As Ben and Jen Moore’s lifestyle changed with two children, so did their careers.
“At the time I was closing people’s restaurants. I was there late at night,” said chef Ben Moore, about what prompted the couple to open the Scrambled Diner in January 2010 in Dyer.
“I thought, ‘Well, that would be a good idea because I’m up before they get up. Then I can be home when they get home from school and do things like soccer and baseball and stuff like that whereas before I wasn’t even around.
“I’d leave when they went to school and I’d come home and they were already in bed.”
Here is the dish on this local eatery:
On the menu: The Scrambled Diner bills itself as offering “a fresh, home-cooked meal from some of the kindest servers and cooks around.” “We do breakfast all day long and people predominantly come for breakfast, but the burger is outstanding,” said Ben Moore, of Dyer. “Service is almost more important than the food.”
About the owners: One of Ben Moore’s first jobs was in a restaurant. His early industry roles ranged from pizza place server in Barrington, Illinois, to lead host, bartender and server at the former Mangia Trattoria in Kenosha, Wisconsin. “I always liked cooking but never had any formal backing,” he said, noting that Laura Piper, a chef at Mangia Trattoria, became his mentor.
“I started in cold foods and never really looked back.” He received his associate of applied science in culinary arts degree from Kendall College, which was then in Evanston, Illinois. His resume includes working at the former Trio in Evanston and Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse in Chicago and the neighboring Hugo’s Frog Bar & Fish House, being a private chef on Chicago’s North Shore and serving as executive chef at Weber Grill Restaurant in Chicago. He met his wife, a Valparaiso native, at the Chicago Hugo’s where he was sous chef while she was assistant general manager.
A mission statement: “I’ve cooked for millionaires and I’ve cooked for people that only go out once a year. There’s the ability to do good food and have somewhat of a presentation. I’ve got people eating lobster, shrimp and crab in my restaurant. Yet, I’ve got people of all economy levels eating it. That’s really at the core of why we cook. It’s to feed people,” Ben Moore said.
Decor: “It’s a small, 40-seat restaurant with a counter-exposed kitchen. It’s down-to-earth and very casual,” Ben Moore said. “We opened it off of the premise that space is a luxury. I still think it’s cool. It creates a buzz.”
Specialties: “I believe we’re doing stuff that isn’t being done. We brine our own corned beef. From that corned beef we have a fantastic Reuben. We also have corned beef hash,” Ben Moore said.
“We brine three different types of sausage. We make our own jam. We make our own ketchup. We don’t buy bags of frozen fries or hash browns. We cut potatoes. It’s a heavily intensive prep process but that comes across on the plate. Our hamburgers are ground in-house from brisket.”
We’re different because: Freshly homemade items such as jams and hot sauce are offered via the Scram Shop, the Scrambled Diner’s website.
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Prices: Start at $2.50 for soups, salads and more; $5.50 for pancakes and more; $7.75 for “eggs done the way you like ’em;” $8 for omelets or skillets; and $8.50 for sandwiches and wraps.
Logistics: The Scrambled Diner is at 250 81st Ave., Dyer. Hours are 6 a.m.-2:30 p.m. daily. Call 219-865-3950 or go to www.thescrambleddiner.com.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.