A neon-lighted and vinyl-boothed retro 1950s diner complete with tart-tongued waitresses with beehive hairdos and poodle skirts, Hillcrest's family favorite Corvette Diner opened in 1986 as the first of David and Lesley Cohn's growing restaurant empire (The Prado at Balboa Park, Kemo Sabe, Indigo Grill, Blue Point among them). The menu touts its "comfort food for complex times," and longtime chef David Diaz manages to effectively executive a lengthy menu that includes more than a dozen specialty burgers, foot-long cheese dogs, daily blue plate specials, and rib-sticking entrees that range from the traditional (meat loaf, liver and onions, roast turkey and chicken-fried steak) to the slightly more modern (blackened chicken pasta, pesto pasta salad). Favorite starters include hot wings, stuffed jalapenos, sirloin chili, chicken tortilla soup and the garbage plate (tortilla chips and salsa, baby burgers, onion rings, potato skins and fried zucchini). Blue plate specials include patty melt, grilled pork chops, lasagna, chicken pot pie and fish and chips. Kids menu, as well as soda fountain favorites such as root beer floats, shakes and sundaes. Beer and wine available. No reservations. Voted Best Dining with Kids in 2008 San Diego magazine readers, critics and editors polls. Open for lunch and dinner daily.