With a fabulous 3D neon sign and a bank of stools, how could I stay away from this charming lunch counter?
Just around the corner from the Sip and Dip / O’Hare’s Motor Inn, I met Beth Lennon of Retro Roadmap and Cliff Hillis here for a chicken fried steak, to recover from the previous night’s fishbowl (more on that later) and to stoke up for what would prove to be a long day of thrifting.
Brian’s Top Notch Cafe
718 Central Ave, Great Falls, MT 59401
This was just a quick day trip to Missoula, combing through the thrift and antique shops for my business, Vintage Haberdashers. I hope you enjoy the pictures!
In this day and age of 20 page Greek mega-diner menus, a traditional hot dog restaurant like the Famous is refreshing. Yes, they’ll do you a hamburger, and they’ll cook you up a breakfast. But when a place advertises hot dogs on the sign out front, why would you order anything else?
And these don’t disappoint. Before dogs are cut down the middle about 3/4 through, and then cut about every inch. They’re opened up and grilled flat on the griddle. The bun is lightly toasted. A layer of mustard, of chili sauce, and a mound of chopped raw onions finish it off.
For such a simple dish, every hot dog place seems to put its own twist on the old standby. The Famous Restaurant’s chili sauce is a bit darker and sweeter than other Texas Hot Wiener places in the area.
The restaurant is a time warp. While it’s not my preferred decade, it’s always nice to see places so well preserved. Orange vinyl and wood grain formica set the tone. The grill is in the front window, as is typical with these storefront Texas Hot places, and the counter dominates the seating, as it should.
The Famous Restaurant is located at:
652 W Market St
York, PA 17401
(717) 848-2300
Another entry in the Weiner/Wiener spelling debate.
The York, PA, Famous Restaurant spells it Wiener
The Texas Hot Weiner lunch in Hanover spells it Weiner
The Famous Lunch in Hanover spells it Wiener on their wall signage, and Weiner on their neon.
Curtis’ in Cumberland, MD spells it Weiner
Ernie’s in Gettysburg spells it Weiner
I was sent these pictures by my old man, who visited on Friday.
The Frazer diner is a 1935 O’Mahony, originally located in and named the Paoli diner. (Paoli is also the home of the Philadelphia curling club, where I’ve spent a lot of time). It was moved in 1957 to its current location, just down the road, in Frazer. It was renovated/restored in 2002.
A photo of it before the work was done, showing the old awnings, can be found at:
http://www.agilitynut.com/p/frazer.jpg
A photo of the old neon sign can be found at: The American Roadside
The Charcoal Pit- original location – North Wilmington
The Charcoal Pit Tradition dates back to September 1956 when it first opened its doors. The “Pit” – referred to by loyal customers, became such an instant success that only after three months from the grand opening, it was decided to build more room for its long line of hungry customers. The “Pit” went from a small four table and a counter burger joint to a 115 customer-seating establishment.
BUD the SPUD – established 1977
We Welcome All Tourists
Specializing in Homemade french fries
Old Fashioned Chip Wagon
Church- downtown Halifax
Doorway, Halifax. Reminds me of the style of Lane Smith
Moffatt’s – established 1924 – Dartmouth
Big Teeth – Dartmouth
Quick Lunch – Dartmouth
Old ford- Dartmouth
I ate lunch here today. The interior of the diner features a horseshoe shaped counter, with a grill in back, and padded bongo stools. Every inch of the walls are covered in commemorative and souvenir plates.
I had the cheeseburger, which came topped with grilled onions, relish and mustard, and an order of french fries. The burger had that wonderful lunch counter taste, juicy on the inside, a little crispy on the outside.
South End Diner – Eat in – Take Out
Here it is, showing how close it is to the Olympic Confectionary. Both are across the street from the rail station and the bus terminal.
The Olympic
The South End Diner is located at:
1128 Barrington Street
Halifax, NS B3H 2R2
March 1, 2010
According to the Butte city webpage, the M+M has been open since 1890. It is half lunch counter and half bar, the bar being the counter on your left as you walk in, the lunch counter being the one on your right. In the back is gaming.
Food at the cafe is excellent, and as it is cooked behind the counter, you get a show as you wait. The stools are a type I have never seen before, with a vertical “twist” ripple to their top. The cafe logo is embossed in their seat covers.
We were in Butte, working the National Folk Festival, and hit up the cafe twice, once during the three day festival, and once a day after. While the event was in town, the M&M was standing room only. It was so full and swamped that we gave up. The second time was different, slower, once the festival had left town, and it was back to mostly locals.
I love the juxtaposition of the M&M and the R&R. The Neon, the hand painted sign on the side of the building and the lettering in the trimwork up top all proudly announce the name of the cafe. The stainless facade adds some sparkle to the old brick building. The current neon was added sometime after 1939. A different piece is found in this 1939 picture of the cafe on Shorpy. The town doesn’t look all that different, though than it did 70 odd years ago.
My first lunch counter experience from my new home, and a great one at that. It’s located on Barrington St. , across the street from the train station. The two gentlemen in before us had been going to the Olympic every day for fifty years. It has been in the same family since the 1970s.
The breakfast was excellent, cooked on the small grill behind the counter, and was extremely inexpensive. The coffee was great, and was served in classic green and white diner mugs.
March 1, 2010
I ate lunch here today.
First things first- look back at the previous post. Do you notice any similarities between the Waffle Shop and Ollies? The unusual horseshoe counter is there, and while it is now standing room with a dining room adjacent, it’s obvious that it once had stools. There’s the same undercounter wire rack. The terrazzo floors are nearly identical, with the same tan floor and salmon foot rest. Both have a primarily glass facade (at least on the counter section). And both have similar tilework. Though the theme is different, the execution is very much the same, and it’s not something you see very much.
Was this originally a Waffle shop?
And for reference- here are two Ollie’s Trolley’s of the trolley sort.
Louisville, KY (c) Spencer Stewart 2005
Former Ollies Trolley in Virginia (c) Spencer Stewart 2007
I swung by the Waffle Shop in downtown DC yesterday, and was sad to see that the building was empty. The business has moved down the block a few doors to the left and is still operating, but no longer from their classic, horseshoe countered former home.
Look at the design of this place- the details.
See the iridescent gold and silver tilework wrapping around the corner of the building? How open the building is with the glass facade and thin, outward canted supports? The terrazzo floor? The repeating horseshoe shape of the counter with a hat/purse rack underneath? How the ceiling slopes towards the back of the building?
Diner Hunter 
