West, East meet at Emily's

Some restaurants use fusion, mixing different ethnic cuisines in one dish.

Emily's Diner in Jacksonville has gone another route by offering Asian and American dishes on the same menu, with no fusion in sight.

In a town as small as Jacksonville, I find it interesting that Emily's is not the only restaurant offering a combination of cuisines. AP's Seafood Buffet offers seafood and Asian food.

Emily's Diner is on Main Street in an old Wendy's building that still has a fast-food look to it. The kitchen is in the back of the building, but it's walled off so diners can't see in. The checkout is up front and there is also a counter with a few chairs. The rest of the dining room is filled with tables and chairs, and decorated in an eclectic array of Asian and American artwork, wall hangings and knickknacks.

Emily's menu offers a variety of sandwiches, burgers and Asian dishes, as well as an all-day breakfast menu. Our first visit was on a blustery Saturday afternoon, so we wanted something a bit more hearty than eggs and bacon. My son and mom were along for the ride and we decided to share a few selections.

The dining room wasn't crowded, so we were seated quickly and handed menus. The Deluxe Cheeseburger ($4.79) sounded promising, so we ordered the 6-ounce Black Angus beef patty, topped with choice of cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles.

We all wanted to try the Asian side of the menu, so instead of fries we ordered Crab Rangoon ($3.85 for eight). We ordered Sesame Chicken ($6.35), Shrimp Lo Mein ($7.99) and Shrimp with Garlic Sauce ($7.25); Asian entrees come with a spring roll and rice.

We sat, waited and visited for just a few minutes before the Rangoon appetizers were brought to the table. They looked delicious. And they were.

The burger came next, and it was my favorite part of the meal. The beef was tender and juicy, but not greasy. And the patty was large and hand-patted.

The lo mein was pretty standard. It had a thin, brown sauce, lots of noodles and a good number of shrimp.

I really enjoyed the sesame chicken. They had cut the chicken into small pieces, and battered and fried it so the chunks stayed crispy even after being covered in a sweetish brown sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The chicken flavor was good overall, but the rice was underseasoned.

The garlic shrimp were tender, but the sauce had not one drop of garlic flavor in it. And even though dried peppers were in the sauce, the only flavor was sweet.

A second visit was in order, so my son and I headed back a week or so later to try the breakfast portion of the menu. The menu lists grits and gravy a la carte. But on that day, when I asked about the availability, I was told that they had tossed out the grits and the gravy.

Emily's menu offers a selection of country breakfasts, omelets, breakfast sandwiches, pancakes and French toast. Since there were no grits or gravy to be had, I went with a short stack of two pancakes ($2.99) and made it a combo for another $2.99, adding two eggs and two slices of crispy bacon. My son, whose eyes are usually bigger than his stomach, went with the Big Country breakfast ($5.99) with hash browns, two eggs, sausage and a biscuit.

We'd both ordered our eggs over medium, but mine were almost a step beyond that. And the edges of my eggs had gotten crunchy, which made them a bit harder to cut with my fork. The bacon was thin and crispy, and the pancakes had a soft, homemade quality about them. They were just about the best part of the meal.

Emily's menu also has a selection of salads and appetizers that includes butterflied shrimp, fries, steamed dumplings, hot and sour soup, and wing dings (chicken nuggets) with fries.

There's no loud music or other distractions that would put a halt to conversation. Except on both visits, someone got out a sweeper and used it around where folks were eating, which I found off-putting.

Overall, our experience on both visits was relaxed and enjoyable, and the service was good.

Weekend on 11/20/2014