Nov 19, 2009 - 04:30 AM

By Melissa Mancini

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One in a series of articles looking at the downtown business areas of Durham Region.

With almost 40 restaurants for those with empty stomachs to choose from, the downtown is literally a smorgasbord of diners, cafes, coffee shops and grills.

The streets of the core are dotted with diverse international tastes like Mexican, Chinese, Italian and Thai.

There are familiar franchise stores to grab a combo on the go. Every meal is covered -- there are businesses that focus on each of the three meals, some offering all-day breakfasts, some that don't open until lunch and some that specialize on an intimate dinner.

Pete's Open Kitchen is busiest at lunch, when people come into see what the daily specials are: a different soup, salad and hot sandwich featured daily. Diamond Grill has full tables at breakfast and is becoming well known at lunch for its burgers and Philly steak sandwiches, owner Jay Jegatheeswavan said.

Many places are independently owned and operated. Patrons are likely to be greeted by the owner when they order at places like Viva Burritos, where proprietor Jesus Pena is the one behind the counter cooking up Mexican wraps.

Mr. Pena, an engineer until a few months ago, is now a businessman and chef. He spends every waking hour in the store, making tortillas filled with eggs, chorizo, beans and cheese in the morning and wraps featuring a variety of meat choices at lunch and dinner.

It's not easy making a name as a new restaurant, he said, but he is so happy to be behind the counter.

"I enjoy this, it's not hard work for me," he said. "I love it, I love it."

It's a sentiment echoed by many of the owner-operators on Oshawa's streets. It means great service can be expected, said owner of Regino's Pizza, Sean Ramasamy.

"I offer the best service," he said. "I am always here, I work really hard."

A friendly atmosphere can be expected every time a customer walks in, sit-down restaurant Mexico Lindo owner Julia Bergsma said.

And most places have a regular following with repeat customers coming sometimes daily.

"I have people who have been here four or five times already," said Mr. Pena after only being open a few weeks.

To see a map of what restaurants downtown has to offer and get a 360-degree tour of downtown restaurants Pete's Open Kitchen, Viva Burritos, Regino's Pizza, Diamond Grill and Mexico Lindo, visit www.newsdurhamregion.com.