Paper Moon lures with its 24-7 service

Paper Moon

227 W. 29th St.

Phone: 410-889-4444

Price: $10-$20

Location: Across from the Sig Ep house

Hours: Always Open

If you're looking for food anytime, day or night, with a quirky disturbing atmosphere and reasonable prices, you don't have to look any further than the Paper Moon Diner, located on 28th Street just south of the Sig Ep house.

Paper Moon is hard to miss with its trendy-looking sign towering above the establishment. When entering one might notice a large collection of mutilated dolls. Yes, it's pretty weird, but it just adds to the idiosyncratic ambiance. The clientele ranges from yuppie Guilford residents to Charles Village gothic enthusiasts. The lines tend to be longer from midnight till 3 a.m., being that it is the only restaurant open at that time.

Featuring an all-American menu of burgers, TV dinners and breakfast food, as well as a limited number of vegetarian options and some tasty desserts, Paper Moon is noted for its 24 hours a day, 7 days a week service. But we didn't say it was good.

Entrees begin at around $6; for a full meal one can expect to pay around $10 to $15. In fact, the restaurant requires a minimum order, so you can't just join friends and order water or a soft drink. One of the highlights of the fare is the breakfast food -- decent pancakes, eggs and breakfast sandwiches make for a good study break for all the late night types out there. But for the outrageous price, you could cook your own pancakes and save the money.

For a unique appetizer, try the sweet potato fries. Don't expect your regular McDonald's French fries. These look similar to mozzarella sticks and have a crispy exterior but the interior is sweet and gooey.

The burgers and sandwiches also deserve notice for their reasonable prices and good taste. Various salad wraps, vegetarian options such as granola and veggie sandwiches, as well as some delicious desserts round out the menu. The desserts appear mouth-watering and tempting, but they actually fall flat. Anyone would do better to visit Ruby Tuesday's for an ice cream sundae.

While the food is far from amazing, it is the atmosphere of Paper Moon that makes it stand out -- upon entering, one feels like they have been transported back to "80s! Mannequins reside in the bathrooms and at various locations along the walls, GI Joes and Barbie dolls hang from the ceiling, Transformers, toy cars and the like can be found sprinkled throughout the dZcor. In addition, the waiters and waitresses are some of the quirkiest people to be found in Baltimore -- definitely start a conversation or two while there, you'll get a laugh!

Moreover, the diner maintains a very hippy, almost socialist attitude in how it serves customers. The meals have names reminiscent of the hippie era, using words like "weed." Waiters are not assigned to a single table. Instead, there is collective service, wherein every waiter serves any table. While this may sound like an interesting idea, it actually decreases the quality of service. Sometimes more than 20 minutes can pass before a waiter visits your table, and oftentimes the waiters become confused as to what table wants what meal. So you could easily end up with another customer's order.

But above all, everyone who visits the bathroom at Paper Moon leaves in bemused shock. In the bathroom, a large, naked mannequin stares at people engaged in their business, taking away any sense of privacy.

Overall, the Paper Moon Diner has a good atmosphere, reasonable prices and convenient hours (all the time, all year long!). If you're looking for a late night bite to eat or a fun breakfast, you don't have to look any further than Paper Moon.