Among the South Florida things that were not here before Hurricane Andrew and suddenly were afterward is the 11th Street Diner, South Beach meeting place since Sept. 11, 1992, 18 days after the storm. The Diner rode behind a truck from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where it had sat as an original Art Deco diner since 1948, 44 years serving the good folks up in Amish country, until it became a snowbird. The structure lay in wait at 11th Street and Washington Avenue for a few days, weathered the storm, and when electricity was restored to South Beach, flung open its stainless-steel doors and became an instant hit. The lure is simple: The Diner cashes in on Art Deco retro fever, it's open 24-7, it cooks up a please-everyone mix of the traditional meatloaf and mash and the so-today turkey burger and vegetable stir-fry, and it serves as the pickup place of last resort for those denied companionship when the clubs close at 5. Check in here on a Sunday morning at, say, 6, and you'll pass through an odd revolving door, the club denizens putting on sunglasses to face the day or head over to the after-hours, and the early birds taking them off to sit down for waffles. To eat at the Diner is to study South Beach, and all its warts, wrinkles and after-market cleavage. It is a place founded on atmosphere, but with pretty good food. The Diner is at its best in serving small bites and breakfast - the egg-white omelets draw bodybuilders from all 37 of the South Beach gyms, and the snack-type foods you might choose at dinnertime are uniformly excellent. We tried three appetizers, in fact. First came a plate of jalapeño poppers ($4.50), essentially peppers smeared with cheese, breaded and fried. These you "pop" into your mouth and await the flavor sensation and accompanying pepper spray. With this array of five poppers, there was hardly any heat, but the melty cheese and warm, ultra-fresh breading, dunked into a fresh marinara made for a good snack. Also worthy are Carlito's quesadillas ($6.95 with chicken). This is the typical Meximerican dish of two tortillas stuffed with chicken and Jack cheese and smashed down and pan-fried, served with chunky tomato salsa, guacamole and sour cream, but it's an excellent version. Again, served hot and fresh. As a diner can do only in South Beach, the 11th Street Diner features 14 salads. From this list we chose the hummus platter ($6.25), a grand and round dish covered with chopped cucumber and tomato, lettuce, wedges of pita and a ball of tasty hummus, the ground chickpea-and-tahini deep, in the center. You eat this however you like, and it is good. Each day at the diner brings a special entree - Mom's pot roast on Sunday, fried shrimp platter on Friday, pork chops on Wednesday, etc. We visited on a Monday and were treated to the half-roasted chicken ($8.25), a good one, the bird thick and juicy in a teriyaki marinade. It was served with homey mashed potatoes and the day's vegetable, sliced carrots. Mom says eat your carrots, by the way. The turkey burger ($5.95) is always a favorite here among those eating well, though it's also mighty good with a fat handful of blue cheese on top, we might add. It's white meat turkey on a toasted bun, simple and good, and you can add fries or mash or slaw for $1.50. Another Monday special was salmon teriyaki ($12.95), a nice, fat plank of fish grilled and then painted with a soy, ginger and garlic sauce, served with rice and carrots. Our fish was a bit dry, but it sprung to life when the waitress brought a little bowl of teriyaki to spoon on top. You can get the vegetable stir-fry with tofu ($8.95) or chicken ($9.95). We chose the latter and were presented a plate of onions, broccoli, zucchini, green peppers and white meat chicken, tossed in a light ginger and garlic sauce and surrounding a round blob of white rice. Nothing inspirational, but pretty well done. For dessert up in Wilkes-Barre, they might dig into Shoo-Fly Pie, a confection so sweet that you spend as much time shooing flies away from it as you do eating it. Here, we had the Key lime pie, and the Diner's ($3.95) is good enough.