Mama’s 39th St Diner

I saw this on Diners Drive-​thrus and Dives while I was in KC and I just had to check them out. This place is amazing and yes, the food is well decadent. Let’s put it that way. I was not dissapointed at all with the service or the food. I would have given them 3.5 stars, but that’s not an option. Only because the food is like carnival food, it’s only for special occasions or you will find yourself gaining lots of weight.
Our waitress was really cool. I didn’t see the menu that had over 75 omelets, so it looks like they’ve kind of streamlined things, so it didn’t have the same vibe as the show, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. When you are in KC, check them out.

The cool tranny/​waitress with banana hands left when the place burned down. You can find her working the check-​out line at Gun [Sun] Fresh.

Any place that makes their own corned beef… and then serves you four CHUNKS of it with the hash just to prove how good it is… is four stars almost automatically. :)
Now, I have read the other reviews. Some border on ridiculous. Sad but true. This is a diner/​dive. It is not a place for ambiance or culinary exploration. It is a place to be served by a friendly waitstaff from a standard menu of breakfast and samich favorites done well. You want haute cuisine? Go to Julian. Oh… then you’ll bitch because the walls are dark gray and you don’t like that color. Geeeez. I digress.
Our waitress Ali offered up super friendly service. The hash was delicious. The over easy eggs were right on. The potatoes were crispy. The biscuit was only so-​so… should have had toast. The gravy came out pretty cold… I sent it back for nuking and all was fine. That is how to roll, folks… or at least how «I» roll. I am not going to thrash a place for a mistake like that. Now, if I ask them to correct it and they get an attitude the torpedoes will hit the water (and the review). lol Corned beef. Believe it. Eat it.

Well, I finally made it back to Mama’s after they reopened. This time the food was much better. Don’t be fooled, the fire didn’t really help cleanup the interior or anything. In fact, I’m not really sure what caught on fire because it doesn’t look like anything was really ever damaged… I could be imagining things, too.
I had a veggie egg white omelet with hashbrowns and toast. Nom nom! Delicious, fast, and cheaper than the other nearby greasy spoon, Chubby’s. Now that I’ve eaten here again, I’ll come back more often.

Always a great stop for breakfast, especially after a long night. Wide vast menu of most breakfast items you’ve ever imagined. Decently priced. Staff is always busy due to the restaurant always being busy.
The deep fried cinnamon roll is a MUST.

Great breakfast joint.
Solid menu of hearty food and a friendly staff. It is also well priced for the portions. It’s pretty rare for me to take a to-​go box for a breakfast but I find myself doing that here. I like the new look since it’s re-​opened; cleaner, comfortable feel with more space (seemingly less tables than before).
I recommend the Meat Lover’s Scrambler or Country Fried Steak.

Got the Coal Miner and it was ok… nothing wrong with it. They were real nice and didn’t charge me for the tomato slices that I always add to my biscuit/​gravy/​egg combo. It could have used some bacon slices.
The deep fried cinnamon roll was very good. The deep fried part really didn’t make it taste that much different… it just had a very slight crisp to it… but it was good.
The waitress was very nice. They don’t take Discover card.
It will not be a place that I will frequent.

First time back since the fire on a Sunday morning. My first reaction in was that the management had changed. The cakes by the door are gone and the setup inside a little different, new wait staff, and NEW MENU?
We were startled at first but realized after a little google research that they just slimmed down the menu and brought to current. Same ownership.
Thankfully, some old favorites were still on the menu! The homemade corned beef hash is amazing but I decided to try the fried french toast. Decided I’m fan. However, my eggs were cooked perfectly and my husband enjoyed every last bite of his breakfast.
Coffee cups increased in size — nice.
We will definetly go back. We LOVE a good breakfast and dont mind the dirve for a good one.

I have been to this place more times than I would like. Usually at the urging of friends who think it is funny to make me go some place I don’t like for breakfast. I alway think to myself «well it can’t be as bad as last time» and it never is… it is worse.
The food: the food couldn’t be more bland and poorly prepared. My most recent visit my eggs were served disgustingly raw. A mean raw. Not under cooked. Raw. Ick.
I have never had stellar service some times it is passing but usually not.
This is the kinda joint that, instead of giving a decent amount of good food, they give you a huge amount of substandard food. That way the value seems good.

I’ve been to Mama’s a few times and decided to stop in for breakfast late Saturday morning. The crowd was pretty low key and we were seated right away. This is the first time I have been in since the fire.
Based on previous experiences, I was expecting a three star situation. But our waitress was funny and entertaining. I don’t think she was meaning to be, she just was.
I got the Basic — scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and wheat toast. This breakfast is something I can easily cook and I’m not a stellar cook. So, if someone screws it up I know there are issues. It was solid. No complaints. Couldn’t finish it all though. And that’s something to keep in mind. The portions are pretty generous. For example, the biscuits are about the size of a baby’s head.
We did have to wait a bit for the food to arrive, but this was no big deal since we weren’t in a rush. If you’re looking for quick, you may want to consider other options.

When I moved to KC 2 years ago, I started looking for my new favorite breakfast diner. There’s just something about a great diner that serves breakfast all day. It can be the cure for almost whatever ails you. It didn’t take long before I stumbled onto Mama’s 39^th St. Diner, as it’s only two blocks from my house.
When I see a challenge, I take it on — in this case it would be Mama’s 66. Sixty-​six omelets, no substitutions. It included a psycho sounding peanut butter and jelly omelet. But before I could even get through a quarter of the menu, the Midtown staple burned down.
After nine months or so Mama’s reopened. Needless to say I was excited to embark on my omelet eating endeavor. But Mama’s 66 went down in flames too. It no longer existed. Only six signature omelets left. My favorite — the «hangover» featuring chili, onions, three eggs and cheddar cheese.
It’s damn delicious… if you’re willing to wait for it. Three out of three times, we sat anxiously waiting for our dishes, one time, an upwards of an hour and a half. Perhaps the good things are worth waiting for, but it hasn’t been the same since the original mama melted.

It was so hard choosing what to eat. I am a little disappointed that the omelet selection has shrunk. However, the food I got was great. And, the servings were so big, I had some to take home for lunch.
On our table — a deep fried cinnamon roll, biscuits & gravy, scramble eggs, deep fried french toast and coffee. So good. We will definitely be back to try more. The lunch menu definitely has more of what I want.

This place was recommended by a buddy who had seen it on TV so I went thinking it’d be sort of like Chubby’s on Broadway, which is was to a degree. However, a specific wait staff member made the experience less than stellar, and I’m being kind. When I ordered she didn’t even look at me, instead blankly looking at the diner in a wide sweep and when I was finished she bluntly walked away without saying a word. Eventually my food came, and it wasn’t any better than any other diner food I’ve had, she never said a word, filled my ice tea and walked away. I figured she either hated men or was having a really bad day so I thought I’d come back another time and see if it’s any different.
About a month later I found myself down in the area and was hungry. It was around 2:45 in the afternoon and I seen the open sign in the window so I stopped. As I walked in the place the same woman approached me, walked right past me while bitching about someone not turning the sign, grabbed a menu and walked without even saying a word.
She sat me across from a family of at leat 8, mostly kids, and asked what I wanted to drink. While she was away I decided what I wanted and proceeded to read my newspaper. She came back and rudely asked what I wanted, I placed my order while looking directly at her and she walked away. I continued reading my paper while awaiting my food.
She made it obvious that they closed at 3 when she yelled about the sign, but I figured I’d have time. She came, slid the plate down in front of me, asked if I needed anything and didn’t return until she started her close out of sweeping and cleaning tables. To get her point that it’s close to closing time across she began sweeping around and under me. I ignored her with a smile and continued eating and finishing my paper.
By the time I finished eating until she came with the check and to advise me they were closed was about 30 seconds. She was basically trying to push me out by being rude and making a racket around me. I paid and even tipped her in spite of her ugliness for my own satisfaction, along with smiling the whole time. Never once did I let her know I was upset.
If you would like a similar experience feel free to go here and eat. Ask for the biggest woman there with black hair and a piercing in her face. She’ll treat you like you were an ugly redheaded step-​child (Not that there’s anything wrong with RHSC!)

I came here b/​c Guy Fieri did a feature for his show «diners drive ins and dives» on the food network.
Of course I ordered their famous corn beef hash. The texture and flavors worked well together but it wasn’t as mind blowing as it’s hyped up to be. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, but not something I would have to get again. The country browns (hash browns) with onions and cheese were also good, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t whip up at home. Lastly, I found the biscuits to be quite dry and flavorless. Maybe I should’ve ordered gravy with it? But a good piece of homemade bread doesn’t need a thing to make it shine.
I wanted to be in love with this place, but it’s just another diner.

I really feel like Mama’s lost something when they moved from the original location on 39^th St. to the old Nichol’s spot down the road. Lost something like good food and good atmosphere!
The food is mediocre served with ho hum service. The service at the old location was colorful and really good. What happened?
The décor is enough to make you lose your appetite. What color of blue paint is that on the walls? Seriously, it’s one of the worst colors I’ve been surrounded by. It’s an uglier cousin of the worst country/​patriot blue you have ever seen. The only thing I can think about while I’m eating the food is repainting the place myself. They didn’t gut the place enough when they moved in, leaving a confused environment with a million and one omelets to choose from.
It’s all too much to process while trying to enjoy some breakfast.
Refocus Mama, and while your at it, repaint too!

Mmm.
OK, let’s be honest. The food at Mama’s is nothing too fantastic. I’ve been here many times and although the menu is huge (HUGE) nothing is too spectacular that I couldn’t make myself. Well, maybe not the deep-​friend cinnamon rolls. I’m sure those things taste like they’re made of magic and dreams, but that’s a risk I’m just not willing to take.
But the service here is awesome. We came in around 11:00 on a Sunday with 7 completely hungover bachelorette party-​goers (see a theme in my recent reviews? Being in two weddings will do that to you!) and were seated promptly. Our girl quickly brought us waters and kept refills coming over and over and over again. She joked with us, commiserated with us and made sure our food came out quickly.
I love the fact that there are about a bzillion omelet choices at Mama’s. This particular visit I got one stuffed with jack cheese, tomato, onion, broccoli and zucchini, with a side of their hash browns (topped with onion and green peppers… MAN I love hash browns.) In the future I want to come in and try one of their many grilled cheese options. What else is there? Bs&Gs, sandwiches (breakfast and regular), entrees, snacks, etc. etc. etc. It’s all simple and tasty.
Minus a star for the no splitting checks for parties over 5 rule. Bah. Oh well, the masses (hungover or not!) will keep on coming in.

I was craving a yummy omelet & searched Unilocal!I came across Mama’s & headed straight over. I was so happy I did so.
The place was buzzing with business but we were seated & waited on right away. The service was pleasant & when my food came out, it was as pretty as a picture. The omelet was perfect. The browns were crispy but not overcooked. My orange juice was delicious as well.
I will be going back for sure! Thanks, Mama!

We were staying at a hotel that had a breakfast included, but I wanted to experience a KC diner on a beautiful Saturday morning, and boy did I get my wish! What a lovely dive! I’m a standard fare kind of guy — fried eggs, «browns» (as they call hash browns here), sausage patties, biscuits, and a side of gravy. Eggs are eggs. The sausage patties were way too thin (precooked and dry). «Browns» are chunks of potatoes, deep fried until medium to dark brown (very good btw, especially with grilled onions). Big honkin’ tall biscuit (I like my biscuits a little more buttery and therefore moist). Gravy like grandma used to make (that’s good btw). Their toast is homemade and dense (egg toast = white).
Now on to ambiance.
We sat next to a big tall, round cake case filled with the biggest damn cakes I have ever seen. The shortest one was at least 8″ tall. Carrot. Chocolate. White. Big, tall, skyscraper cakes. Amazing.
And … the servers here all sport t-​shirts that say «I’m Mama’s favorite.» If that is true (and I have no reason to doubt this), then Mama has some quite diverse tastes. On this Saturday morning, the servers were Goth, Gay, Transgender, Soccer Mom, Young, Mature, Male, Female, Tall, Short, Of Size, Not Of Size, Smart, Funny … it was a visually stunning feast for the senses that made me appreciate KC even more. And GREAT service too.
3 stars for food, 4.5 stars for the pure luscious ambiance of this amazing cultural fiesta.

This is the first poor review I’ve ever written. I usually refrain from writing bad reviews, but some of the highly-​rated reviews of this place led me to Mama’s 39^th Street Diner – and they led me astray. This place was on some «Diners, Drive-​Ins & Dives» show on the Food Channel so I went to try it out… The 69 or whatever number omelettes were just way TOO much to look through. I usually like different and interesting foods, but the weird combinations of eggs and peanut butter and pickles and other random stuff just grossed me out. The deep fried cinnamon roll was just TOO sweet and TOO intense to enjoy. I could feel my arteries clogging with each bite. The décor was TOO divey of a diner so it made me feel like it wasn’t that clean…
BUT I know this place is known for the corned beef hash which I didn’t eat so perhaps that is its saving grace which I missed out on. I consider myself a diner expert (I once was in a process of only eating out at diners and making a diner guide…) and the prices were too expensive. Overall, this place was too much of a lot of things and even if the corned beef hash IS as amazing as many say, it’s not enough to bring me back.

I ate at Mama’s recently on a Saturday afternoon.
If you are coming from the west, turn right when you hit the intersection, even if you can’t see it from 39^th street.
I had breakfast, and it was exactly what I expected; nothing more, nothing less, other than the sausage patties were a bit on the tough side (which happens in a lot of places). The Belgian waffle was good, and my eggs were cooked nearly perfectly.
The service was wonderful. I had a wonderful waitress/​waiter (yes, you read that right) who was very friendly and kept my drinks filled. She was one of the better servers, male and/​or female ;) that I’ve encountered in the city.
I was stuffed, and had to pass on the deep fried cinnamon roll, but will definitely be giving it another shot to try it next time.
The menu was very extensive, but is a ”souped’ up diner menu. Fine dining it wasn’t, but it was exactly what I was looking for and expected.