diner – Page 2 – Loving Food, Fashion, & Life

A Cafe I Should Have By-Passed

Posted on October 29, 2013 by LFFL

Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Hash browns, Biscuits & Gravy, Pancake, and Cinnamon Sugar Toast.

Now this is one café I could have done without going to altogether! I tried this café on the advice of a couple of ladies (whom I did not know) who said this was an absolutely great little diner to get some good eatin’.

I had never heard of it and didn’t even know where it was located—but I found my way. Boy, did I ever!

Dead flies on the window sill are always a plus.

Not a smile to be found.

Empty-ish.

The café was pretty much empty except for the neighborhood regulars—who, surprisingly, can eat subpar food. I couldn’t even eat all mine—it was so NOT good. Only the cinnamon sugar toast made me smile a tad.

As you can see from the windowsill, there were two dead flies who seemed to have found themselves a permanent burial site as well. That’s always a plus. (I noticed this as I was eating my delectable breakfast, no less.)

Nobody that was there was happy to be there—or at least as you can tell from their faces they looked unhappy or grumpy.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, try a new little café in your part of town—even if only to give you the knowledge of how great or not it is. Maybe you can save a friend from a similar fate.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Not every little café/diner that someone else thinks is over-the-top fantastic is going to be that way to you.

I Found A New Little Diner!

Posted on August 24, 2013 by LFFL

Biscuit & Gravy, Pancake with maple syrup and butter, Breakfast Sandwich made with scrambled eggs, ham, and melted cheese served on a croissant with a side of potatoes and fruit.

Oh, my word!!! I’m in LOVE with this new diner I discovered a few minutes north of me. A friend of mine turned me on to it a while back, but I just decided to drive out there and try it out for the first time this morning.

Let me tell you—there was a CROWD of peeps out there! They open at 7:00am but I got there at 9:00am and the place was entirely full with people sitting outside the diner waiting for their names to be called from the list.

I was about 7 names down, but was told it’d only be about a 10-minute wait. So no worries from me. We didn’t mind waiting.

The huge portions they give you are utterly amazing. I loved every minute of it. I wish they were closer to me, but it was SO worth the trip.

They close at 2:00pm every day though—which is super early. Probably a good thing for me or I’d be alternating between both the other diner I frequent and this one every day after work.

This is the Cinnamon Roll topped with icing that I took home to-go and warmed in the microwave. This was SO deliciously good. Big ups to the kitchen for making these bad boys! Ahh! It totally hit the spot. They’re not as big as the ones from my other diner, but they rock nonetheless.

Oh, how I just love little out-of-the-way diners! So homey.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, search out a new diner in your town that you’ve never tried out before and make yourself right at home.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Always try a small hometown diner first over a big chain restaurant. You’ll more than likely get bigger portions of food along with some fabulous home cookin’ in a homey-type atmosphere.

Well, I Lost My Appetite This Morning

Posted on August 11, 2013 by LFFL

Well, my day’s off to a fine start……….look at that delicious, delectable Belgium waffle I got at my hometown diner! I mean, I couldn’t ask for anything more—melted whipped butter and hot maple syrup all on a golden brown Belgium Waffle. Mmmmmmmm.

Well, NOT SO FAST! Apparently, AFTER I had already taken this waffle home (since I got it to-go), microwaved it, and eaten half of it—Herman, the waffle bug, made an appearance in my face and had apparently been cooked into it on the backside at the diner before it was even given to me!!

At this rate, I’m going to lose even more weight—which I can’t afford to do.

Yeah, now that I think about it, I do distinctly remember asking for a ‘side of BUG’ with my waffle. HOW DOES THIS EVEN HAPPEN!!!!!! Gross! Yeah, just click on that picture there so you can get a much better shot of it IN YOUR FACE like I did—legs and all!!!

Thank GOODNESS, as I cut the next bite, I had turned the fork over because that sucker was headed right for my mouth. I initially thought it was a crispy burnt piece and was going to eat it anyway.

But something told me to do some further investigating. So I took my fork out of the waffle and proceeded to move the ‘black spot’ with my fork. Oh, my—EWWWWWW!!!

Upon further inspection, there were obvious legs protruding from a rock hard body that had been cooked to death. This was clearly a homicide. Now my waffle has become a murder scene.

WHY CAN’T I HAVE A SIMPLE MORNING EATING A WAFFLE IN PEACE?!!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, inspect every black spot you see in your food before eating it. Never assume it’s just pepper, a black bean, or a crispy burnt piece of the food. Better to assume it’s a crispy, burnt bug and save yourself!

Take-Away Life Lesson: Never assume there’s NOT a herd of dead bugs on the backside of your waffle just because the front of it is bugless.

Triple Salad

Posted on July 11, 2013 by LFFL

Fried Chicken Salad with lettuce topped with strips of fried chicken, tomatoes, cheese, green onion, and homemade croutons with Ranch dressing.

I was on a salad kick the last 3 days at the diner. And even though I got them all to-go each day, these were rare moments that I did NOT set the car up like a dining table for the drive home.

I figured it’d be a big mess if I dared try eating a salad while driving. Plus you can’t really smell a salad wafting through a car like you would, say, a hamburger. So the temptation wasn’t as great.

Cobb Salad with lettuce topped with grilled chicken, bleu cheese, tomato, bacon, red onion, cheddar cheese, and hard-boiled eggs with Ranch dressing.

And every time I called my order in ahead of time, they would ask if I wanted the ‘lunch’ or ‘dinner’ portion. Why is this even a question??? HELLO, it’s ME! You knew who I was when I said my name.

Isn’t dinner bigger? DINNER, PLEASE!! Let’s wake up over there, people!!! In what world do I want the smaller size?

Chef Salad with lettuce topped with turkey, egg, cheese, green onion, tomatoes, and homemade croutons with Ranch dressing.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, try out different salad varieties at your favorite restaurant—and make sure it’s the dinner-sized portion.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Dinner sizes are bigger than lunch sizes—enough said. Now back to meat and potatoes.

Grilled Cheese Drivin'

Posted on July 1, 2013 by LFFL

5-Way Grilled Cheese Sandwich with American, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Parmesan cheeses on thick-cut egg bread.

Ohhh the CHEEEEESE!! Who doesn’t love a grilled cheese sandwich?! Say what, say whaaat!

I always seem to have every intention of getting to-go/take-away food for eating at home—but my food never seems to make it there. Apparently, I will always set up my car as a dining area before I set off driving.

So I made my 5,327th pit stop to my hometown diner. What else is new? But because I couldn’t wait to get home to eat my 5-way grilled cheese sandwich like a normal human being, I opted to eat like an animal instead.

Hence, crumbs were everywhere—the entire car seat, floor mat, my shirt, and my jeans had thousands of crispy bread crumbs all over the place. But I didn’t care. Being in the moment is all that matters when you’re clearly a food addict enjoying yourself.

To sink your teeth into 5 different cheeses at once—ooooooooo and double ooooooooo!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, slap 5 different cheeses onto some bread and make your own grilled cheese sandwich in a skillet, on a grill, or in a panini maker and experience the joy that I did.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Keep a mini-vac in the car for clean-up for the times you’re clearly not in control of yourself around to-go food that was technically meant to be eaten at home as a more classy and sophisticated individual.

Out Of Turkey They Say

Posted on June 25, 2013 by LFFL

Turkey Melt sandwich with sliced turkey, Swiss cheese, bacon, and sourdough bread.

Around 4:00pm yesterday, I phone-in a to-go/take-away order from my local hometown diner—“a turkey melt sandwich,” I say. Well, no such luck. They’ve been outta turkey all day! I guess the lunch rush earlier sucked for them since they couldn’t make most of their sandwiches or salads because their turkey was missing.

Well, the no-turkey-thing threw me for a loop. I didn’t have a backup plan and was freaking out—umm, umm, umm. I mean, how hard is it to just order something else? After about 10 ‘umms,’ I hurriedly tell them to just get me a tuna croissant instead. Yeah, they had tuna. Phew.

The guy taking my order asks if I want my ‘usual Monday bread pudding.’ (Man, they know me all too well.) But I clearly tell him ‘NO, not this time—just the sandwich.’ (I’ve no clue why I said NO, but I did.)

When I get to the diner right after 4:00—LOW AND BEHOLD—they get lashings of turkey coming through the back door. Yay! The guy that took my order rushes to the front line to halt the tuna order and they make my turkey melt instead.

I pay, he packs my to-go sack—and WHY does he give me a FREE BREAD PUDDING anyway?!! ROCK ON, DUDE! It was already made and sitting there when I walked in the door, but I thought it was for someone else. They just LOOOVVVE me there!! I go there way too much. Such are the perks of being a ‘regular’ customer—(and I’m really nice to them, too).

When I get to the car, I set everything up dining-table-style before pulling off. I open the box with my turkey melt inside and I’m sooooo disappointed. I hate when it doesn’t look like anything special. I mean, just LOOK AT IT! It wasn’t pimped out even a little like I thought it’d be.

I really could have made that puny sandwich much cheaper at home myself within 30 seconds. BUT—the free bread pudding made up for it. Clearly, I should have stuck with my 2nd option of the tuna croissant—which I happened to order today! See how much better it looks?

Tuna Croissant—tuna salad on a croissant.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, find a favorite diner you love, order up some good food, show your face on a regular, and get to know the workers. Call the servers by name, tell them yours, and tip well. They’re usually more than happy to bend over backwards for you. Always ‘get in good’ with them. You never know what kind of perks will come out of it.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Apparently, some sandwiches you should just make at home yourself.

Is It Strawberry Pie Season?!

Posted on June 17, 2013 by LFFL

Strawberry Pie with whipped cream lovin’.

So, what else is new? My car made its usual ‘pit-stop’ to the local diner where all my favorite eatins are—and look what I discovered! We’re in the midst of Strawberry Pie season at the diner.

I’ve never had the strawberry pie at my local diner before so I decided to try one on the advice of a friend. And weeeeellllll, doggie!! is all I can say. That pie and those strawberries were luschiously good!

Bread Pudding with caramel-flavored whipped cream, caramel, and cinnamon & sugar toppings.

As you can tell, it’s also Bread Pudding Monday. What else is new in that department? You know how I do this. I go in with the intent on getting one……..and I end up getting two. I couldn’t help myself. One for now, one for later is the plan—but the later never happens. So it’s, basically, two for now. Who are we kidding?

Warm it in the microwave, toss the caramel-flavored whipped cream on top of the bread pudding, drizzle the caramel on top of the whipped cream, and get-down with sprinkling that cinnamon-sugar goodness all over everything!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, find yourself a freshly made strawberry pie and enjoy it like nothing else.

Take-Away Life Lesson: There’s nothing wrong with having a strawberry pie/bread pudding combo day. You gotta do what you gotta do.