John's Cafe: A Lower Greenville Staple for 41 Years

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When it comes to greasy spoons, there are few more beloved by Dallas diners than John's Cafe on Lowest Greenville Avenue. As the sign on the building says, John's has been serving "good food" since 1972, with 33 of those 41 years in the current no-frills location (the restaurant's original home was bulldozed to make way for a bank).

While the menu offers plenty of lunch-appropriate items ranging from a classic club sandwich to gyros — like so many American diner proprietors, owner John Spyropoulos originally hails from Greece — it's undoubtedly the perfectly cooked breakfast plates that draw the most customers; the popular daily special includes two eggs, a choice of breakfast meat, hashbrowns or grits, and toast or fluffy, fresh-from-the-oven biscuits for a mere $6.20.

If you're looking for something a bit more original, John's showcases its Greek heritage in a killer gyro omelette that incorporates standard gyro meat, peppers, onions and cheese. (A piece of sweet homemade baklava rounds out the meal nicely if you need to cram more calories into your breakfast.)

Greasy spoons and a farm-to-table ethos are two things that don't collide very often, but Spyropoulos gathers much of his produce — including tomatoes and cucumbers for the Greek salad — from the well-tended backyard garden at his home. Taking such measures shows a sort of devotion to the craft that has kept John's regulars coming back decade after decade.

· John's Cafe [Official]