It may have been called Mel's Diner, but the place really belonged to Vera, Alice, and Flo - a show we watched (Alice) religiously in the 80s. Ed Debevic's came to town, and we thought, well kiss my grits, we have come home to Mel's Diner. It was a 50s diner that even had waitresses named Alice and Flo.
My favorites were the Fritos bag slit open and topped with chili and cheese and the little donut holes they injected with jelly and shook up with powdered sugar in a small paper sack - they served it in the sack, too. Later, in my college years, we'd go there after clubbing all night and nosh on the wet fries. Gravy... on french fries? This must have been some new crazy bohemian thing! ;) It Was Heaven. And still after all those years, when someone played Blue Moon on the juke box, the waitresses would hop up on a table and dance.
When Ed Debevic's closed and Alice was no longer on TV, I figured it was the end of an era. *sniff* But... then a few years later my girlfriend told me about Pat's Cafe - this was the place Mel's Diner was actually based on. So, maybe all was not lost. And, we went. And, well... the place smelled of burnt coffee, the food was greasy, and the waitresses were cranky... just like Mel's Diner.
My favorites were the Fritos bag slit open and topped with chili and cheese and the little donut holes they injected with jelly and shook up with powdered sugar in a small paper sack - they served it in the sack, too. Later, in my college years, we'd go there after clubbing all night and nosh on the wet fries. Gravy... on french fries? This must have been some new crazy bohemian thing! ;) It Was Heaven. And still after all those years, when someone played Blue Moon on the juke box, the waitresses would hop up on a table and dance.
When Ed Debevic's closed and Alice was no longer on TV, I figured it was the end of an era. *sniff* But... then a few years later my girlfriend told me about Pat's Cafe - this was the place Mel's Diner was actually based on. So, maybe all was not lost. And, we went. And, well... the place smelled of burnt coffee, the food was greasy, and the waitresses were cranky... just like Mel's Diner.
1 comment:
You forgot to mention the ice cream cookies and the "bowling" game w/ a hockey puck on sliding grit. My friend actually got a limo to take us here for her sweet 13! Mmmmm, cherry 7UP and teased hair!
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