Uncle Andy's still a diner families can depend on

Uncle Andy's Diner is one of those places that seems stuck in time.

In a good way.

The place has been in South Portland, in a building across from Mill Creek Park, since the 1950s. About half the dining room is taken up by semi-circular counters lined with swiveling stools.

You can see all the diner's activity from here, from waitresses and cooks bustling about to customers coming in. There also are booths for people who want a little more privacy.

The menu takes you back too, to a time when a whole family could afford to go out to breakfast or lunch.

On the children's menu, reasonably priced breakfast items include two eggs and a slice of toast for $2.25, three silver dollar pancakes for $2.25 and a teddy-bear shaped pancake for $3.50.

On a recent visit, I was happy to find that on the regular menu you could order just one pancake or one slice of French toast for $1.75. That's a nice option for both children and adults with smaller appetites.

Two slices of French toast are $2.75 and three are $4, while two pancakes are $3.25 and three pancakes are $4.25.

I sampled the French toast and found it to be better than most. A nice rich, eggy batter, and soft, yet not mushy, bread.

For my own breakfast, I had a No. 4, which had two eggs, toast, home fries and homemade corned beef hash for $6.50.

My sunny-side-up eggs were done perfectly, and had the biggest yolks I've seen in a while. The home fries were made from potatoes with the skin still on, and the homemade hash was excellent. Sometimes with homemade corned beef hash you get a little grizzle, a little too much fat, but this was pretty lean and very tasty.

The numbered breakfasts are all egg-and-something combos, starting with the No. 1, which includes two eggs, toast and home fries for $3.25. You can get the No. 1 with bacon or sausage for $5.25, have it with ham or kielbasa for $5.75, or include a 4.5-ounce steak for $9.25.

There is also something called the Millcreek Marathon for $8.25, which includes everything in a No. 1 plus bacon or sausage and a choice of two pancakes, two French toasts, two waffles or one Belgian waffle.

If you want a breakfast to go, one option would be the Ocean Street Sandwich -- egg, cheese and choice of meat on an English muffin or biscuit for $2.75.

You can also build your own three-egg omelette starting at $4.75, or get various egg scrambles starting at $5.50, for the three-cheese.

Lunch-type items include cold sandwiches such as ham, turkey or BLT starting at $4.75, or grill specials in the $4.75 to $5.75 range, such as hot pastrami, shaved steak and cheese, barbecue pork sandwich and a grilled Reuben.

There are also wraps, soups and chowder, desserts and lots of sides.

The fairly extensive children's menu has several lunch-type items, including chicken fingers and fries for $3.75, grilled cheese and chips or PB&J with chips for $2.75, corn dog and fries for $3.25 or grilled red hot dog and chips, $2.50.

It truly is a place you can afford to take the entire family. There is also a beautiful pond, if you'd like to stroll or feed ducks, right across the street in Mill Creek Park.

The Features staff of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram anonymously samples meals for about $7.

Uncle Andy's Diner