It was one of those days that would send most restaurant owners over the edge. A malfunctioning coffee machine had customers thinking they were drinking espresso. The pie cases and ice cream cooler became dangerously lukewarm after the refrigeration unit broke down. And an occasional horsefly buzzed through a broken screen door that the landlord had yet to fix.

But Marie Nealson wasn’t ruffled as she approached the table to ask, “What’cha drinkin’ kid?” These were simply the kinds of minor growing pains that come with opening a new eatery.

Marie’s Café is a starkly plain diner that sprung up recently in the heart of North Park. On this first visit, my dining companion and I felt as though we had rolled in with the tumbleweed at some Texas roadside truck stop. We eyed the joint’s Naugahyde booths. Behind an elongated, old-fashioned lunch-counter, Nealson was scrubbing down the griddle in her hairnet. We were pretty sure we wouldn’t be dropping a whole lot of cash here.

And we were right. What we didn’t expect, however, was that we’d be chowing down on some above-average food that doesn’t carry the signature grease layer you might expect from a diner of this humble caliber. In fact, it wasn’t long afterwards that I came back for more.

The charcoal grill at the front window cued my appetite for a burger, which was made with prime beef and topped with fresh fixings. Even more outstanding were the crispy onion rings that soaked twice in beer before being lowered into a deep fryer. It’s the first time that I’ve ever actually detected the flavor of beer in a batter recipe — the same one used in the restaurant’s triple portion of Fish and Chips.

Our introductory visit happened to fall on “Rib Tuesday,” which appealed to my companion. For only $6.95, he received a massive plate of meat that looked like something straight out of the Flintstones. The ribs were slathered generously in a smashing barbecue sauce that Nealson admitted is “sometimes homemade.” Whether or not we got the bottled stuff didn’t matter because it turned out to be a very good bargain for the price.

While the café’s barren interior cries for color and décor, the folksy service given by Nealson and her college-student son fills the void — as does the quality of most fare. All beef cuts are choice grade, the turkey meat is fresh and hot dogs are Hebrew brand. Oh, and the tuna is albacore.

The corned beef used for making Ruebens is lean and good as well, although the bright-white cheese on the sandwich had a funky dense consistency that didn’t resemble Swiss in the least.

As with all lunch and dinner selections here, you get a beverage plus fries or salad. And the latter isn’t one of those measly cafeteria-size salads served on a coffee-cup saucer.

Nealson makes her soups from scratch, which became apparent to us when we sampled the Cream of Mushroom — a tasty version that was so rich, we couldn’t finish it.

Standard breakfast items are also available and run mostly below $7, with the exception of a Boneless Breast of Chicken with Three Eggs for only a buck more. With bargains like these, it’s no wonder the lines have grown increasingly longer during peak meal hours. The café was also recently named “best place in North Park for breakfast and lunch” by KUSI-TV.

Nealson’s mechanical plague had ended by the time we returned a week later. So with the coolers up and running, we couldn’t pass up a chocolate-malt shake and a traditional banana split — both of which were superb. The homemade cherry pies and 50-cent ice cream cones would have to wait for visit “number three.”