For the first time in weeks I was going to be home on a Saturday with nothing to do. This meant that Jack and I could go on an adventure. I spent a couple of hours on Friday night researching classic diners in our area. It's harder than you think. No diner website is comprehensive, and so many good ones have closed or been torn down in the last couple of years. But I read a great review about the Corner Lunch in Worcester, and decided we'd try it out. As I slept on this decision, I decided against going to the Corner. It closed early in the afternoon, and stopped serving breakfast after 11:30am. So on Saturday morning we decided to try somewhere else. Jack and I packed up our stuff and headed to Worcester to try the Boulevard Diner, which looks to be the oldest diner in Worcester (it was built in 1936), and is open 24 hours a day (a rarity in Massachusetts diners).

We said goodbye to Winston the dog and cranked up the tunes. Jack and I were singing to Paul Pena's awesome original version of "Jet Airliner", and rocked out to a couple of tracks by Journey and Allman Brother's Band. We were so excited when we got to the Boulevard. It's incredibly old, and in wonderful shape. Regretfully, they don't have any hi-chairs for toddlers, so we decided to take a rain check. Directly across the street we saw that there was another diner we hadn't heard of -- the Parkway Diner. We crossed the street only to find that the Parkway doesn't have any booths: it only has stools. While that is incredibly cool, it doesn't work so well for the Tootieman, who has only been sitting up on his own for a couple of months.

So with tears in our eyes like the kids on the Group W bench in Alice's Restaurant, we plugged the coordinates into our GPS and drove to the Corner Lunch Diner. Corner Lunch -- we owe you an apology. We should've trusted our instincts and gone to you all along. What a fabulous diner!

The Corner Lunch has a unique look to it. It's decked out in wild pastel colors both inside and out. The seat cushions, which are all originals, are a bright sparkling gold that somehow work with the beautiful marble tiled floor. The body is also longer than most diners, which as you can see in our photographs, provides space for an extra-long counter of stools.

We sat down and met our waitress, Lynn. Jack instantly made eyes at her, and she back at him. Jack ordered scrambled eggs with cheese, wheat toast, and a bottle of whole milk. I was tempted by an item on the specials list: sweet & sour french toast. The family sitting next to us were clearly regulars. The dad asked the owner and grill-master Charlie if he had recovered from the recent Patriots loss in the Superbowl. The entire diner groaned, and everyone began sharing their stories of heartbreak. Jack put on his Patriots bib, which Charlie noticed and clearly enjoyed. While we waited for our food Charlie's mother came over and got to know us. She complimented Jack on what a friendly, well-behaved boy he was, and shared with us that her daughter-in-law was an excellent baker. While Lynn was serving other customers, JoJo, Charlie's daughter came over to meet us, too. What a friendly family and diner!

Then came our food. I must confess that I was a little skeptical about the sweet & sour french toast. I was a little worried that it would be some failed chinese-french fusion cuisine. Instead, it was a delicious traditional french toast that had been soaked in egg and a dab of sour cream, with whipped salted butter on top. I gobbled it up. Jack shoved his eggs and toast in his mouth with both hands. Not wanting to leave mom out, we ordered the dessert special of the day, which Charlie's wife Elaine had made that morning: creme brulee cheesecake. We took it home and enjoyed it together as a family.

Before we left, we stopped at the counter to meet Elaine. Unlike many diner owners, she seemed to revel in talking about the history of her place. She told us about how it was the only diner in New England renovated by two different companies, and how it had originally lived in Babylon, NY, only to make it to Worcester in 1968. She told us about a local patron who saw the Corner Lunch one day and thought "that looks like the diner I grew up eating at", only to discover it had followed him across multiple states over many decades. We learned about the lighting and architecture that can only be found in a Musi Diner, and that the Corner Lunch is intentionally wider than a Worcester Diner.

Jack and I walked out of the Corner Lunch full, and with huge smiles on our faces. We cannot wait to get back to there, and to see all of our new friends. Thanks Boukalis family, for welcoming us and running such a cool place.

The Corner Lunch Diner
133 Lamartine St
Worcester, MA