The Wake

A Perkins menu with none of the Perkins ambiance: This is the vibe given off by the Dinkytowner Café and More, located on 14th Avenue. With an all-day breakfast menu and reasonable prices, one would assume that this restaurant would be clean-cut and family-oriented. One should never assume.

The Dinkytowner looks like a bar. In fact, it is a bar that moonlights as a café, and it would be hard to miss if it weren’t for the large yellow and black awning above its small door on 14th Avenue.

To enter The Dinkytowner, you have to walk down a steep flight of stairs. Once inside, the first things you notice are the dark crimson and purple walls, the dirty gray carpet, and the large bar. Bright red booths run along the far wall, which would give the place an almost 1950s diner feel if the wall wasn’t covered in mirrors and illuminated by red neon lights. Overstuffed chairs and sofas are scattered near the entrance, making it look more like a basement than a café.

There is a small stage and projection screen tucked into a back corner, and the rear of the restaurant is occupied by pool tables. The Dinkytowner features nightly live entertainment and drink specials. There is plenty of seating available, but surprisingly little table space, which is uncharacteristic for a restaurant, suggesting that “The Dinkytowner Bar and More” might be a more appropriate name. The atmosphere can best be described as “grungy.”

Luckily, the Dinkytowner has great food—the café’s saving grace. An extensive breakfast menu is offered all day, featuring about five or six specials. Appetizers, sandwiches, and burgers are also on the menu, and the bar offers a large selection of beers on tap.

I ordered a Rachel, which is a hot sandwich made with turkey, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing, and sauerkraut on toasted wheat bread. Although the chef went a little overboard on the turkey, the sandwich was delicious. The entrees come with crispy fries, which was the best part of the meal.

Though there was only one waitress on staff when I visited (which was 11 a.m. on a Wednesday), the service was timely and friendly. My food arrived promptly, and I was checked on multiple times.

The meal was great, but I wish I could say the same about the restrooms. The ladies’ bathroom is done in stainless steel, and is very tiny. The facilities were not particularly clean for 11 a.m. (I would hate to see them at 11 p.m.) and there was no soap left in the dispenser—ew. The interactive ads on the inside of the stalls were pretty sweet, however.

The Dinkytowner walks a thin line between collegiate and dirty. Its good food and nightly entertainment make it a cool hangout, but rule this one out as an acceptable date location. In the end, it’s a place with good food and poor atmosphere.