Business Thu Apr 17 2008

A Fishy Diner

There aren't too many diners that I know of that serve as eclectic a menu (PDF) as Glenn's Diner (1820 W. Montrose). Technically, the restaurant is called Glenn's Diner and Seafood House, and they mean it: the place offers breakfast all day, a wide array of sandwiches and salads, homestyle diner dinners like spaghetti and meatballs, and — here's the kicker — more than 16 varieties of fresh fish that on any given day may include mahi mahi, salmon, Alaskan king crab legs, skatewing and shark.

On our recent visit, my husband Brian and I both ordered the $12.95 First Catch Special, available Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 6pm, and billed on the menu as a half-pound of fresh fish, small salad, cup of soup, roasted red potatoes, and fresh vegetable. We were allowed to select our fish from four or five different options. Brian went with swordfish, and I chose mahi mahi. Despite that his swordfish was slightly overcooked, overall we agreed we got a great deal. The "small" salad is actually quite large, and the "cup" of soup is served in a tall mug. The kitchen substituted potato pancakes for our roasted red potatoes without asking, but we didn't care because the pancakes were crusty on the outside, creamy on the inside, and incredibly flavorful. A large portion of roasted asparagus &mdah; Brian's favorite vegetable — rounded out the plate. There was so much food that I took about half of mine home and made a nice lunch out of it the next day. Needless to say, we had no room for dessert.

We plan to bring my family to Glenn's when they come to town, and Brian already knows what he's going to order: the shrimp po'boy. Me? I'm stuck between the Reuben sandwich and Mediterranean omelet, but either way I'm ordering a side of potato pancakes.

- Mandy