Our last visit to the Owl totally blew us away. We just couldn't believe how good it was. Other than the glaring omission of homemade black & white cookies (and of course, not being open 24/7), the Owl is a pretty perfect diner. The original diner car is in fantastic shape. When you're there, take note of the beautiful original stained-glass windows in the front, or the juke boxes on the tables. The wait staff is saucy and charming, and they don't ever make you feel rushed. The food is outstanding, and everyone seems to be a regular. So we had to go back. And since the Mittlemans were up for Jack's Beepa's birthday there was no discussion as to where we were going to go. The Owl has become our new diner hangout on the North Shore.

Philip and Nate somehow managed to roust Sophie out of bed. Three short hours later they made it from Connecticut to Andover. We grabbed my dad and all piled in my SUV. Thankfully, we arrived just in time for brunch. Our now-regular table was open. We all made funny faces at Jack while my dad played peek-a-boo and balanced a bag of Fruit Loops on his head. Jack thought that this was just too silly.

The crowd was a little different from our last visit. Only half of the patrons were wearing Patriots gear. The other half were decked out in Red Sox regalia. The Sox had just arrived in Japan for an exhibition, and everyone at every table seemed to be talking about the start of the new season (our table included). While we waited for our food we discussed the advertisements lacquered into our table. Philip was particularly fond of the Morse Baylis Funeral Home, the Burger King of Mortuaries. Their slogan reads "Have it your way...Traditional, Memorial, Cremation, or Closed Casket...no lunch." The first person reading this who can satisfactorily explain the true meaning of that sentence gets a free lunch at the Owl.

Sophie ordered a double-stack of chocolate and banana pancakes. She also got a side of bacon. Nate and Philip got eggs over-easy with hash and toast. Jack got eggs scrambled with cheese, along with home fries and toast. I got eggs with cheese over hash browns. Beepa got waffles and bacon. Then we threw in a table order of their baked beans. Sophie's food came first, and her face betrayed instant delight at what she had ordered. Always willing to help, Nate and I ate off of her plate as well. In turn, Sophie sampled our homemade hash and our fried potatoes, which were as good as our first visit. Mine were extra-crispy, just how I like them. Jack ate all of his eggs, most of his potatoes, two squares of toast, and a handful of his loops.

Now I know my dad, and I know that he hasn't quite understood why I am so obsessed with going to all of these diners. Or, more to the point, why I always want to bring Jack with me. Some of it is the food. As as family we travel a lot, and I'd much rather eat in a diner than in some soulless fast-food joint. Basic American cooking in a family-owned place is a wonderful thing. And a great deal of it is my appreciation for the history, style and architecture of diners. They are wonderfully American, and wonderfully egalitarian in nature. But the other important piece for me is that good diners are so family-friendly. I have yet to bring Jack to a diner where the staff didn't love meeting him and talking to him. They marvel as he toddles around the tables, waving at the other patrons. Sometimes the owners swoop him up and take him on tours of the restaurant. Other times they make him special meals. At one diner they've hung his picture on the wall.

This was my dad's first time eating at a diner with Jack, and he got to see how wonderful this can be. After his meal, I let him get out of his seat. He explored all around our table, and walked from the dining room to the main part of the building and back a dozen times. He waved at different tables of people and said hello to all of the kids at the Owl. Then, since things were fairly slow at that time of day, he began a game of peek-a-boo with a couple of the waitresses. As is often the case, they offered him a job on the spot. It was just wonderful.

So thanks again to the Four Sisters of the Owl. We will of course be back soon.

The Four Sisters - Owl Diner
244 Appleton Street
Lowell, MA