Oasis Diner - An Oasis of Flavor in the Desert of Fast Food
- davidcdouglass
- Nov 5
- 3 min read
Driving west on U.S. 40 from Indianapolis through the town of Plainfield looks like you could be anywhere in the Midwest. Strip malls and shopping centers surrounding 2 lanes in each direction. You could recite the names of the fast food joints and carbon copy chain restaurants easier than you can recite the Pledge of Allegiance. These are the places where menu variety and honest food goes to die.
You drive numbly for a few miles passing by those gastro hellholes and are just about to give up finding anything worth eating when suddenly you see it. Off to the left, through some trees, you see a bright yellow sign with a cup of coffee on top. As you get closer you can see some red lettering. What could it be? Is this some sort of food oasis? Actually, it is! It’s the aptly named Oasis Diner.
The Oasis Diner isn’t chasing Michelin stars or Instagram likes. It’s chasing the only thing that matters—feeding you until you’re full, maybe a little guilty, and definitely happier than when you walked in.
The burgers are greasy in the way burgers are supposed to be. The pie tastes like it was baked by someone who has better things to do than measure sugar with a scale. And the coffee doesn’t ask for your approval. It asks if you’re awake enough to order another slice of pie.
This original Mountain View Diner, once dispatched via railroad from New Jersey, now greets modern diners with the flair of chrome and vinyl glory.
Stepping inside is like walking into your grandma’s jukebox-drenched living room, only with better smells. Walls are festooned with records, lunchboxes, license plates, tapes—and possibly your high school mixtape (if you still have it). This isn’t “forced retro”—it’s a loving homage to every decade since the ’50s.
The best part? All-day breakfast. Because who doesn’t want waffles at 3 p.m. with a handcrafted soda that has more personality than most people you’ll meet this week? Those sodas—think chocolate-Coke or vanilla-Coke mashups—are made in-house, so you’re sipping something fresher than your singing voice at karaoke .
The culinary crown jewel: the tenderloin sandwich. It’s not just a sandwich—it’s a tenderloin so gargantuan diners suspect it’s been scientifically engineered by Hoosier geniuses. One local veteran of pork greatness raved, “It was huge! Fully three times the size of the bun” .
Tenderloin Sandwich
Craving some Insta-worthy fried pickles? Oasis has you covered. Devour Indy gave them rave reviews—“some of the best fried pickles I have ever had”—and only quibbled that they could be crispier (because even fried pickles can’t escape fine dining critiques).
Their three-course meal, priced at a nearly mythical $19.99, offers a starter (think fried pickles or loaded cheese fries), a sandwich (tenderloin or Quaker burger), and a dessert (beignets or pie). It’s like winning the states fair, but with fewer Midway barkers .
Quaker Burger w/Fries
But what makes it truly great isn’t just the taste—it’s the preservation. The original stainless steel, tile floor, tables, countertops—all lovingly restored or re-laminated. The owner rescued this relic when it was nearly lost, moving it downtown to give Plainfield a piece of Americana that also makes a crusty grilled cheese look profound.
Regulars love it because it’s a time machine that doesn’t skimp on flavor. It’s retro without pretension; hearty without heartburn. It’s where toddlers will request milkshakes and maps, and grandparents will wax poetic: “Back in my day…” Then nod approvingly at the handcrafted soda.
In short: Oasis Diner is like your favorite vintage tee—comfy, timeless, and just a little bit sassy. A place where every seat has a view of nostalgia, and every bite tastes like a hug from the past.
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