So Jack and I are, by nature, pretty positive people.  We smile and laugh a lot.  We like most of the people that we meet.  We try to see the good in each situation.  But sometimes even with the best attitude we face a situation where it’s just not possible to put a good spin on things.  So it is with a heavy heart that we tell you about our recent trip to the Boulevard Diner in Worcester.

We had read great things about the Boulevard.  It’s a fully restored 1937 Worcester Dining Car.  Most of the interior is wooden.  It operates 24/7.  It’s actually on the National Register of Historic places.  And with all of that going for it we just couldn’t get a good meal or good service there. 

Jack and I tried to eat there a couple of weeks ago, only to discover that they didn’t have high chairs or booster seats. So we came back this time, armed with Jack’s portable restaurant seat.  Things started off well enough.  Our waitresses Emily came and took our drink order.  We introduced ourselves. She seemed very nice.   And then the unpleasantness began.  The woman working the counter was in a foul mood and she did not mind sharing it with others.  She began to talk nastily about her co-workers.  One of the waitresses went into the back room, and another came out.  The woman at the grill started to trash the woman who had just gone away to the woman who had just come out.  Then she turned sharply and slammed a plate of food into the counter.  It shattered all over the floor.  She screamed at someone, who screamed back.  This began a cycle, as each person working insulted someone else.  It was the most uncomfortable situation I’ve ever faced in a restaurant.  It just seemed like they all disliked each other intensely.

True to form, Jack made the best of it.  He played with the salt andpepper shakers. He ate his cereal and drank his milk.  He laughed as I pretended that the sweet and low packets were insects buzzing around his head. 

When our food came at first I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.  As you can see, Jack bit into his grilled cheese and then stopped.  A funny look appeared on his face.  His appetite seemed to disappear, and he pushed his plate away.  When I tried my eggs I had the same reaction.  I had to ask four times for my order of sausage, and when it came I regretted ordering it. 

Part of why we love diners is that they usually feel like home to us.  In the forward to Randy Garbin’s brilliant Diners of New England Colin Strayer writes “For some reason, I’m not comfortable dining alone at a formal restaurant.  But I always feel comfortable sitting alone in a diner.”  I know exactly what he means. When I’m traveling alone on a business trip I’d rather sit at the counter of a diner than at an empty table at Ruth’s Chris.  So often there seems to bean automatic sense of belonging in a diner.   Jack and I have found that time and timeagain.  This was our first time not feeling quite comfortable at a diner. 

Maybe something was going on at the Boulevard that we didn’t know about.  Maybe the staff was having an abnormally stressful day.  We don’t know.  We’re willing to try it one more time, but not for a while.  It’s hard for us not to love this place, especially considering how beautiful it is.  The wooden walls and booths, surrounded by the stained glass windows and original tiling are in uniquely exquisite condition.  Maybe someday we’ll find the hidden charm of this place.  This weekend we’re going to hit Al’s Diner in Lawrence, MA with Jack’s Beepa.  Then maybe we’ll make a trip out to Palmer to the Night and Day Diner.  Coincidentally, The Night & Day is a Worcester diner from the same era, and looks identical to the Boulevard.   Maybe we’ll have a different experience there. 

The Boulevard Diner
155 Shrewsbury St
Worcester, MA 01604
(508) 791-4535