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| - YOU CAN ACTUALLY COUNT THE DADS. No, seriously. I've been here on multiple occasions, and there is almost always one Dad on duty, and usually both. You can identify them by matching them up with the murals of themselves on the walls. It's like spotting Waldo.
Truth in advertising. All Dads, all the time. After going to Wendys a hundred times and never seeing a single Wendy, this is a breath of fresh air. (Don't even get me started on Five Guys. Huh. Usually three guys and a couple of chicks. LIARS.)
...what? Food?
Oh yeah.
Two Dads is a diner, and you have to judge it on diner terms. This is the kind of place you go for some comfort food after a long day, where you know what you're getting. Judged by these standards, it's a leg up.
First off, they usually have some gourmet raviolis, which is a nice touch. (It's the same ravioli, I think, that they sell at the West Side Market, which I often buy in huge stacks for my freezer.) Second, the menu's a little more ambitious than the usual diner fare, with oddballs like chicken paprikash and sweet potato fries.
When they're on, they're ABSOLUTELY on. The chicken paprikash was one of the best I'd ever had - creamy, hot, flavorful, the spaetzel perfectly done. I devoured that sucker and asked for more. And when I went back...
...well, that's the reason they don't get five stars. The next time I went back, the paprikash had bones in it and was a little clotted. Not terrible, but certainly not the glory of my last week's visit. And my friends, who had their own favorite meals, discovered that on some days the food could not be beat, and on other days, it could.
So it's a little uneven, and I'm not sure why. Doesn't seem to be crowd-controlled, or chef-based. Maybe the ingredients? I have no idea. In any case, it's usually worth your while, but some days it's like the best diner food you could hope for, and other days it's just pretty good.
Hence, a slightly-misleading four stars. On a great day, it's five stars easy for the price. On an off day, it's a walk to three stars. Average is four - still well worth your time.
Plus, you know, you can see ACTUAL DADS. IN THE WILD. Isn't that worth your time?
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