Pearl's Diner - Adelaide, South Australia

The Burger Theory guys, Rob Dean and Dan Mendelson, have opened their first brick and mortar location in a small group of neighbourhood shops behind the Payneham Pool in Felixstow. Pearl's Diner, named after the Burger Theory truck Pearl, opened for the first time on 6 June 2012.  (hooray!)



Opening hours are very limited so you'll need to check Facebook or Twitter to plan your visit. If the church pew waiting area is empty when you arrive, you might be lucky enough to snag a table straight away. They don't take bookings so it's first come, first served.



We arrived early in the service, which allowed us to avoid the queue. The Pearl's menu consists of burgers & fries, omelettes, fried chicken & coleslaw, chili & cornbread, waffles, milkshakes and coffee. Once you've carefully made your selections and made a mental note of your table number, head up to the front counter to place your order and pay.



On our first visit, we went with a tested favourite - a #1 Burger (lettuce, tomato, American cheese & truck sauce) with fries, $13. It's a really good burger and it's nice to be able to eat it indoors and on a proper plate.



Another bonus for the burger experience at Pearl's is that you can add a milkshake to your order. Choices are Vanilla, Chocolate or Coffee, $6 each. We chose Chocolate and it was thick with a good chocolate flavour. A silver milkshake mixer cup instead of the glass would really top off the experience.



The Belgian waffles (from La Waffle) have a great, full flavour. I went with the maple syrup and vanilla ice cream option ($8), but you can also get your waffle with icing sugar or cinnamon sugar ($5) or Belgian chocolate, berries and vanilla ice cream ($10). The vanilla ice cream was full of vanilla bean flavour and very moreish.



Hiding under the Sides list at the bottom of the menu is this Pork Bun ($7). It's a Breadtop bun filled with 14-hour smoked Berkshire pork in a tomato BBQ sauce. This is a must try if you're a fan of BBQ pork, but be warned that it is a small snack size serve and not a meal in itself.



We're lucky to have this food venue in the suburbs of Adelaide because there's nothing else like it around. I look forward to watching the evolution of Pearl's Diner in the future. I would love to see some vinyl & booth seating and some biscuits & cream gravy on the menu one day. Serving sizes are small here, but this could be a good thing as it would be very easy to overeat since it all tastes so good. Quality ingredients and classic American flavours are what will keep me coming back.

Liberty Elm Diner - Providence, Rhode Island

We were driving through Rhode Island and even though it doesn't take long to get to the other border, we decided to stop for lunch in Providence at the Liberty Elm Diner. The diner, partly housed in a 1947 Worcester Lunch Car, has a long history under many different names. The current name Liberty Elm is a reference to the commitment to one percent of profits going toward the purchase of American Liberty Elm trees for Elmwood Avenue. But the coolest thing about the place is the current ownership's commitment to locally sourced, sustainable ingredients.



There was a lot to choose from on the menu. I went for the breakfast burrito since I was half wanting breakfast and half wanting lunch. I thought this was a bit of a compromise. It was full of home cooked pinto beans (lard-free), homemade salsa, American cheese and local free range eggs all wrapped in an organic wheat tortilla. A hearty and healthy meal.
(also note the cute umbrella)



The house-roasted turkey sandwich was also refreshingly healthy and satisfying. The turkey was delicious and the tomatoes full of flavor, but the star of this sandwich is the pea sprouts in place of lettuce. Gives the sandwich a whole different personality. This was not your typical sandwich.



Unfortunately, we ran out of room before we got to try their famous and regional specialty Johnny Cakes but I hear they're pretty tasty. If we're ever in Providence, Rhode Island again we know where we'll be heading.

P.S. Breakfast and Lunch are served all day (they're open until 3pm and are closed Mondays).