Papermoon Diner

I am addicted to finding new, cool places to eat. Ever since Mom and I started our Friday dinner traditions, I have been completely enthralled by the idea of eating at a new place every week. This week, the destination was left completely up to me. I was unsure at first, but once I stumbled across this place, I knew we were set.

The place we went this week is called Papermoon Diner, and is sort of close to the John's Hopkins campus. We had some navigational problems right out of the gate. You see, we thought that 83 was going to be backed up, so we went a back way but we didn't have directions for how to go that way. (I know, sounds like a fool-proof plan: driving to a new place without real directions!)  It was just the two of us, but we still managed to get ourselves into a bit of trouble. Nothing we couldn't handle, though! Once we got on the right track, it was surprisingly easy to find. And Mom recognized the area too, so that was good.

The building is crazy. You could spend hours looking at it and you still wouldn't take notice of everything going on.

This is not even the half of it!

See what I mean? It's insane. The number of items on the menu is also pretty insane. There was something on almost every page of the menu that I wanted to try. Literally. I wanted it all. Unfortunately, I only have one stomach (though lately I've been wishing I had a spare) so I couldn't order everything on the menu. Mom and I decided to split a breakfast and a dinner item. This way we would be able to diversify our tasting. :)

We ordered the Banana Fosters French Toast and the Smarty Pants Burger with Onion Rings. There are really no words to describe how awesome they were.

Have you mopped up your drool yet? Aren't they beautiful? The french toast was stuffed with caramelized bananas and cream cheese filling. It was just sublime. The toast itself had absorbed the perfect amount of egg mixture before hitting the grill. It was warm and soft and so darn good I could have licked off my plate at the end. And that filling was just about the best thing ever. It tasted of fresh bananas, cinnamon, nutmeg, love, bananas....I could go on. There was no need for syrup. I don't think either of us used it. I saved a piece of this for my last bite. That's how good it was.

The burger was also delicious! I thought it was kind of overshadowed by the french toast, but it wasn't the burger's fault that french toast was a little pushy! The garden burger tasted homemade. I wonder if they make their own. ( I meant to ask, but it slipped my mind.) And the bread on this burger was so fresh tasting- it practically melted in my mouth! I have no idea where they buy their bread from, but I have not had bread that fresh for a very long time. The whole sandwich was light and scrumptious. I was lovin the caramelized onions  (they do make everything better). And the goat cheese was a perfect subtle flavor to pull everything together. And the onion rings!!! They were the crispy and crunchy without being greasy at all. It was amazing how perfectly fried they were. I was impressed. Actually, I was impressed with the whole meal. I am pretty sure the people sitting behind us must have thought I was crazy because I kept repeating,"Oh my gosh, this is so good."

When the woman beside us asked how the french toast was, we were quick to sell her on them. I was dead serious about their deliciousness, too. She could not go wrong by getting them. I wish we'd been able to stay long enough to see hers come out because she ordered one that Mom and I had been looking at before we placed our order. But alas, we'll just have to get them next time. And there is most definitely going to be a next time. 

Both Mom and I were stuffed when we finished our meals. And though we were tempted by dessert, and I was tempted by a milkshake, we took the high road and opted not to gorge ourselves more than necessary. Skipping dessert did give us a reason to go back, though. (Which we will...very soon.....) Literally, the moment I got in the car, I turned to Mom and said, "When can we go back?" I don't think I've ever done that before. 

Papermoon Diner rocks! I can't believe there isn't more buzz about it. (At least no buzz that I've heard.) It's fantastic. You will not be disappointed here. As an added bonus, they're relatively inexpensive. We paid twenty two dollars for our entire meal. That was a bargain, especially since it was dinner time. (Some of the places we've been to for dinner with our Friday dinner tradition have really added up!) I'd recommend going with two to four people (one of whom would preferably be me! haha), at a non-peak hour, all order something different and split everything. There's just so much to try. I know I'll be going back for a long time.