Donna’s Restaurant is a small place in the old downtown of Corning.  Inside you’ll find a fabulous display of Corning Pyrex through the ages and colors mixed in with cat objects, which is owner Donna Robbins’ other passion.  They are open Monday through Saturday for breakfast and lunch with daily specials posted on their Facebook page.  The restaurant opened in its current location in Nov. 2018 after being evicted from their home of 34 years on a corner down the street.  When the building owner decided to re-purpose the building they gave Robbins about a month to vacate and Robbins promised her loyal patrons she would find a new spot.  Robbins had started working at the spot 15 years prior when it was Bacalles Soda Bar and then the Kozy Korner until 1985 when she was able to buy the place and name it after herself.  We grabbed a couple of the stools at the counter but they also have tables.  Everyone was super friendly and the food was good.

Facility

Food

For the Grilled Chicken breast sandwich basket, we ordered it “all dressed up” with lettuce, tomato, mayo, and onion and added Swiss cheese and crispy bacon.  The basket came with fries and coleslaw.   The coleslaw arrived first and was well-seasoned and not overdressed.  It was tasty cabbage.  The chicken was moist on a soft slightly toasted bun.  There was plenty of cheese to go with the chicken and the very flavorful bacon with the pickles on the side.  It would be something I’d order regularly if we lived closer.  The crinkle-cut fries came with the sandwich and were hot, crisp, and tasty.  It was a fine lunch.

The Reuben Sandwich was made with grilled corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and 1000 Island dressing on grilled rye bread.   Fries were not included but ordered on the side.  They were the same tasty fries as above.  The nicely stuffed sandwich was perfectly balanced with enough dressing and sauerkraut to make it good.  The attractive swirled rye was toasted to give a good texture addition to the other tasty ingredients.

The Famous Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Chocolate Ribbon Pie was one of the many pies offered for dessert and made by the owner, Donna, but this was her own creation too.  It tasted like Nutter Butter cookies were used for the crust and some dusted the top.  The filling had layers of peanut butter and chocolate that blended nicely.  It could have easily been too heavy but moderation kept the balance of flavors working and the whipped cream introduced something to keep it from being too thick.  It was fun, just like the place.