Jon G.
Yelp
You know, Montgomery is Oswego's way less attractive sibling. It must hurt to have to live in the shadows of the hipster paradise always hoping for the day when someone will notice that you have some good traits, though hard to find. That's where George's Restaurant comes in. George's is a classic small town diner that's been around for 40+ years in the dingy, sad area wistfully referred to as "Downtown Montgomery".
After having driven by the place in search of a short cut to the coolness that is Oswego my wife and I decided to try it out. First the place is busy for its location but spotlessly clean. Your first hint that you may have struck it rich are the tables of senior citizens. This group won't pass up good food reasonably priced!
I noticed that the big screen TV was set to CNN. Not that FOX would have affected the overall experience, but I like that George chose a less controversial channel for the breakfast crowd.
The service was immediate and friendly with an excellent cup of diner coffee that would put Starbucks to shame. Add to that the fact that your cup never goes empty (did I mention they were busy?) and we have an excellent first impression. The next thing that hits you is the price. We were there for breakfast but every single option was a good dollar or two below what you'd expect to pay in fancy-schmancy Oswego.
I asked for a sample of their country gravy and it was immediately bought out with a smile. Now I wish I could recommend the gravy but I can't, too plain tasting and while I could see chunks of meat I could not get a sausage taste (sorry George, that cost you the fifth star!). I opted instead for a basic eggs and sausage entree while my wife ordered the rIb-eye steak and eggs. Here is where George's shines.
Our order was on the table in a matter of minutes, seriously, this place redefines "freaky fast". everything was cooked to order. Now when you order steak and eggs you almost have to expect that they will over cook your steak if you like things on the rare side. Not George! My wife's steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and was huge. I mean hanging over the sides of the plate huge! Now this is a breakfast steak so it's not going to have the quality you'd expect in a dinner steak...but you'd be wrong in this case. As is the norm in a diner it was grilled on a flat top and imbued with great flavor. Yes, it was fatty but it was a rib-eye - not a lean piece of meat to begin with. The flavor was great.
Oh. Did I mention that the rib-eye steak and eggs was $8.95 - with hash browns and toast? "Great value" is an understatement.
And have a nice healthy day on your own time, the toast came out hot and buttered from a pot of melted butter-like substance. Freakin' diner heaven!
Two full, made to order breakfasts with beverage came to just $19.00. Add to that the knowledge that you are supporting a local, long time, independent business and everything tastes just that much better. I will definitely be back to try the lunch and dinner entrees but I am pretty sure I just found my favorite local diner.
Be proud Montgomery, Oswego doesn't have a place like George's Restaurant.