Cafe Eighty Two

We had a delicious, stress-free, Thanksgiving from Café 82 (carryout - brought it home) We first had their Thanksgiving meal in 2020 when our regular plans were cancelled. Been ordering every Thanksgiving since - even if we had somewhere to go - just so we'd have leftovers the next day. This year we ordered even more. Everything was wonderful - from soup to dessert and in between. And I love that they let you get all dark/or all white meat. I don't think a fancy restaurant could have made it any tastier. (Maybe lose the maraschino cherry garnish tho) And the service was great. I had bought reusable shopping bags. They packed the food in them, - moving around some groceries "for balance" I stopped in yesterday to tsay how great the food was. I think the woman was bracing for a complaint... (the only time they got something wrong was that first order back in 2020. They gave us spinach instead of whatever vegetable we'd ordered. What a happy mistake! We've been eating their spinach ever since (and not just on Thanksgiving)

Decent diner. Outdoor seating available. We were seated indoors (our preference) fairly quickly but served fairly slowly. I like coffee right away, not ten minutes after being seated. Food and coffee were pretty good. Typical diner choices. Tiny bathrooms. Probably worthy of three stars, but it gets one extra because it’s a dying breed but still hanging in there.

I have Celiac so I have to find gluten free options. They have an amazing gluten free menu. I got a GF pancake, bacon, potatoes, and eggs, and a GF English muffin!!!! It was my first time in New York. If I would have gone to this place first, it would have been the only place I would have visited. Sadly we went there the morning before our flight back home.

My significant other and I stopped in to have a little breakfast before starting our day. My order was very simple coffee, bacon and Belgian waffle with fresh fruit. The waffle came out burned with fresh food on top of it. I was offended that I was still served The waffle so I notified the waiter immediately he returned it. And bought me out the correct order. Which I had no complaints about after the fact. So in my opinion maybe this was just my experience because that was my first time eating at that establishment. When you order be a little more aware of what's being bought to you.

Cafe 82 was the first food stop my chum and I made on Saturday morning during our hike up Manhattan (which means we were pretty hungry when we showed up). We didn't have a giant, elaborate meal here, but like any respectable diner it had the food we needed it to have, and kept us chugging up the island. We showed up around 10:30am on an incredibly humid day. The plan was to get a little sustenance in lieu of a "real" lunch we intended to have further uptown. The place was bustling, with both the outdoor and indoor seating pretty packed, though we were seated right by the entrance inside quickly. Unlike the prior 100 blocks or so, this was clearly a locals spot, with a lot of older patrons who clearly have lived in the area for years. Good vibe. Both of us ordered two eggs and toast, and my chum also got a side of potatoes for good measure. Everything came out fairly quickly (a diner like this is a well-oiled machine) and drama-free. It's pretty hard to mess up eggs and toast. Coupled with a huge appetite, this was always going to be a tasty snack. Was it the best eggs and toast ever? Eh, probably not. (I like my scrambled eggs a little fluffier, and both of us were mildly saddened that the toast wasn't pre-cut into triangles, which I promise you I did not actually take points off for - I'm high maintenance but not THAT high maintenance). But everything was devoured, as it should have been. The service was solid. This is the kind of place that has an army of people roaming around so even in the chaos it's easy to hail someone down for assistance. It didn't take long to grab the check and continue our trek. And the added bonus of a legit diner safely tucked away from the tourist traps? We got a meal that was less than $15 per person - I'll take that every time.