You know when you're in a diner, rather than a cafe or tavern, and you feel that when you're in new Drift Inn Diner (323 Verret St.).

It's in the mid-century Americana of aluminum-clad tables with vinyl padded booths, the swivel stools along the white counter and the little condiment caddies on the candy apple-red tables. Even the plates for the burgers and parfait glasses for the soft serve ice cream have a vintage feel.

But it’s not all throwback here, with vegan plates in rotation on the short opening menu and a playful, modern cocktail list running alongside the hash browns and grits ( see the opening menu here ).

The Drift Inn Diner opened this week in the middle of Algiers Point, in the former home of French restaurant Tonti’s . It’s a few blocks from the ferry landing in a

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