Fifty's Grill & Deli

For a restaurant built in retro-diner clothing, Fifty's Grill & Deli runs a menu nobody who designed the genre would recognize. The deli side leans heavy on Montreal smoked meat, the kind that earns the rye-bread double-stack. The back half of the book swings into souvlaki platters, baked lasagna, chicken parmesan, BBQ back ribs, and a half-pound patty melt with milkshakes to wash anything down. Breakfast lives on its own long page and runs all day. The 1950s decor is the wrapper. The menu underneath has been a Cambridge family restaurant since 1995.

The deli side carries the most distinct beat. A Jumbo Smoked Meat goes stacked on double rye with fries and coleslaw. A Ranch Reuben turns the same meat onto grilled rye with Swiss and sauerkraut. The Smoked Meat Skillet folds it into home fries with onions and green peppers under melted cheese — the breakfast crossover that lets the deli column earn its keep on a weekend morning. Breakfast runs deep on its own: All Canadian eggs with peameal or smoked meat, three-piece buttermilk pancakes, plain French toast under maple-flavoured syrup, a Belgian waffle, and a Smoked Meat Benedict under hollandaise. The homestyle column carries Liver and Onions lightly breaded and topped with fried onions, a one-pound rack of BBQ back ribs basted in the house sauce, and a baked lasagna layered with béchamel, pepperoni, mushrooms, meat sauce, and mozzarella. The Greek section runs chicken and pork souvlaki platters with Greek salad, rice, fries, and tzatziki. The burger column lands on a half-pound charbroiled patty melt with fried onions and cheddar on grilled rye. A milkshake column closes anything out.