In my youth, in that period between the ability to drink illegally with any passion, but after we could drive, 24 hour joints were our focus. At one o’clock, it was time for some onion rings. We were poor enough that Amphora, while recognized even then as the cultural signpost it is today, had to take a backseat to your Denny's and your IHOPs. You will never find a more surly wait staff than you will in an International House of Pancakes midnight crew and with good reason. These people put up with the dregs of teenage society, the flotsam of the flotsam. I mean, a parade of piercing just waiting for an infection, makeup that would make a Madam LaRue pinball machine blush, ennui so poorly manufactured you keep tripping over the loose threads, a litany of private jokes that keep them braying like hyenas, and forget a good tip… teenagers generally suck, and the late night suburbs have the most disingenuine of the species. You can only put up a smile at that shit for so long. Anyway, Amphora's got the aforementioned pricing structure that keeps the worst of this breed away, but it still gets a mouthful. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the genesis of the attitude problem that plagues it’s servers. I understand what they’re going through, I know you can’t create a monster and then whine when he steps on a few buildings. I’m still mad I don’t get more coffee, but I understand.

Regardless, the waiter’s lament is our gain, because a midnight meal at the Amphora can be akin to camping in an airport terminal or in a casino floor: it really provides some fascinating opportunities to people watch. Don’t sit in the non-smoking section, you’ll be doing yourself a grave misfortune. And let’s not forget that this is a 24 hour establishment, a sparse resource in this area. It’s situated a mere hop from the Vienna metro, if after a night in the city one needed to run a pot of caffeine sobriety through the system before a drive to parts west. The menu is vast enough that people tend to pick out favorites and stay with them; I like the half club sandwich/soup dealie, I’ve got a friend that swears by the rice pudding, and of course the aforementioned corned beef hash. It’s Greek cuisine from the same people that run Knossos next door, so the gyros and whatnot are top notch. I think there’s a Mediterranean burger or something that’s good but an unconventional meal based on it’s structure… Unlike a greasy spoon, a vegetarian doesn’t get that sinking feeling as soon as the menu opens. But whatever you get, it isn’t going to be a great deal.