“, “Is this place even open for business?” or perhaps “Why on earth would someone purposely choose pink as the primary color for their ENTIRE restaurant and set it up as a 60s era diner?” After a quick sampling of any generously portioned dish, however, you’ll soon forget you dared to question the decor and realize you’ve stumbled upon nothing short of a culinary gem.
The diner is located right next to a giant banquet hall that caters to south asian clientele. Anyone not given exact directions might easily mistake it for the restaurant itself. I have to believe the two are affiliated given the quality of the food that the diner produces and, now this is just a hunch, the fact that the banquet hall is also named Five Star. Why they didn’t opt to share the same design principles when opening the diner is beyond me, but the food really speaks for itself.
Their menu consists of your standard Indian fare – some samosas, freshly baked naan, different flavors of chicken straight from the tandoori oven, a healthy mix of vegetarian dishes, biryani and the usual curry or chicken tikka masala. While all sounding very ordinary, Five Star’s chefs make them seem anything but. It might make you wonder if you’ve ever really tried Indian food at all.
The staff, albeit sparse, is very friendly and helpful. There might be the occasional banter with the numerous taxi drivers that frequent the place and the Indian television shows, while dramatically mesmerizing, might be a bit loud, but I find all these things add to the atmosphere to provide a more authentic experience. You can always opt for take out or delivery if that’s not your cup of mango lassi.
Portions for a single dish are sometimes enough to feed two. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have leftovers. Couple that with the budget prices and you can’t help but go back again and again. Simple formula that I adhere to: value = (taste – price) x size. It’s one thing if a dish tastes like God himself created (then slaughtered) the animals that went into it, but if it costs as much as dinner with the Holy See then it’s no longer a good dish. Suddenly the taste is soured by the thought of how much of my paycheck just went into making it. On top of that, if the dish doesn’t fill you up, you are within every right to send it back to the kitchen or throw it in the server’s face because that’s just criminal. This is not to say some dishes don’t warrant their outrageous prices, but to find a restaurant that serves delicious food at a reasonable cost (and certainly that price point is different for everyone) – well, that’s right up there with the meaning of life, no?
Tips:
* Not the best place for a first date, unless you like them ending with a quickness.
* Delivery ends early (~6pm) so you’ll have to pick up or eat in if you need a fix.
* Try the buffet for a sampling of many of their dishes.
* Daytime visits are probably best, not much going on in the area at night.
* Convince one of your Indian friends to have a wedding at the banquet hall.
