Design mockup. Blue Mule Diner is an invented business, and the address, telephone number and prices below are placeholders.

Blue Mule Diner (816) 555-0187

Lathrop, Missouri. Open seven days, breakfast cooked all day.

Six plates, the way they come out of the back.

Photographed on our own tables, at the size they arrive, with what they cost. The pork is pounded and breaded here, the potatoes are cut in the morning, and the pies are made one at a time.

123 Main St, Lathrop MO · Two minutes off the I-35 exit

A hand-breaded pork tenderloin sandwich on a white oval plate, the golden cutlet hanging well past the bun on every side, pickle chips and raw onion beside it.

01Hand-breaded tenderloin$12.75

Pounded thin, breaded to order, and a good two inches wider than the bun. It is the plate most people drive out here for, and it does not travel well in a box, so eat it here if you can.

With chips and a pickle. Add fries or rings.

Overhead view of two eggs over easy with hash browns, sausage patties and a split biscuit under sausage gravy on a heavy white plate.

02Two eggs, meat, potatoes and toast$10.50

Eggs any way you say, hash browns off the flat top. The grill is on at six and it is still on at four in the afternoon, so this is not a morning-only order.

Bacon, sausage or ham. Biscuits instead of toast, no charge.

Two split biscuits under thick peppered sausage gravy on a white plate, a fork resting on the rim.

03Biscuits and gravy$7.25

Gravy made in the pan the sausage came out of, black pepper heavy, poured over biscuits split hot. The full order defeats most people before noon.

Half order available.

The daily plate lunch: sliced roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and a dinner roll on a heavy white plate.

04Daily plate lunch$11.95

Roast beef on Monday, chicken and noodles on Wednesday, catfish on Friday night. Call in the morning and we will tell you what today is before you make the drive.

One meat, two sides and a roll. Changes every day.

A double cheeseburger on a griddle-toasted bun, melted cheese over the edges of the patties, on a paper-lined plate.

05Cheeseburger, single or double$9.50 / $12

Fresh patties pressed on the flat top so the edges go crisp, cheese on while it is still moving. The double is two of the same, not one thick one.

Comes with everything unless you tell us.

A slice of meringue pie on a small plate with a fork, whole pies visible in the lit glass case behind.

06Pie by the slice$4.25

Coconut cream, chocolate, and whatever fruit is around that week. Made in the morning and sold until it is gone, which on a good day is early afternoon. The case at the register is the only accurate list.

Whole pies on a day's notice.

A tall stack of thick hand-battered onion rings in a red plastic basket lined with paper, steam still coming off them.

SidesOnion rings, fries, chipsOn the printed menu

The rings are cut thick and battered by hand, and they come out stacked. Order them for the table, because one basket does not survive one person.

Same corner, same booths, same six o'clock.

The diner counter at breakfast, chrome-edged stools taken, coffee mugs and plates down the line, order tickets clipped on a rail at the kitchen pass-through.
The cook at the flat top in the middle of the breakfast rush, spatula in hand, tickets hanging on the rail above.

The farm crowd comes in first and the school crowd comes in second, and by seven the middle booth has been claimed by the same four men who claim it every day. Sit there and they will make room, and then they will ask where you are from.

This is a town of a couple of thousand people, so most tickets are known before they are ordered. If you have never been in, come hungry, take a menu, and we will get you fed and back on 33 in good time.

Dale Whitmore, cooking since the doors opened

Coming in

Hours

  • Monday to Thursday6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Friday and Saturday6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Sunday7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Breakfast is cooked all day, every day we are open.

Where

123 Main St
Lathrop, MO 64465

A couple of minutes off I‑35 at the Lathrop exit. Parking in front and along the side, with room for a work truck.

Call

(816) 555-0187

hello@example.com

Carry-out, whole pies, and the back room for a birthday or a club meeting. Call ahead for a group of eight or more.

Carry-out is the same price as the dining room and is usually ready in about fifteen minutes at lunch. Kids' plates and senior portions are on the printed menu. Cash and cards are both fine, and the coffee is bottomless.