1301 Connecticut Ave. NW (202) 835-2280 Hours of Operation and Prices Breakfast: All day, 7:30 on; Entrees: $2-$6 Lunch and Dinner: M-Th 11:30 -10, F-Sat 11:30-11; Entrees: $5-$12 Brunch: Sat-Sun 10-3, $3-$8 Early Bird: M-Sat 4:30-7, $10 Other Information • Credit Cards: All major • Reservations: No • Dress: Casual • Parking: Street • Nearest Metro: Dupont Circle • Handicapped accessible

You won't find balsamic vinegar on this menu. It's a diner. Think plain food: meatloaf, turkey and stuffing, breakfast all day. You can find a grilled cheese sandwich or chicken salad three ways: as a side dish, a salad or a sandwich. The pastas don't stretch beyond vegetarian lasagna, stuffed shells and spaghetti with the usual half a dozen sauces, none of them memorable. Order something brown and meaty, preferably with potatoes. The burger here is thick and crusty brown, juicy because it's been lightly handled in the forming, and if you ask for it rare you'll get it rare.

Normally, I don't order a steak sandwich at a diner outside of Philadelphia, but Luna has taught me a lesson. Its steak sandwich isn't the thin-shaved, Philadelphia style but something better. This is an actual steak, more than a quarter-inch thick. Blow an extra dollar on darkly caramelized fried onions and fat slices of mushroom, and any of this steak's flaws will be well hidden. The meatloaf is also succulent, and you can get a chicken breast roasted or grilled.

Unlike most diners, Luna serves grilled vegetables so aromatic and oil-glossed that they'd satisfy as a meal by themselves. Still, what's a diner meal without potatoes? The french fries here are soft, thick and greaseless - just wonderful. Fried sweet potatoes are plump and moist, with crunchy charred edges. But who could pass up the mashed potatoes, so rough and lumpy, with a crater of gravy? On my first visit to Luna Grill, the woman at the next table ordered a bowl of mashed potatoes for dessert. She was a woman who knows what's what. I bet she had the fries as an appetizer.