Good Things Bakin' at Bruce's

Choosing a local diner to eat at used to be a tough decision for us Little Neckers. Unfortunately with the closing of three: Scobee, Seville and Bayside, we do not have this luxury any more. Now we have to look a little further than our own backyards to get a full-on diner experience.

As sad as this is, there is some comfort in knowing that other quality diners do exist. One such place is Bruce's Baker to the Stars in Great Neck — not only a diner but a full-fledged bakery, as well.

They are located on Middle Neck Road but I recommend you park in the municipal parking lot and enter through the back entrance to the restaurant. Entering through the back you walk down a long corridor to a waiting area where someone will seat you. If you enter from Middle Neck Road, you will walk through the bakery to a host station where again someone will seat you.

The place is split in half — one side bakery, the other side diner. The dining area is long and narrow, not as big as the diners some Queens diners are used to, but there is plenty of seating. They have two flat screen TVs at either end of the dining room.

After being seated you are given menus, served a half loaf of challah and a large bowl of Cole slaw. The challah is baked on site and served fresh. It is sweet and fluffy. My wife kept tearing pieces off for my son and he did not stop eating the whole time we were there. The slaw was very fresh and sweet as well. I think I had about five or six spoonfuls which were supposed to be my last.

Their menu is quite large. They have just about anything you could think of. Breakfast all day, burgers, pizza, deli sandwiches, salads, chicken, fish, soups, and meat and potatoes. Looking for Paninis or quiches, they got you covered. 

My favorite thing to order here is Bruce's Monte Cristo Challah. It is two gigantic pieces of challah French toast grilled with Swiss cheese, ham and white meat turkey. They make it to perfection. They use their fresh challah as the base and the amounts of meat and cheese they use compliment it perfectly.

My wife usually goes with one of their numerous salads. These are served in huge bowls with piles of fresh, tasty ingredients. She always leaves with enough leftovers to enjoy.

A couple other favorites that my family members recommend are one of Bruce's omelettes and the fried filet of sole sandwich. Both orders are huge and will leave you completely satisfied.

After your delicious meal you are treated to one last thing. They give you a complementary plate load of pastries and cakes straight from the bakery. Our plate had a piece of cheesecake, a couple brownies, a piece of their Philadelphia fluff, two pieces of chocolate cake and a few other pastries. All of them are great and they give you a bag to pack away the pieces you don't finish.

Like I said earlier, you may have to travel a little farther to get your diner fix these days. But a trip to Bruce's Baker to the Stars is well worth the effort.

Bruce's is located at 34 Middle Neck Road in Great Neck. They are open daily, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.