RESTAURANT REVIEW
Lester's Dinner
I don’t know about you, but sometimes it doesn’t matter how fancy the tablecloths are, how clear the crystal or how surly the sommelier, sometimes the ONLY meal that satisfies me is great diner food. Comfort food with a capital “G” for Greek.
Really, does anyone do a diner better than Greeks? And in all of Broward County does anyone do diner better than Lester’s? Lucky for us, one of the three is on the Margate/ Coconut Creek border, just east of 441. Owned for the past nine years by adorable brothers, Tommy and George Zentefis, they come by their hospitality and diner diplomacy via the gene pool. Their uncle, Peter Dogagis bought the original Lester’s in 1981, a restaurant that built its legacy on literally thousands of great meals. Who among us HASN’T at least heard of Lester’s with their exceptional coffee, and giant cups and a menu that could double as a mini-encyclopedia on food? Originally opened in 1967, Lester’s now with three family-owned locations (the original in Ft. Lauderdale, our 4701 Coconut Creek Parkway location and now a new one in Sunrise near the Sawgrass Mall) is a veritable institution in these parts. And the only way that happens these days, is because between the quality of the food, the old tried and true family recipes and the unbelievably affordable prices, customers keep coming back over and over again. Period.
Especially in these economically-challenged days, you can get people in maybe once with clever advertising, but what you can’t make them do is return, and says the quiet, shy, dreamy blue-eyed Tommy, “in good times and bad, in recessions and times of prosperity, Lester’s makes people happy, and we’ve always done it with great, simple food and fair prices. We’re here a long time.” And judging by the enormous mix of people in this huge venue, he’s gotta be right. From power suits, to police-people and government officials there doing business over breakfast on an obscure Friday, to the mommies, friends and kids who strolled in for an early lunch, it seems Lester’s has (and always has had) the recipe for solid repeat business.
Western Omelet with American Cheese
I might be biased here, Hank and I have been coming here since we first got to Florida when Dogagis changed it from the original Norris Catfish House to a Lester’s. For one thing, the service is great. Case in point, Mindy with a “y,” (the other white meat) has been a server there for 12 years and knows almost every ingredient in every dish as though she’s in the back cooking with the chefs. Special dietary concerns, preferences, just ask. They cook absolutely every morsel here fresh, daily. Nothing is bought prepared. Breakfasts are awesome. The 3-egg Western Omelette ($7.99) is so good and so full of ingredients I took it home and ate the other half for breakfast the next day. Served with toast or biscuits and jelly and homemade home fries, it’s huge. Most places I move the home fries around the plate, here I and everyone else eat every morsel. “We chop our potatoes for home fries every day. They’re fresh when ordered,” beamed Tommy. “Even the potato salad made from red potatoes, cole slaw and all the salad dressings are made right in the back.” You taste the difference right away. The other thing Hank and I appreciate about Lester’s is that if anything, the food is under-seasoned. “People can always ask for more, or add salt; they can’t take it out,” added Tommy. “We have a lot of body-builders come in for more natural and healthy foods, people watching their weight, plus some older folks on restricted diets, we prepare everything fresh and accommodate everyone, happily.”
