Diners are now America's preferred meeting place, having successfully replaced dark coves lit by red, white, and blue fireworks, as well as Texas-sized swimming pools filled with apple pie. Stray from stains and sparkler singes with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of breakfast and lunch fare at The Classic Diner, located in Malvern.

Deemed the area's best breakfast in 2009 by County Lines magazine, The Classic Diner offers those sustained by sustenance an extensive list of breakfast and lunch options. Early risers or late-to-bedders can opt for appetizing ante meridiem eats, such as eggs cooked any way, along with satisfying sunrise sidekicks, such as grilled potatoes and toast. Breakfast dishes range from apple sausage ($8.50) to an eight-ounce Ahi tuna steak ($13.50). For those craving even more early-morning regality, the jumbo lump crab ($15.00) lends an elegant air to diners still adrift in dreams. Other pre-afternoon choices include breakfast sandwiches ($4.75–$7.75) and a bottomless cup of coffee ($1.85). Lunchwise, The Classic Diner brings together pork, fowl, and greens in an edible and enticing ecosystem. Try the grilled portabella sandwich on Tuscan bread ($8.25), replete with zucchini, tomato, roasted pepper, red onion, fresh mozzarella, and basil pesto. Or go un-veggie with an Angus burger ($12.50), served with mixed greens or steak frites. Burgers are available with a bevy of add-ons, including fried jalapenos ($1.50) and bacon ($2). Seafaring fare such as the salmon filet BLT ($14.50) satisfies sea nymphs working out their land legs in preparation for next summer's Philadelphia Eagles tryouts.

The Classic Diner's seemingly endless menu can surprise even the most experienced diner journeyman, with a sleek, homey atmosphere ideal for performing edited-for-television Tarantino monologues. Grab a table's worth of palate-boasting pals for a friendship-strengthening meal, or show up solo with a book on medieval diners for a deliciously recursive dining experience at The Classic Diner.

Reviews

Philadelphia magazine named The Classic Diner as Best Diner of 2009, and County Lines awarded the restaurant Best Breakfast in 2009. MainLine Today also featured the restaurant's sticky buns in its Best of the Main Line & Western Suburbs 2008 list. Yelpers give the restaurant an average of 4.5 stars, and more than 1,200 Facebookers are fans:

• Everything you want: less grease, big portions, a whole lot of choices. – Philadelphia magazine
• Their epic breakfast menu will have you working up an appetite deciding how to have your eggs — with apple sausage, ahi tuna, Habbersett scrapple — or customize your Classic Benedict — smoked salmon or lobster anyone? The Batter Up section’s Pear & Cinnamon Cream Stuffed French Toast with Grand Marnier orange sauce makes it hard to save room for the Stickiest Buns. Or try take-out for a lunch of special salads, turkey chili with tomato salsa, grilled polenta cup. Add generous portions, friendly service and great coffee. That’s a classic, indeed. – County Lines
• The line stretching out the door and into the parking lot Saturday and Sunday mornings is a clear indication that the Classic Diner has breakfast down pat. – MainLine Today