So, last weekend I actually ventured out into the world sans child and husband to visit a good friend as well as visit urban America. As much as I love living in a rural area, I love visiting big cities every few months just to keep my bearings, I love the energy, the lights, the action, the shopping, the diversity of people, the diversity of opinions and lifestyle choices, the nightlife, and I love eating in new restaurants.
One of the types of restaurants I really love eating in is diners. Not creepy diners, or dirty diners, or diners where you know all of the food has a half-life of a hundred years and came straight from Sysco food service and the walls are stained a slight tinge of dark yellow and smell permanently of stale cigarette smoke. No, not those. I like good diners. You know, the ones where everything on the menu is really fresh and homemade. The ones where the owners care and the menu has some originality and love put into it and that have a steady stream of traffic nearly all the time because the food is just that good. The ones where the milkshakes are thick and awesome and you get the extra amount in that awesome silver shaker container that keeps it really cold. You know the ones.
So I got to go to one of these diners this past weekend. It was great. The ambiance was great. There were four cooks in the kitchen cooking as fast as they could to meet the demands of the evening and there were people of all types, ages, lifestyles and colors in there – not just white, urban yuppies (which, let’s face it, locations packed solely with these folks alone [self included] adds a definite turn-off factor to any place no matter how good the food is). And the food was spectacular.
I had the following: homemade chicken noodle soup, fresh salad with ranch dressing, pan fried liver & onions with brown gravy, mashed potatoes and a super fresh awesome dinner roll.
Honest to God, the meal was so good I can’t even tell you. Everything was completely fresh and homemade and perfect. I didn’t even have room for the homemade ice cream they offered for dessert. And that’s something I regret a bit looking back on it. I should have at least tasted it. Oh well, too late now.
Oh, and the best thing of all – the whole meal cost $12.00, not including tip. That’s right $12.00.
Anyway, diners embody one of the best things about America. Good American food done really well.
It’s hard to beat.
