Call it a coffee shop, greasy spoon, or lunch counter, but if the eats are cheap and no-frills, as well as hot and hearty, then chances are good you’re being served a burger, hash-browns and eggs or a fresh-from-the-dessert-case piece of pie in an all-American eatery known as a diner.
There is one a couple of miles from our home, and we eat there every week on beef-pot-roast day. The beef is velvety tender, the carrots, potatoes and onions are cooked to perfection and the brown gravy is to die for. The iced tea and a serving of cake come with the meal. We sometimes have a burger and onion rings, and they’re great, too.
Today’s diners are usually chrome-trimmed, railroad-car-shaped structures outfitted with a counter, stools and a bustling open kitchen. They trace their beginnings to the late 1800s when there was a large increase of factory workers. The diner met the demand for quick, affordable meals – and lots of them. Around l858, a smart gentleman in Providence, RI began serving sandwiches and coffee to night workers from a horse-drawn food cart. By the early 20th century, manufacturers were building moveable structures big enough to accommodate both tables and customers and the diner was born. By the early 1940s, most diners and the cheap comfort food they offered became fixtures in American life. The 1950s were the golden age of diners when nearly 6,000 diners opened across the country.
Remember Arnold’s in Happy Days, where Richie, Potsie and the Fonz congregated? And Mel’s Diner where Mel, Alice, Vera and Flo served up laughs from a fictional truck stop in Phoenix in TV’s Alice?
For over 60 years, white-apron-wearing waiters and waitresses have served blue-plate specials, saying, “Thank you for coming.” I say, “Thank you for existing. This is what America is all about.”
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