Jane's Diner

Name: Jane's Diner
Location: 591 Conklin Ave., Binghamton, NY 13903
Phone: (607) 722-3350
Cuisine: American Diner
Price: Very inexpensive. Less than $5 per person for breakfast!

Review:
Jane's Diner is located on Binghamton's South Side, on Conklin Ave. on the way out toward Conklin. It's a quarter-mile past the entrance to Sandy Beach Park if you're heading eastbound, located inconspicuously on the left side of a tiny plaza adjacent to the Susquehanna River. It can be a little hard to see from the road, so once you cross over the railroad bridge, keep your eyes peeled.

We arrived around 10:00 AM on a Wednesday and found the restaurant to be a standard family-style diner. The register is straight ahead as you enter the restaurant, with the traditional dessert case adjacent. There are tables off to both the left and the right, and another small room of tables further to the right. It's a fairly large space, which is good because my understanding is that Jane's is pretty popular among the locals due to a combination of good food and low prices.

We were seated immediately and ordered coffee; moments later, we had the coffee and placed our order. Both of us decided to go with a special. Mine consisted of two pancakes, two eggs, a side of bacon, and coffee for $4.99. Megan elected the Three Egg special, which came with home fries, bacon, toast, and coffee for only $3.99. $8.98 for two enormous breakfasts? To answer Shaft's most famous question, yes, I can dig it.

The pancakes were huge. Bigger than my head, and quite tasty. The syrup was nothing special but got the job done. The eggs were cooked perfectly to order (over-easy), while the bacon was not so good, the flabby, shriveled variety. So the food was a little hit-or-miss, but for $4.99, I'd have to say I was quite satisfied. Megan enjoyed her breakfast as well, for the most part. She shared my sentiment regarding the bacon, but seemed to like everything else well enough.

I felt that cleanliness was a minor concern at Jane's. There were a number of flies buzzing around me, which was a little bothersome, and Megan's silverware was on the sticky side. I can proudly say that the men's room was immaculate as public restrooms go, so I guess you take the good with the bad. Service was very quick and delivered in the no-nonsense fashion that I've come to appreciate at diners such as these.

I'm glad to have had the opportunity to try Jane's Diner. The food was pretty good with enormous portion sizes, service was solid, and the price was certainly right. On the negative side, I got the sense that the place was a little grungy, and the sticky silverware was a definite faux pas. Also, its location makes it rather unlikely that I'll be clamoring to go back anytime soon. Overall, I found Jane's to be an average addition to the Binghamton diner scene, with slight bonus points for the tremendously low prices.

Grade: B-