Whym Cafe, a 24-hour diner located in the First and Denny space formerly occupied by Minnie's Cafe, is now open for business. If you've been getting your post-club breakfasts at the Hurricane or Beth's and are beginning to burn out on the mere idea of chowing down at 3 a.m., this third option may put the spice of variety back into your jaded life.

Whym's menu is pretty much what you'd expect from a 24-hour diner -- scrambles, omelets, flapjacks, burgers, sandwiches, mac and cheese. Quotations from Mark Twain, A.A. Milne, Erma Bombeck and Henry Cabot Lodge -- renowned all-night partiers -- are placed throughout the menu to place these carb-crazy plates in some sort of artistic/intellectual context.

I've only had the Carbonara Scramble thus far -- a kind of home fries mixed with cheese, bacon, garlic and peas, topped with two eggs -- and it wasn't bad at all for a late lunch. Had I ordered it at the tail end of a long night in clubland, it would have been even better. Nothing sates the late-night savage like bacon grease and salt. The coffee was so-so, but they've only been open a week or so; I have faith that they'll work out the kinks.

Also, I appreciate the ways in which the old Minnie's layout has been tweaked -- especially the removal of the corner-facing front door in favor of more window seating. Diners are meant to have front-row seats onto the late-night urban theater, and Whym really delivers. I'm not sure about the blaring adult-contemporary muzak, though. Or that soft name. Late-night dining is not a whim; it's a physical need.

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