Silk City Diner

The meat loaf was decent, but it was just meat loaf. The thick burger was a clear improvement over its skinny predecessor, but it wasn't ballad-worthy. The Thai shrimp over Himalayan red rice was a lively stab at some non-diner flavors, its coconut milk sauce flickering with curry heat. But the promising Shanghai-braised short rib lost its grip on exotic seasonings with far too much wasabi in the mashed potatoes, and a salty finish.

The much-talked-about hot beef and Gruyere sandwich was also a slightly dry and chewy letdown. I'd choose the BLT as Silk City's official new poster sandwich.

It already has a few catchy desserts worth sticking around for: the amazingly moist and deeply flavored chocolate-banana bread pudding; the brulee-topped Key lime pie streaked with pomegranate; a throwback root beer float that geysers up when you pour the bottle of Hank's on.

My surprise favorite, though, was the cannoli piped with Butterfinger ricotta cheesecake filling. Sure, it's a sacrilegious candy-bar twist on a Philadelphia institution. But in a desperate time for diners, a little fluff of peanut-butter comfort could do us good.