By Merlin Lessler —<\/p>\n
This article about the Harris Diner was first published on Dec. 18, 2004. Nothing has changed since then, and last week the diner celebrated its\u2019100th anniversary by using food prices from the 1950\u2019s. I stopped in to join the crowd (and it was a crowd) and to congratulate Sam. <\/p>\n
The Big Lie -Fast Food<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cA Few weeks ago I took three of my grandchildren, Jake \u20135, Hannah- 3, and Abby \u2013 2, to MacDonald\u2019s in Westchester County for lunch. It was the day Jake and Hannah\u2019s sister, Callie, was born; my part in the process was to watch the kids while my daughter, Wendy, was at the hospital. <\/p>\n
I sat at the table trying to entertain the antsy threesome while Abby\u2019s mother, Kelly, waited in line for our \u201cfast food\u201d order. It was the longest 30 minutes of my life. I like going to MacDonald\u2019s, Burger King, Wendy\u2019s, and all the rest of the fast-food restaurants, but I think it\u2019s time that they admit the obvious, and stop referring to themselves as \u201cfast.\u201d <\/p>\n
Fast applies to the service at Harris\u2019s Diner; a small locally owned restaurant housed in a cramped Quonset-like hut next to the fire station in Owego, the village where I live. It doesn\u2019t provide customer parking, special menu items for kids, or an indoor playground, yet it beats the pants off the international fast-food chains. <\/p>\n
I\u2019m not a regular at Sam Harris\u2019s diner; I only stop by every so often for breakfast. Once in a while I wander in at six, it doesn\u2019t open until seven. The lights are down low, and Sam isn\u2019t around, but there are customers hanging out at the counter and at tables in the back, drinking coffee, shooting the breeze, and reading the paper. <\/p>\n
The coffee urns are full. The \u201cregulars\u201d made it. At 6:45 Sam comes in, trades insults with some of the rabble and goes into the back room to do some prep work. I sit at the counter with a choice seat near the grill, a cup of coffee before me, having been served by one of the gracious regulars. <\/p>\n
Sam flicks on the lights and fires up the grill. He starts things in motion by piling on a mountain of home fries and a dozen strips of bacon. He knows what the regulars want. Hazel, Sam\u2019s faithful waitress, comes in at seven on the dot, ready to wait tables and bus the dirty dishes, a tough job for a gal well past retirement age, but one she does with class and a big smile.<\/p>\n
I sit with my coffee and watch the show. I don\u2019t think there is anything more entertaining than a good grill man, and Sam is one of the best. He\u2019s cracking eggs with one hand, flipping pancakes with the other, and discussing last night\u2019s Yankee game with a customer across the room. <\/p>\n
Regulars stream in, trade insults back and forth, head for the rack of coffee pots behind the counter and help themselves, some using their own cups, stored on a shelf above the pots. <\/p>\n
Hazel glides around exchanging pleasantries and taking orders, but Sam takes mine, since I\u2019m right in front of him. The average time between giving your order and getting it is less than ten minutes. In my case, sitting at the counter, I get my two eggs over light, home fries, ham and toast in five. <\/p>\n
This is fast food! Hazel drops the check when the food is served. You never have to wait for her to get around to it, like in many restaurants. A pile of bills and change lie in a heap next to the cash register. Customers settle up themselves, making change and leaving the meal ticket as they pass the register on their way out. The \u201cregulars\u201d even go so far as to open Sam\u2019s cash register when they can\u2019t make the correct change from the pile. I give my money to Hazel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Congratulations Sam! Thanks for keeping the tradition going.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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