Charlie's Diner is back in Spencer, MA
A great
video interview has been posted at Roadside Online about the newly re-opened
Charlie's Diner. I originally moved to Worcester to work at UMass Medical School and was quickly introduced to Charlie's at its location across the street from the med school. My boss would take us there for lunch several times a month. We always tried to get there in the early lunch rush because otherwise they would run out of the amazing french fries. Cut fresh daily, when they're gone, they're gone!
My 'local spies' told me it was open and doing well, but its great to see the inside and hear that things are good. Hopefully we will get back there some weekend soon to check it out in person.
Talk of the Town Diner: Watertown, MA
When we moved to Waltham last summer, we immediately started looking for our NEW favorite neighborhood diner. We quickly tried out every nearby breakfast spot, including 4 classic diners. Then life got busy and we didn't write reviews for any of them. I'm trying to catch up onw.
One of the first places we found nearby our house was Talk of the Town Diner in Watertown Center. The outside is rather plain, clearly doesn't have porcelain or aluminum panels. maybe they were covered up? its hard to tell if there is a "real diner" underneat the stones or not. You'll notice right away that it feels different than other diners inside. The decor here makes you feel like someone's home dining room. There are fabric curtains, carpeting, hanging light fixtures, and historic photos of Watertown Square. Yes, there are some photos of James Dean, Elvis, and Marilyn... the decor doesn't feel too kitschy and "50's-ified" like many diners out there. I don't know if it was recently rennovated, but it is very clean and new feeling (by diner standards)
One of my favorite "homestyle" features is the coffee station near the entrance. If you're like me, waiting for a table is miserable if you haven't had your morning coffee. On a saturday or sunday morning, you will definitely have to wait for a table. But just ask a waitress for a cup of coffee and then you can dress it at the coffee station and get the caffeine flowing while you wait! i love that. Don't be afraid to take a counter spot for quicker seating. As a bonus, the stools have backs, so you won't feel like you are perched on a tiny diner stool. (and a bonus for those of us with back problems!)
The menu has a good amount of variety, but not so much that they can't do everything well. They have egg's benedict available on weekends, and vegetarians can get it with spinach and tomatoes instead of ham. As we've mentioned before in this blog, my top secret superhero weakness is definitely egg's benedict. I have to order it if i see it on the menu. I appreciate that they only offer it on weekends, because that means the hollandaise sauce is homemade and fresh. always a plus.
The second time we went, i was able to resist the siren song of the benedict and tried some of their other breakfast items. The banana pancakes were fluffy lots of air holes, with warm gooey bananas cooked in. And decent sized, not too small or too big. Darius enjoyed his Monte Christo, which was lightly battered so its not too heavy in the stomach. (served off the lunch menu, with chips and a pickle.)
All omelets are huge - the size of the plate, with homefries served right on top. I got the vegetable omelet, and they did it "right". Being a vegetarian, i often order a "veggie and cheese" omelet at diners, and every one is different. Sometime they just have onions and peppers and in my book - those ain't veggies! A Real veggie omelet has mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes, and more. This veggie omelet has all of the above,
cooked al dente (not thrown in at the end, but not mushy either). vegetarian approved!
Like most New England diners, the Talk of the Town is only open for breakfast and lunch.
Talk of the Town Diner
(617) 923-2369
11 North Beacon St
Watertown, MA 02472
(MTWRF 7a - 2p; SSu 7a - 3p)
(
Google Local/Map)
