Morgantown has a few key restaurants missing: a good noodle shop, some homemade soul food, a nice deli and until recently - a diner.

Morgan's High St. Diner held a soft opening on Thursday and will continue until their grand opening next Thursday. Hours currently are Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. to midnight, Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. I do wish it was 24 hours because the only other 24-hour establishment is Eat'n Park. I imagine that would be difficult, though.

The diner's front is yellow and gray with corrugated metal behind the sign. Definitely a change from the former Fondue Factory space. The same owner of the Fondue Factory (and Coach's Crab Shack) opened this diner - different feel from the upscale fondue place and seafood restaurant.

The restaurant has a checkered ceiling, photos from the town's past and waiters in tuxedo T-shirts. There are old license plates and signs of street names in town. It's very Morgantown, and it's filling a void in town.

Menu items were crowdsourced from restaurants of the past. Check out their menu here and here. The whole front is breakfast - eggs, omelettes, breakfast sandwiches, combo plates, cereal, waffles and pancakes. The back is for the lunch and dinner crowd: chicken and waffle sandwich, meatloaf, deep-fried turkey, fish and chips, roast beef, chicken-fried steak, burgers and desserts - milkshakes, pies, banana split.

And their Morgan's Challenge: 15 scoops of chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ice cream, topped with chocolate, caramel and strawberry syrup, whipped cream, fruits and cherries for $16.50. If you finish in 15 minutes, you get to keep the bowl and it's free. But you might have a killer brain freeze.

I had a taste of their meatloaf and loved it, so I wanted a full bite. I ordered their meatloaf sandwich, which is topped with a slice of American cheese and sandwiched between two pieces of Texas toast. This just reminds me of growing up. I loved a meatloaf sandwich. And this meatloaf is so good. I like the smokey/tangy glaze. The toast is buttered and adds a nice crunch to the super moist and just a tad bit of heat meatloaf. Loved this.

It comes with a side of fries, but I opted out and went for a side of macaroni and cheese instead. My macaroni was a little bit cold, but it was OK overall.


Tony had the chicken and waffles sandwich, which comes with so much: fried chicken, waffles, cheese, bacon, sausage gravy and maple syrup. He was a fan, but it's definitely not something you can do often.

To top it off, I went with a milkshake. Tasty. I'm not sure you can mess up a milkshake too much. But it was not super thick, but that's okay. All around, I'm pretty impressed with the food.

Service was also great. Our waiter was accommodating and helpful. The manager was also walking around and asked how things were. And it wasn't the typical "Everything OK?" where they just want you to agree with them. She actually asked what they could improve upon - they genuinely want feedback on how to be better, and that's not something you see often. Simply phrasing it that way is welcoming feedback.

Grade: A