Triangle Diner

Last Sunday I met some friends at the Triangle Diner, a place I had driven by so many times and had always wanted to check out. When I drove up I thought parking would be impossible, it is after all on a sharp triangle made by Route 9 and Maple Ave with only a few parking spaces in front. But once I turned on to Maple I realized there was plenty of parking on the residential street.

Don't you love the Christmas decorations? Walking in I got that amazing feeling that I had finally found a true diner in Saratoga. Coming from New York City I guess I'm a bit of a diner snob, I have high expectations for that classic neighborhood feel. This place had it all from swivel stools at the counter to the black and white checkered floor. The Triangle was packed but they know how to handle a crowd, we got there at 10:30, were seated by 10:35 and had our orders taken by 10:45. Granted, there was a wait for our food until about 11:15, but during that wait we had at least three coffee refills....there was always someone walking around with fresh coffee looking for empty mugs to fill. 

When I saw the menu I was even more excited about my new diner discovery...they had almost everything that I missed from my diners from home. My friend ordered something that I hadn't seen on a menu in a  while - blintzes. More specifically - strawberry blintzes with a side of bacon - sweet and salty heaven.

For those of you who are not familiar with blintzes, they are sort of like crepes, filled with sweet cheese and normally topped with some sort of fruity sauce. They are amazing. I normally tend towards savory breakfasts, but that doesn't stop me from sneaking a bite or two from anyone who orders blintzes. If you've never had them before, I highly recommend them next time you're at the Triangle Diner. 

I ended up getting what I felt like was the ultimate breakfast. Ready? Two poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, smoked salmon with capers, asparagus, home fries, and a lemon poppy seed muffin. I promise I didn't order all of that separately, it was already a meal on the menu. And yes I ended up taking half of it home. 

My two favorite types of eggs benedict are with smoked salmon or any kind of green (spinach, asparagus, etc). This was best of both worlds, without the english muffin that fills me up too fast. I'm also a huge fan of capers and really enjoyed the pickled taste combined with the sweet hollandaise sauce. And what's better than dipping perfectly crisp potatoes into poached eggs with hollandaise? Like I said, this was pretty much the ultimate breakfast for me. 

The third meal was a pick your own kind of meal. My friend ended up getting hash browns, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. 

That's is another sign of a true diner - order however many eggs you want whatever style you like, with your choice of breakfast meat and some kind of starch. Beautiful.  Most breakfast joints offer that, but this plate looks particularly tasty, don't you think? 

I loved my experience at the Triangle Diner. Not only was the food amazing, but the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. It was like everyone knew each other, or at least that's what it seemed like with families greeting waitresses and people yelling hello from the kitchen. Maybe this is the place where I'll fulfill my long time dream of being able to walk into a place and have someone from the kitchen  say "oh hey Aliza, the usual?" and then slide me a cup of coffee down the counter. Not that I've thought about this or anything.