The DK Diner
 Columbus, Ohio        Date of Visit  04/03/10              No Known Website

I have to confess upfront that I have an insider here at the DK. The diner is only open for breakfast and lunch and I am a huge breakfast fan…I like it later in the day than most other meals so we stopped in at breakfast time while in Columbus. The place is packed with what appear to be mostly regulars, always a good sign. It is a relatively small space that suddenly jumps out as you’re cruising down 3rd Ave in Grandview. Everything is very casual and you hook up your own beverages (we got special treatment and were delivered). The menu is Americana top to bottom, breakfast sandwiches, omelets, egg combos, pancakes, and so on.
 

Simple Breakfast is Beautiful
 

I was recommended The Mess. We also tried a ham and egg sandwich, and pancakes. I think they knew I was coming…look at my coffee cup. How did they know? The pancakes were pretty standard and the breakfast sandwich the same…I like standard breakfast items. The mess is a grilled corned beef hash topped with two eggs. This is a familiar combination for a reason. The saltiness of the corned beef combines with the yolks from the eggs and creates a well, messy but gorgeous forkful. There were really fresh bits of onion and green pepper throughout the hash which gave the whole thing a bright and clean flavor against the fattiness of the corned beef and egg yolk. It was great with the biscuit which is good because the Jelly was occupied performing monumental feats of architecture. I really enjoyed the laid back feel of the place, the staff and the regulars.

Where's The Jelly? Pharaoh Needed It.

Told ya About the Coffee Cup
 

We are not done, however, there is something at the DK that really stuck with me. I’ve heard folks talk about them before and now it was time to find out what all of the hubbub is about. We got a plate with an assortment of doughnuts, they were all cake as the raised had already sold out for the day. Blueberry, sour cream, an oddly bent elephant trunk-looking thing, apple fritter, cinnamon sugar, it was quite the plate. I’m not certain exactly how their doughnuts are done but they are fantastic. I was most struck by the blueberry cake version. I have had similar cakes before but this one is sated with blueberry in every morsel…not a regular cake doughnut with some blueberries tossed into the batter. They had different textures, levels of sweetness, flavors…definitely the highlight of the morning for me. I had to make them move the plate down the table because I couldn’t stop picking…I was picking while I was saying I need to stop picking over and over again. From our breakfast experience it appears as many residents of Grandview venture into the DK for their first taste of the day as stay home. Almost like a community/family breakfast niche. Solid, relaxing and comfortable.