Blue Moon Diner is much like one of the first girls you kissed in high school – unpretentious, fun, and filled with all sorts of liquor.  By day, it serves as a local trough for the masses, with the four hallmarks of any good diner worth its salt : a kitchen half obscured by two swivel doors, shelves covered in an assortment of liquors, bar seating at a long formica bar that extends the length of the establishment, and several tables of seating, for those who have to have a proper dining experience when they’re eating out.

But who cares about any of that?

What brought me here on a sunny winter afternoon is the promise of the most impressive looking pancakes this side of the of the Mississippi.  I could care less about the shelves upon shelves of Elvis memorabilia, carelessly shelved wherever there was space, or the two elvish waitresses, scuttling about the floor, armed with pots of hot java, dressed in tattoos and makeup.

Which is not to discredit the coffee here.  It’s nothing to write about in your correspondences to you friends in Tokyo, but it’s good enough to keep you warm and asking for refills again and again.

That’s not to discredit the omelets here, either.  Three eggs with a cheese of your choosing (cheddar, feta, swiss, provolone, gouda, $1.00 for aged parmesan, blue, or goat cheese) and any number of other toppings available (tomato, red onion, sweet peppers, spinach, zucchini, button mushrooms, or sour cream at $0.50 each, or bacon, ham, sausage, wild mushrooms, and salsa at $1.00 each), I was very happy with my order, a simple omelet with gouda, served with hashbrowns and toast.  It’s refreshing to go to a diner that offers so many ways to make exactly what you want, that strays from the typical selection of toppings you’d find at most other diners.

But as I had previously mentioned, what I’m here are for the pancakes.  Three buttermilk griddle pancakes, served with powdered sugar.  These pancakes were well above my expectations – fluffy, buttery, Homer pancakes.

Yes.  Homer pancakes.  Or as I’d like to call them, ‘Auuughghghghghghghggh’.

Apparently the cook behind those swivel doors has a rack of stencils, everything from George Costanza to Dr. Dre to, well, the most beloved dysfunctional father on prime time television.  The sheer novelty brought me in to Blue Moon Diner, but the batter they use for these hot griddle pancakes is off the chain good.  So much so that I wouldn’t hesitate to say I’d happily go back there on my next trip to Charlottesville just to have these pancakes again.

Blue Moon has long hours and an even longer menu selection, which can be seen here.  The staff is friendly and the owner can strike up a good conversation with just about anyone.  Quirks are in abundance here, but in a good way…and isn’t that what makes a restaurant great? Stop by, and tell them Norm sent you. They’ll give you a weird look, because they have no fucking clue who I am, but hey, at least you’ll get a good meal out of it.

Blue Moon Diner can be found on a map here.

Recommended For:

• Greasy spoon lovers
• Simpsons fanatics
• Hangovers
• Vegetarians
• Paleo heads
• Zone Dieters

Not Recommended For:

• Vegans
• Copyright Infringement Lawyers
• Weight Watchers
• Germaphobes