A Late Night Excursion to Mel's Diner

After our recent trip to the Parish Brewing Company we obviously needed to put a little food in our stomachs.  As luck would have it, Andrew knew of a place right around the corner from his new warehouse brewery that offered late night dining for drunks like us.  Eric, Eusebio, Dustin, Andrew, and I all settled into our booth at Mel's Diner where a waitress named Flo (no kidding) sat us down and took our drink orders... a round of water!

Mel's Diner, Broussard, La

There were a few things that I really liked about Mel's Diner.  First, it really did feel like we were mingling with laid back country folk just like on the movie Dumb and Dumber when Harry and Lloyd were waited on by a waitress named Flo (in case you didn't get that reference earlier).  Second, the prices on the menu were low, and the portions were rather large.  However, we really didn't need large portions because it seemed like every one of us ordered two breakfast entrees to scarf down.  I, for one, went with the steak and eggs and a stack of five large pancakes!

A Couple of Beautiful Biscuits

The steak and eggs, just like everyone else's meals, came with a side of two delightful biscuits.  Seriously, I had been boozing, but these biscuits were enormous and incredible.  For some reason the lighting didn't work out in the picture above, but these buttery and flaky hockey puck-sized treats made everything right with my craft beer-filled gastronomic reservoir. 

Steak and Eggs with Grits

Ah, steak and eggs, the cornerstone of any late night, alcohol induced breakfast.  Oh, and don't forget to throw in the grits, we are in the South, after all.  The steak at Mel's certainly could have been better.  I didn't expect anything more, but this particular steak was about as cheap of a cut of meat that can get away with being called steak as you'll ever find.  However, while the slab of beef consisted of far too much gristle, the seasoned flavor of the red meat actually impressed me for a 24-hour diner.  The eggs came scrambled and plain.  They didn't add anything to them, so a little salt and pepper was needed, but past that they were pretty standard eggs.  The grits were grits, and I ate them up, that's for sure.  I do love grits, and these were perfectly fine in my book.  All in all the quality is about what the place and price make you expect, but when drunk after hours with Andrew at the Parish Brewing Company, this food is all that one could ask for!

To-Go Box with Pancakes and Other Leftovers

When Flo (I don't know about you, but I'm still laughing) brought out our food she thought something went terribly awry with the order.  It is rare to see a look of such utter confusion of the face of a waitress, but Flo really couldn't comprehend what happened.  There were five of us at the table and we ordered enough food for eight to ten, easily.  Flo didn't take our order, so when the food came out of the kitchen she grabbed the tray and brought it to us, only to find a full plate of food in front of each of us already.  Confused, Flo started to take the food back to the kitchen, so we called out, "Excuse me, Flo, that is our food, too!"  Well, it surely had to be something along those lines anyway.  Flo returned to the table and placed a plate with five large pancakes in front of me.  These pancakes rivaled the biscuits for my favorite part of the meal.  Large and perfectly cooked, the stack of flapjacks would have been enough to feed me by themselves, and for only $4.95.  I added two of them to about half of my steak, eggs, and grits and got a to-go box for the rest.  My eyes were certainly way larger than my stomach, which didn't have normal capacity since it was still full of brew. 

Mel's Diner hit the spot after our tour of the new Parish Brewing facility and rounds of beer tastings with Andrew.  My thanks to Andrew for such a great evening and inviting us to sample and help critique his trial runs at nano-brewing.  I can't wait to order my first pint of Parish at a bar!  As for Mel's, I doubt I'll be back when sober, but there's a good chance I'll return at some point when I need something to bite in order to soak up more booze!