Route 66 Cafe, New York

The Route 66 Cafe would be a great place to grab a quick bite near Columbus Circle, if only it were quick.

The menu lists standard diner fare, such as wraps, club sandwiches, soups and salads, but the execution is a step up from your average coffee shop cuisine. I was practically split-pea green with envy over the Grumpy Diner's chicken noodle soup, with its rich broth, chunks of white chicken, and fine egg noodles.

However, the service is a comedy of errors. There are plenty of people hovering, asking if everything is ok, and they come over promptly to find out what you want whenever you make eye contact.

But then they do nothing. You can ask three or four people for a soup spoon or mustard or a glass of water and receive none of the above. An even higher level of persistence is necessary to secure the return of your credit card at meal's end.

In the un-diner-like 20 minutes or more that it takes for the daily special to arrive, it's kind of entertaining to see a waiter ask everyone in the room if they ordered 7-Up (no, but someone did want a Coke), and watch the bowls of soup get sent back till they deliver the right kind (third time's the charm!).

On the daily special, maybe you'll get a bowl of soup instead of a cup, and maybe it will have croutons, and maybe it will be served with a basket of bread. Maybe it will show up after your finished eating your wrap, or maybe it will never arrive ...

The cafe seems to aspire to greater things when it grows up: It's the only diner-esque place I've ever been to that has the chef's name on the menu. The food is excellent, the price is right, and you're likely to have enough leftovers for another meal or two. But don't count on a quick in and out.

Do I plan to go back? Yeah, sure.