I first heard of Ridgewood Eats from a friend’s date’s randomly bumped-into other friend, who said there’s nothing to eat in Bushwick except NEK and Ridgewood Eats. “Uh, no, there are several other places,” my friend objected. “Well, these are the only places close to me,” the ignorant one replied. So armed with the name of the place, we looked it up and set out on that crappy Sunday morning.

Those of you in the Myrtle-Wyckoff orbit are lucky to be so close to this great diner on Seneca and Catalpa. Because it was raining, the Central Avenue Crew had to take the M to Seneca. Otherwise, I suppose the walk down Myrtle isn’t that arduous.

I was expecting an old-school diner, full of faded formica and 60s-era decor. Instead, we found a newly renovated, totally modern storefront. The interior is a bit Rooms-to-Go (lots of cherry wood furniture) meets TJ Maxx (generic Europeanish wine- and coffee-related tchotchkes), but it’s clean and has a hospitable feel.

We were all cold and wet from the knees down after battling torrential gusts outside, and the waitress immediately asked if we wanted coffee. We all replied “yes!” in unison. Having drunk our surprisingly decent coffee, we were ready to tackle the menu.

As 95% of diners in the United States, this was Greek-inspired. Gyros share space with burgers and French toast. On the verge of starvation, the Lumberjack Special caught my eye: challah French toast with ham, bacon, sausage, and two eggs. Aside from the annoying fact that they didn’t have maple syrup, all parts of the meal were great.

The portions are massive — I asked a friend if he had eaten any of his gyro after ten minutes of picking at it, and he said “uh, yeah, it’s half gone.” He commented that the lamb was “well-spiced.” Everyone agreed the place was a good find, but I decided the place needed at least one more try before I bothered reviewing it. So the next week, two of us went back.

Unfortunately for review purposes, we both had cravings for burgers. We even got the same kind: the EATS Super Burger, with sautéed onions, mushrooms, bacon, and Swiss. The burgers are huge, and the cooks know what “medium rare” means. I don’t know if I was fiending for salt or if everything was just underseasoned, but a few shakes of salt made it perfect. We shared a side of sweet potato fries, which were great, but the ranch dressing we got with them was kind of gross, though my company didn’t seem to mind.

For dessert, they have Junior’s cheesecake. It’s no Carnegie, but it hits the spot. The second time we had chocolate shakes, which were rather mediocre. A bit less milk and more ice cream and they would have been good.

Both times we got out for roughly $12 a head, including tax and tip. Its central location means everyone in Bushwick and Ridgewood is within a 15-minute or so walk. You’ll need the walk when you’ve finished eating.

Ridgewood Eats | 9-03 Seneca Avenue | 7am-11pm 7 days | 718-366-3287

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