South Street Diner
Lest you all think that I am some sort of a class act, please let me present my latest favorite : South Street Diner, in the Leather District. I was at a biotech networking event at a bar next door to the diner. Once the miracle that is vodka stopped counteracting the horror that is networking, it was time to go… next door. Luckily, South St. Diner is the absolute last place one would ever find a biotech-er. Good thing too, because if I saw another business card that night, I would most certainly be ill.
South St. is a real 50's style diner, with a long bar and stools, and booths along the wall. It was appropriately dingy, but not too much for my comfort. The juke box and one end of the bar was inexplicably playing Nelly (the boy, not the girl), totally ruining the late night diner atmosphere, but that's ok. The people that worked there were so nice! Really warm, welcoming, and talkative (in a good way).
The food was typical diner food, done well. There was no interpreting of old classics, no “deconstructing” of the grilled cheese. It was straight-forward, good diner food. We ordered a pile of fried things, including homefries. They were deep fried and crispy, sprinkled with something spicy and salty. Homefries are soooo good at 10PM on a Tuesday, especially after a couple of drinks. I was fully intending to continue drinking but was informed that they were having certain issues with their liquor license. The waitress said that everyone that comes in there is drunk anyway. Fair enough.
South St Diner
178 Kneeland St (Cross Street: South Street)
Boston, MA 02111-2733
617.350.0028
10 comments:
i don't know what it is about diners, but for some reason, i just can't resist them. maybe it's because i so rarely eat burgers and fries or fried eggs and homefries and those are my main association with diner foods. but good diner food can get me going. now biotech networking... probably not so much :-P
That sounds really good. The diner, not the networking. I dread the networking I'm going to have to do when it's time to get a library job. Kind of weird that they were playing Nelly. I love homefries, I've been known to make them at home sometimes!
Sounds like a great little place - diners not only are good at 10pm after a few drinks, but also at 10AM...or 12pm...after a night of drinking. Wow - you get to do your networking in bars? We have to wait for conferences to do that!!
OOO networking is fun! What are you talking about! You get to drink, you get to mingle, you get to socialize! Danged nerds, always wanting to hind in your caves lol.
Diners do rock! Not the stupid Silver Diner chain type diners, but real deal diners. The diner I like the most in NoVa is Amphora. Greek Owners + Lamb meat = Awesome.
What other stuff did they have at your diner? I rate places by how tasty their hamburger and fries are :-) Might not be the best measuring stick but if they mess that up...
I always try the fish and chips anywhere I go. That is my marker. Burger and fries is too easy to do a decent job on. I have never had a bad burger from a restaurant (not counting fast food), but I have had bad fish and chips.
How dare you contradict me!!! How dare you!! lol, ok burgers probably aren't the best measuring stick for good diner food, but they are so tasty. How was the fish and chips bad? Soggy? Bad fish?
The things I look for in a burger are:
1) Not dried out - enough fat in the meat
2) Non-CostCo style quarter pounder frozen meat
3) Bread isn't buttered or not too much.
Fries
1) Not too soggy
2) It is hot enough.
Oh well, maybe your barometer might be better. Amphora here has Calamarie I think, if that were typical fare, I would use that ;-)
Amanda - I so agree! A good diner is hard to walk past. There is more of an allure than just food though. I don't know what it is... just the idea of it is great.
JC - Networking is a skill that I, apparently, lack entirely. I wish you all the luck. What sort of library job?
Michelle - Boston is so full of biotech that you really can't get away from all the networking. Every second person is either an attorney or in the sciences. I would hate to network outside of a bar. A steady supply of alcohol seems to be prerequisite for me.
Ben - Hello pot, I am kettle. You're as big a dork as I am, if that's even possible :) I think I spent all of high school in Amphora. With Lissa and Celeste, in fact! South St had giant burgers. They looked enormous on the grill. I am absolutely getting a burger next time I am there.
Lissa - Should I start calling you Alicia? It may be too late for me to switch after a decade and a half. I totally agree on the fish and chips - more difficult to get right than a burger. I didn't notice if they had fish and chips, although I suspect they fry everything fryable. Will have to check on that. Looks like I am headed back to the Diner for a more in-depth investigation :)
I am getting a master's in library and information science. I'm not 100% sure what type of library I want to work in yet, but I'm thinking public, academic, or possibly government. I think my dream job would be at an art museum library.
cool! I know one person who has a masters in Library Sciences and this girl I knew (she is dead to me - I am bitter! haha) is going to school to get her Masters in Library Science. Sounds very cool. What sort of things do you do? Documentation and research?
As for diners. Ya...I guess you would have gone to Amphora. I love that place. Too bad Silver Diner is closer to my house than Amphora...though...Silver Diner does taste awesome when you are trying to sober up.
Ben - Yeah, there is a lot of research and documentation. Being a librarian is all about providing information to people, so we learn about where and how to find information, and design of systems to provide information. I like it because I enjoy research and learning new things.
Hi Anna!
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