A muffin can go a long way toward smoothing things over.
At Dumitri’s Family Restaurant in Aurora, the complimentary, freshly baked, banana-flavored miniature muffins give you something to munch on while you wait. And wait we did, sitting there for 20 minutes watching servers dry glasses while we waited to place our order in a dining room that held us and two other tables a full hour after the morning rush.
Dumitri’s has been serving breakfast, lunch and dinner for 14 years, and in that time not a whole lot has changed. It’s still very bright and clean, very blue and white, with striped tablecloths and plants everywhere.
Owners Dumitri, Pamela and Julian Palea added a sports bar to one side of the regular restaurant.
It had been about eight years since I’d last eaten at Dumitri’s, and in that time the food hasn’t changed much, either. The eggs Benedict ($7.95) are still made with instant hollandaise, salty and slightly curdy, with decent Canadian bacon and perfectly poached eggs. The Belgian waffles ($5.50) are still called “Belgium waffles” on the menu, and they’re still among the best things to eat here, puffy and sweet, served with syrup that’s a little on the thin side.
The other top items include Juliana’s Delight ($6.95), with medium-thick oatmeal served with toast, coffee and fresh fruit that on one visit included cantaloupe and strawberries. Biscuits and gravy ($3.95) are also a hit with half-doughy, half-fluffy biscuits smothered in a thick, hearty goo that’s medium on the pepper.
Dumitri’s also serves Greek specialties such as souvlaki and eggs ($6.95), the meat well-seasoned with oregano and lemon juice, pita and crunchy-edged hash browns served on the side, and gyros and eggs ($6.95), the gyros meat a little on the greasy side but salty and generously portioned for the price.
For kids, breakfast costs $3.95, which includes a drink, and everyone, of course, gets a muffin or two while they wait.
At lunch and dinner, portions are just as big and the quality actually goes up a notch, with such favorites as the quarter-pound hamburger ($4.95) served with fries and the hot open-faced pork sandwich plate ($7.50) that comes with fries, a creamy potato salad or a fresh, crunchy cole slaw.
The German blue plate ($9.95) is another popular item, with its tasty smoked pork chop, German sausage, sauerkraut and crispy-outside, soft-inside potato pancakes. Or you can opt for one of the early-bird specials that change daily and are offered from 3 to 6:30 p.m. daily, including weekends. On Fridays, you get a choice of two: fish fry or leg of lamb for $7.95.
No muffins, but the service is more lively, and a piece of sticky-sweet baklava ($1.95) is the ideal way to end the meal.
Dining critic Kyle Wagner can be reached at 303-820-1958 or kwagner@denverpost.com.
Dumitri’s Family Restaurant
AMERICAN, GREEK, MEXICAN|1911 S. Havana St., Aurora, 303-752-0553|$2.95-$11.95|5:30 a.m.-9 p.m. daily; Visa, MC; parking lot.
Front burner: Bright, cheerful and clean. Get the Belgian waffle, the souvlaki and eggs or Juliana’s Delight.
Back burner: In the morning, the servers are sometimes more interested in chatting than serving.
