Diner refiner

From St. Clair Shores to Canton, Trenton to Port Huron, southeast Michigan is replete with family diners — inexpensive joints with big vinyl booths and seemingly bigger portions. Setting their sights a bit higher are the folks behind Troy's newest eatery, the Square Lake Diner.

Situated in the middle of a strip mall at the northeast corner of Rochester and Square Lake roads, it might be easy to drive right by the sign, which is camouflaged by the suburban landscape. But inside, things are a bit different.

Absent upon entering are virtually all the stereotypical trappings of diner life: You won't see apron-wearing waitresses who call you "hon'," an open prep area spraying grease and loud kitchen slang into the dining room, and decorations that have been in place since the '70s. Rather, Square Lake Diner features an elegant, dimly lit interior with a modest bar in the back.

Perhaps most importantly, that bar is fully stocked.

Indeed, cola isn't the most interesting thing for quaffing here. They feature a full beverage list with beer, wine and spirits. In fact, many restaurants with far greater ambitions don't boast as good a beer list as Square Lake, which carries not just a wide selection of pale lagers but also Belgian classics such as Saison Dupont and Rochefort 6, as well as a nice array of several U.S.-made microbrews.

Despite the elegant paint job and robust drinks list, Square Lake Diner is ultimately, of course, what the name implies — a diner. The overwhelmingly long menu features many of the Greek-inspired, Coney-style dishes one would expect from any such restaurant: gyros with chips, a hani pita, Greek salads, and saganaki among them.

But the food menu also aims to be better than that of the average diner, and it sometimes succeeds. A few varieties of broiled seafood, such as salmon and whitefish, are available for $9.99, and they also serve a few stir-fry options and several cuts of beef, including a $13.49 12-ounce strip steak.

Further, fans of fried fish will almost certainly be most pleased with the perch for $9.99, which remains moist and flaky through its trip into the deep fryer. A few of the other fried seafood dishes are a bit dry and heavily battered — armored, really — to their detriment, namely the fried fish and fried scallops.

Italian cuisine plays a surprisingly prominent role here. Among the more flavorful options is a large plate of chicken Parmigiana, generously covered in cheese and sauce. While the chicken itself is a bit dry, as is the case at many diners, it's robustly seasoned and priced very reasonably at $8.99. Other Italian dishes include fettuccini and ravioli.

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