We don’t do a tremendous amount of restaurant reviews, but the ones we have done are usually from some outstanding places. This one, we believe, is no exception.

We were introduced to the Starliner Diner by something of random chance. When we moved to Columbus last year, we went searching for some restaurants here in town which might satisfy our desire for spicy yet eclectic food. We did some searching via the Internet and found a great listing in the AOL City Guide, in which the Starliner Diner had received kudos for both Best Value and Best Breakfast at one time or another.

Doing some more searching, we found another great online review…this one from the Columbus Foodie, who does a great job reviewing Starliner for their dinner menu. We are usually jonesing for their breakfast, so that was definitely going to be the focus of our review. Since we live fairly close to its Hilliard, OH location, it wouldn’t be too hard to scoot up the road and try out their board of fare.

Despite some tasty-sounding breakfast specials, we opted to go with a couple of the menu standards. Joe opted for the Huevos Rancheros, which is 2 eggs, any style, on corn tortillas stuffed w/jack cheese and cilantro, covered with a spicy ranchero sauce, choice of home fries or black beans. Joe actually did half & half with his sides, wanting to see how it tasted with both the beans and taters. Here’s what his nummy dish looked like on arrival:

This was done with eggs, over hard, just to make it a little different than doing the whole scramble thang. The taste was heavenly, and the ranchero sauce was spicy…although not overly so. The heaviness of the cheese masked the cilantro, but the mixture itself was exquisitely complex and lip-smackingly good. The black beans & home fries were pretty much as you would expect them to be, and added some starchy substance so that this entree really sticks to your ribs.

Linda went with the Chiliquiles (Southwestern scram), which is eggs scrambled w/peppers, onions, corn, zucchini, tortilla chips, all tossed w/a smoked chile cream sauce, jack cheese & cilantro, served w/black beans. She also went with the option to get chorizo as well, which turned out to be a great choice. So many places don’t know how to work in the chorizo without making the dish too greasy, yet this had nary an extra spot of grease beyond what was necessary. Here you can see it:

Mild to medium-spiced, the beans are a nice offset to the peppers and onions with the eggs. The tortilla chips give you a nice way to scoop it all up, assuming you can’t wait to shovel it into your mouth with your fork. The presentation is good as well, as it was an aesthetic pleasure to see it before eating. Again, love the chorizo on this! It very much reminded Linda of some of the best Tex-Mex dining options she had while living in Austin, TX.

Of course, we couldn’t help but look at the hot sauce options available as well. We are all about hot sauce at times…

Pretty much standard options here, minus the ubiquitous Cholula. Truth be told, our meal was so good that it didn’t need hot sauce. A small dab of El Yucateco might be all you need to add a little extra spicy schwerve to your meal, but the food is so well spiced we didn’t much use any. Heck, I’m sure we could recommend a few others they may want to keep in stock on their tables to help accentuate their menu options.

Overall recommendation: We love this restaurant, and it’s a little sad on our part that we don’t go their more often. Its fare is listed at Cuban-fusion, but whatever you call it…it’s well-made, spicy, and damn good. It’s not light-up-your-heat-sensors hot, but it doesn’t have to be. You can spice it to taste, or eat it as-is. There’s something there for everyone, from the Vegan to the meat-lover and from mundane to eclectic. If you’re ever on the west side of Columbus and are looking for some fabulous, yet hearty cuisine, do check out the Starliner Diner. We can’t wait to go back again, this time maybe for dinner. Yum!

Starliner Diner
5240 Cemetery Road
Hilliard, Ohio 43206

614.529.1198