Keep On Truckin'

One of the joys of authentic food is that you can find it just about anywhere. Whether you're in the midst of a city and you find an old diner car wedged into the other buildings, or you're on a roadtrip and come across a drive-in on a dusty road, you're likely to find a place that does simple yet tasty food.

And while the pushcarts of New York City may get an upturn of the nose, they're a hot commodity. Of course, there are also trucks - which reminds me of a visit C.C. and I made long ago to the Hot Dog Trolley in Framingham, MA (still needs a writeup, C.C.!). Some trucks can really serve up the goods.

MSNBC took a look at some gourmet NYC food trucks. Well, I suppose "gourmet" is a relative term when juxtaposed to the push carts. ;-) My favorites: CupcakeStop, Wafels & Dinges, and the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck.

For those of you who have an entrepreneurial streak, you might want to check out a couple of examples on how to start your own food truck - one from New York Magazine, the other from the Wall Street Journal. I'm not sure which one is the decided expert on the subject.

Been to any good food trucks? Drop a comment and let us know.

Inspiration for this post: Newmark's Door

Photo credit: striatic (Flickr)

A Sandwich is Just a Sandwich...

Nothing too terribly philosophical or earth-shattering here; just a few key links on everyone's favorite lunch item: the sandwich.

From the L.A. Times: L.A.'s global sandwich offerings. Got a favorite not included here? Let us know.

The Chicago Tribune tells us that Your sandwich choices may reveal personality, compatibility

And find out where you can get the 'Greatest Sandwich in America.' Got a contender? Drop a comment.

Be Careful Out There

The thing about comfort food is, it makes you feel good when you eat it. Whether it's a warm bowl of macaroni & cheese (I'm not talking about the boxed variety here, folks) or a the meatloaf on the blue plate special, or a great burger - there's a certain feeling about sitting down and digging in. Aside from the authentic taste and even the feel of the food as you eat it, there are even emotions and memories that are dredged up from childhood experiences or home-cooked meals from long ago.

And while we're aware of the potential dangers of indulging from too much fast food (personally I believe that the issues in "Super Size Me" lay at the feet of the consumers, not the company), it can be easy to forget our health when we're enjoying some unique and down-home cooking. Especially since diners and independent restaurants aren't required to list nutritional information of their menu items.

So, today's post is a bit of a public service announcement to remind you that anything you consume should be done in moderation. Especially if you happen to visit the establishments listed in this article about the Seven Fattiest Sandwiches in the U.S. I'm horrified to discover that I've had the pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Deli (a place that will have a future review here on the site).

Enjoy your meal. Just don't enjoy too much of it. :-)

Flickr image courtesy of: bunchofpants

Lloyd's Diner

Earlier this year, C.C. Chapman and I had breakfast at the well-hidden Lloyd's diner in Framingham, MA. Thought I'd provide an update based on my memories of the outing.

If I recall, it was late winter/early spring, on a raw morning when the rain was pelting down in the gravel parking lot. I waited in the car for a while before C.C. arrived, and I saw a variety of people entering: police officers, businessmen, bus drivers - clearly all locals. This place evidently was a hidden gem. One of the reasons I knew about it was from the Roadside Architecture site.

The booths were tight, as you'd expect from a vintage Worcester Lunch Car (this was #783, made in 1942), and the draft from the busy door being opened & closed as cold. But the coffee was hot and the butter on the toast was thickly spread, so all was good.

More than the food though, what I remember was having a great conversation with a good friend - in this case, C.C. We talked about work and family life and all of the kinds of things you'd expect two busy guys to discuss. But what stands out for me is how hard the place was to find and how worthwhile it was once I got there.

In this case, I was determined to (1) try a new place that I heard great things about; and (2) make sure I spent some time with a valued friend, whom I hadn't seen since our last diner outing some 3 months previous. While we may be connected digitally, it's the face-to-face that counts. And when it's difficult to make happen, it's this kind of commitment that differentiates an acquaintance from a friend.

I suppose this is a metaphor for life. Very seldom are the worthwhile things easy to achieve. Sure there's dumb luck sometimes, but if you don't prepare yourself to be ready, or if you don't keep persevering, you may find that your most fervent desires don't just show up on your doorstep.

So this year, make some time to do what's right, even though it may not be easy. You'll find yourself handsomely rewarded, even if it's just with a sense of satisfaction.


Photo credit: andyi

Gracie's Diner - Portsmouth, NH

Although I've blogged for over two years now, this is my virgin post on the "Nothing Could be Finer..." blog. Thanks to Mssrs. Scott Monty and CC Chapman for allowing me to jump in. As a big fan of diners, dives and greasy spoons, I'm hoping to add some value while learning a thing a two from the experts (Scott and CC).

For my first review, I'm tackling a new joint recommended to me by social media measurement guru, Katie Paine. The place of which I speak is Gracie's Diner, a new place in downtown Portsmouth, NH. I live just north of Boston so Portsmouth isn't "just down the street" but I happened to be heading up to Maine for the weekend with my family so I took the opportunity to give Gracie's a try.

I love Portsmouth (one of my favorite diners ever, Friendly Toast, is there) so I thought that it wouldn't hurt to have a back up plan for those days when the line at Friendly Toast exceeded an hour an a half -- a regular occurrence on weekends at FT. The good news is that I now have a backup plan. The bad news is that Friendly Toast is still my favorite place to eat in Portsmouth.

Here's the skinny based on my family's dining experience at Gracie's. I'm willing to give it a shot to make sure I'm providing a well-balanced portrait:

• The waitstaff was good, efficient but a little harried while we were there. We ate at Gracie's on Friday morning before Labor Day and my guess is that either a) someone didn't show up for their shift or b) they weren't expecting as many people pre-Labor Day.
• Nice atmosphere with tons of cool photos of 70's rockers like James Taylor, Tom Waits and David Bowie adorning the walls. The diner sits under the eve of the roof and has subsequently been closed in so it has somewhat of a "cottage" type feel to it.
  
• Food was tasty. Probably a 3.5 on a scale of 1-5. We got:
  
  - a cheese and mushroom omelet (me) - good portion and cooked so that it wasn't dry. the toast it came with was white (waitress didn't ask me for bread choice) and home fries were not browned but still tasted good. They were made from red bliss potatoes so they were not your traditional run of the mill. I liked my choice.
  
  - pancakes were obviously home made and were light. The portion was good (more than my wife could eat) and the syrup came in a pitcher which was also appreciated. One minor knock is that the butter came in packages on the side (we had to ask for butter).
  
  - my daughter had two fried eggs over easy w/ bacon, white toast and home fries. All were very good but the bacon was not very crispy (English style). Not a huge deal.
  
  - my son has a fruit dish which was semi-fresh fruit in plain yogurt (apparently we didn't see the "yogurt" part so that kind of spoiled it for my son. The fruit was good but not great.
  
  NOTE: one of my biggest tests of a diner/dive is the coffee (particularly how good the wait staff is about refills). In this case, the coffee was very good but I never got offered a refill. I may have to chalk this up to point no. 1 which was the fact that I think Gracie's was a little understaffed.

All in all, we had a good experience. One other minor knock (and it really is minor) is that at the end of the meal, you have to go up to the counter to pay vs. the waitress dropping the check at your table. I'm not sure why this bugged me but it just seems like it's table stakes for any good greasy spoon.

So a big "thank you" to Katie Paine for turning me onto a good new breakfast place. Like I said, I'll definitely be back!

If you want to visit:
165 Deer Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801


*Photo courtesy SHIR HABERMAN PHOTO - taken from http://seacoastonline.com

Merrimack Diner Closes Its Doors

This is a bummer. The diner where presidential candidates always stopped in Manchester, NH has closed. Famous for its gritty down-to-earth setting where White House hopefuls could chat one-on-one with the locals, the diner is no longer serving up eggs and bacon with a side of politics.

It's a shame, because I had a chance to eat there in March, but didn't head in.

The Night of the Living Diner

I'd say that pretty much anyone who is familiar with popular culture as seen the Edward Hopper painting Nighthawks. You may not know it by name, but the glassed-in corner diner seems to be universally recognized the classic nighttime diner scene.

While its location is never indicated in the painting, I'm always reminded of Chicago (even though Hopper was inspired by a long since demolished diner in Greenwich Village in New York). I find myself reminded of movies that contain similar diner-inspired scenes - movies that were set in Chicago - and they always bring me back to Hopper's painting, which is elegant in its straight lines and starkly contrasting light & dark colors. Movies like The Sting or Dick Tracy.

It's funny - Hopper's work speaks of the loneliness and solitude that city life brings to the millions of denizens that happen to live and work near each other. Late at night, across the counter from each other, even though they're sharing a meal, these people are alone. And to me, this is the absolute antithesis of my own diner experiences. I love to go with people, to share a meal, to swap stories, and to just live. Even if I happen to be alone on a stool at the counter, it's fun chatting with the cook or the waitress, to get a sense as to what makes them tick and what they see on an average day.

A friend recently sent me a Chicago Tribune article called Diners with a side of noir, in which the author seeks to recreate the perfect Hopperesque scene late at night in Chicago diners. There's a video that accompanies the article, so it's worth the click. It also mentions a Hopper retrospective that's going on at the Art Institute of Chicago, where Nighthawks permanently resides.

If you can't get there, maybe you can just enjoy the blue plate special at your favorite diner and this little visual homage: