Cheap Eats - Peach pit

It seems a collective breath of expectation is drawn every time a restaurant opens in downtown's Fairlie-Poplar district. Al Hamilton's Peachcity Diner, in the mixed-use Muse's building, is the latest eatery to cater both to the 9-to-5 crowd and the area's permanent residents. The space is massive, much too big to have that cozy diner feel. Ceilings with ornamental tin coffers rise 20 feet and dwarf the tables and kitchen space. Patrons get touristy peach-and- green decor — and no charm.

Diner lore: The menu is heavy on typical fare like patty melts, BLTs and hamburgers, though it does include a crab cake sandwich, a bubba burger (barbecued ham and cheddar) and a catfish po'boy. The strangest thing about the menu is the regional attribution given to various items. You learn that the fish sandwich originated in a diner in Maryland, and that the chicken salad sandwich came from Delaware. Sure, it's hard to swallow that the diner concept started in 1872 in Rhode Island. But it's even harder to swallow that the "salad and half-club combo" was created here in Atlanta.

What we ate: The Buffalo nuggets (from Buffalo, N.Y., no less) are fried chunks of battered chicken laden with spicy sauce, served over fries with a side of blue cheese dressing ($5). It's plenty for two — this diner doesn't believe in skimping. That philosophy carries over to the shrimp po'boy sandwich ($6.30), which came loaded with fried shrimp atop lettuce, mayo and cocktail sauce. But the over-toasted bread was nearly impossible to bite, making the whole thing more of a shrimp basket than a shrimp sandwich. The Reuben ($6.30) was standard issue, with piles of corned beef, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing stuffed between toasted rye bread.

Open for early birds, Peachcity offers eggs and pancakes all day, along with blue-plate specials and a laundry list of malts and shakes made from scratch (like the Funky Monkey, with fresh bananas, brownies and vanilla bean ice cream).

Service: For now, the worst part about the diner is the shy, untrained servers, who are still grasping for the polite way to take your order. One wasn't sure what a Reuben was and had to copy it down from the menu.

Cheapest item: For breakfast, you can get an egg sandwich hot off the grill for two bucks. That almost beats Waffle House prices.

Most expensive item: Dinners like the jumbo shrimp plate ($12) and 12-ounce New York Strip ($12) seem a bit pricey for the locale; old standbys like meatloaf and fried chicken (both $7.90) are a better bargain.??