It’s a Boy! Elyria Diner Delivers
BY LEE DOLAN AND PAULINE SHAPIRO

So you want a snack and you are in the Midway mall shopping area. The last thing you want to do is go to the food court in the mall. Just outside the dizzying array of chain stores in the Midway shopping center lies Oh Boy Midway Restaurant, a diner that is a relic of the past. 
We walked past the jukebox and seated ourselves at a booth, quickly greeted by our cheerful waitress. The servers all seemed to be tight friends, and perhaps the type to gossip about you once you leave, though they were helpful and friendly. Our waitress, a clarinet player our age and a college student herself, was particularly conversational. At 5:30 p.m. the place was peaceful, yet packed with families and older couples eating dinner. A mix of country and pop music was a happy medium for the crowd that ranged from toddlers to the elderly and seemed to routinely eat there.

(photo by self-timer)

Not yet hungry for dinner ourselves, we ordered a vanilla milkshake and took a risk on a basket of Cheddar Cheese Puffs, not knowing quite what to expect. After being deprived of milkshakes due to the infamous “broken” blender at the Feve, we were moaning in delight as we slurped our shake. The cheese puffs, although bizarre in texture and color, were surprisingly good, despite did not particularly working well with our milkshake.
The relatively limited menu, colorful but simple, offered a variety of Midwestern treats, such as the Hill Billy Hot Dog and the Oh Girl Burger. The typical diner food also had a homestyle quality, with options of fried chicken and biscuits. All dinners, which looked very filling, were no more than $5.75, and included a salad, roll and garlic toast. 
The atmosphere was so friendly and casual that we felt comfortable relaxing and taking our time with our snack, though we only spent $4. 
We went to pay the bill assuming we could use a Visa debit card, but consistent with its old time atmosphere, Oh Boy’s did not accept plastic. We thought we might have to wash dishes, but luckily, Habit’s Liquor Store next door had an ATM machine. After paying the bill, we left with clogged arteries, relishing in our sweet glimpse of how Elyria may have once been.
To get to the Oh Boy Diner, Take 58 North to 113 East. Then take a right on Lake and get ready for the diner of your life.