Laurel Diner - Southbury, CT

Posted By Michael Stern on April 26, 2011 3:51 PM

Adjacent to an auto service station called Corrigan Motors, the Laurel Diner is a sixty-plus-year-old hash house with a row of counter seats that provide a view of the grill and six tables lined up opposite the counter. It opens seven days a week at 5:30; and by mid-morning, sections of Connecticut’s daily papers are strewn almost everywhere, providing easy-reach reading no matter where you sit. The menu is written daily in marking pens directly on the diner’s wall, which is a white, easy-wipe surface that helps give the vintage dining room an airy feel.

Many customers don't pay much attention to the menu at breakfast time, because there is one and only one dish they want to know about: corned beef hash. This is the real thing, a coarse-cut melange of spicy beef shreds and nuggets of potato cooked on the griddle until a web of crust begins to envelop the tender insides. If you ask, the grill man will cook the hash until it is brittle crisp nearly all the way through, which is a great idea if textural excitement supercedes succulence in your hierarchy of culinary pleasure; but we personally enjoy it the regular way: forkfuls of corned beef that are brick-red and moist, their pickly zest balanced perfectly by the soft pieces of potato. On the side come crunchy hash brown potatoes or home fries, and atop the hash are served eggs as you like them. It is a royally good diner breakfast, for the very common price of five dollars, including toast and coffee, and all the local newspapers you can read.

Beyond the exalted hash, we have enjoyed excellent kielbasa-and-egg breakfasts, and the pancakes are pretty darn good, too. Some people come for a large cinnamon roll, which gets buttered and grilled to super lusciousness.

At lunch, the menu is worth looking at, although we seldom get anything other than a hamburger. Laurel’s burgers are nothing like fast-food burgers; they are thick, hand-formed patties, cooked to order, and fairly spurting juice at first bite. Other worthy lunch items are the hearty all-beef (no bean) chili, made with thick hunks of hamburger meat and available with melted cheese and/or raw onion slivers on top, and a fine fat length of kielbasa with peppers on a hard roll.

If you’re hungry and also need an oil change, call ahead to Corrigan Motors and make an appointment. Your vehicle can be in and out in thirty minutes, which is about as long as it takes to order and enjoy breakfast next door. The service station number is 203-264-9100.

Overall Rating

Corned Beef Hash

Hash Brown Potatoes

Home Fried Potatoes

cheeseburger

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Posted By Nanci Schenkein on November 5, 2011 9:58 AM

We stopped by this place on a weekend eats tour of Connecticut. What a delight and unassumingly so. It's one of those places that doesn't disappoint; worth a repeat visit anytime! Choose anything on the menu; it's all good but don't miss the hash.

Overall Rating

Corned Beef Hash

Hash Brown Potatoes

Home Fried Potatoes

Cinnamon Roll French Toast

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Posted By foodlover on October 27, 2011 2:34 PM

I can honestly say this is by far the best place to eat breakfast or lunch. Everything is always fresh. They serve the best blueberry pancakes and the best bacon. Burgers are from fresh meat and they're cooked to juicy perfection. Try one, you'll agree.

This place is a "real" diner with a limited menu, but with something for everyone. The homemade hash special is worth a drive from anywhere. It's made from scratch, not from a can, and you can definitely taste the freshness. Good, friendly service too.

Overall Rating

Corned Beef Hash

Hash Brown Potatoes

Home Fried Potatoes

cheeseburger

Cinnamon Roll French Toast

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Posted By Marge Charron on August 7, 2003 10:51 PM

Based on the recommendation I found on the Internet, we drove to Laurel Diner (about 25 miles) for their corned beef hash. Eh. Probably no worse than any other place that serves fresh hash (as opposed to canned) but my own is far better. And the cheapest, most ursatzy bread is served. No crisp and brown hash as promised in reviews. Greasy, too. Just don't bother. Make it yourself or don't go more than 1/4 mile out of your way for this place.

Overall Rating

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