Friday, June 25, 2010

Diners, Tigers and Tourists

In an increasingly globalized world, few things are more American than the local diner, it is an institution and the imitators rarely compete with the authenticity of the real thing.  A stalwart in any good neighborhood; these family friendly dining spots are wallet friendly and the perfect cure for the dreariest of hangovers or long drives.


My sister was in town visiting me and her checklist of things to do whilst in South Florida was meager to say the least: sunbathe, eat some authentic food and have fun.  In fairness, she has been in Florida countless times so she is terribly low maintenance and easy to please.  On past visits we have always made a trip out for breakfast, the kind that involves lashings of maple syrup and crispy bacon so I was sure that we would have at least one early morning, or late night visit to a diner.  Coincidentally, the May edition of Vanity Fair magazine featured an article on the women that exposed the kinks in Tiger Wood’s reputation.  One of the ladies, Mindy Lawton the Orlando based waitress from the Perkins Restaurant and Bakery chain was photographed for her Vanity Fair debut at our local diner, Ellie’s 50s Diner in Delray Beach, South Florida.  Naturally, we could not resist a visit to Ellie’s for the inside scoop, a spot of breakfast and a slice of fifties America.    

As we each tucked into our substantial breakfast, our waitress gave us her views on the Vanity Fair shoot: a whole lot of cleavage was on show in Ellie’s diner until staff intervened, and certain liaisons between Ms Lawton and Tiger did, indeed, happen in the back of his car, in the local car park.  Not to be put off by this information I heartily devoured French toast, bacon and maple syrup and reenacted Ms Lawton’s milkshake and cherry pose.  Ellie’s 50s Diner is a great place, it’s like sitting on the movie set for Grease and harks back to the 1950s diner hey days, before fast-food establishments hustled in and took a big part of their market. 

The moral of this tale is, maybe you’ll never be whisked off your feet and into the back of a waiting car by a pro-athlete but at least you’ll always be able to count on a hearty meal and friendly service at the local diner.  




Recipe: Cinnamon Almond French Toast 
French Toast recipe for 2:
  • 4 slices of your chosen bread
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup or large handful of sliced almonds
  • Bacon or fruits such as blueberries and strawberries work well
Directions:
  • In a bowl whisk the eggs, milk and cinnamon together.
  • Lay the sliced almonds on a plate.
  • Dip the slices of bread into the egg mixture then the sliced almonds.
  • Cook the toast for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown (keep an eye on the French Toast so the almonds don't burn)
  • Place 2 slices of French toast on each plate and top with crispy bacon, or your desired fruit topping and serve with lashings of maple syrup! 






3 comments:

  1. Great article, Lynds! I didn't know that was shot at Ellie's Diner - WOW. The French toast looks delicious and I'm so glad I got to meet your sister while she was in town:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! I still have the VF, I'll show you, it's very amusing, I was laughing my socks off when I saw that it was Ellie's diner. That's their French toast, I recreated the recipe.

    Head for breakfast ASAP!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah! I'm low maintenance and I can vouch for the french toast being tasty and a great hangover cure!!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails