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Home fries, ham-and-cheese-smothered omelets and a bronzed short stack—diner currency at its most basic (and, arguably, finest). We're lucky to be getting two new options, coming soon to North Naples: Metro Diner (a branch of a small chain that was featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) and the second location of the magenta vinyl palace LuLu B's (the first ofwhich has held fort in Pelican Bay for years). So it seemed germane for Hot Dish to check out Bernie's City Diner that made its debut last season near Wiggins Pass.
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| The Greek omelet with extra-crispy hash browns and a house-made biscuit at Bernie's City Diner |
The menu is simple—not an NFL playbook with a bevy of benedicts and buttermilks—but rather a pared-down, get-rid-of-the-bunk selection of omelets, cooked eggs, a few bread-y indulgences from the griddle, salads and sandwiches (no burgers). What it lacks in excitement (no Frosted Flakes encrusting the French toast, and, seriously, no quarter-pounders?!), it makes up for in quality. So if cage-free eggs matter to you; if you like knowing your hash browns have been shaved that day (or your fries cut in the back of the restaurant rather than in an industrial warehouse a thousand miles away), Bernie’s is your first-string quarterback. Everything from the warm fluffy biscuits to the meats in the sandwiches (prime rib, pastrami and corned beef) to the day’s soup is made in-house at the owner Bernard Zavis’s insistence (Zavis also took over the Pewter Mug a few years back).
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Guy Fieri, are you listening?
To plan a visit:
Bernie’s City Diner
14700 Tamiami Trail N., Naples
(239) 631-6591
Get the Hot Dish every Wednesday and Friday online and every month in Gulfshore Life.