I have had three special meals in the last couple of years, but only two really count.
The one that doesn’t count was when I treated myself to a Japanese Wagyu filet at Hyde Park Steakhouse in Columbus last year. It was a irresponsibly expensive meal, but I don’t regret trying out one of the most rare steaks at least once in my life.
The first one that counts is a breakfast I ate with my son at a small town diner somewhere in Pennsylvania when I drove him to camp in Philadelphia in 2022. We left Cleveland around 0200 and as the sun was coming over the hills, I searched for a decent breakfast spot and explicitly wanted one that was in a small town. I cannot remember nor find the small town, nor the diner on the map these days, but it was north-northwest of Philly by about 90 minutes. It is D & D Restaurant in Watertown, PA. My go-to diner breakfast is two eggs over easy, bacon, and wheat toast, and it’s mostly the only time I take cream and sugar in my coffee.
The bacon, eggs, toast, and butter were all locally produced, the coffee was hot and strong, the sausage that my son got was local as well, and the little spot was full of locals talking about local news. It’s about locale, but this meal was sacramentally good. I doubt I’ll ever have as good again. I think we were out of there under $20 including tip.
The second meal that counts, another one with my son, is a BLT I had at a Katherine’s Restaurant, a diner in Middleburg Heights. There was nothing at all special about this BLT other than it was perfect. Standard white bread, standard bacon, standard lettuce, standard tomato, standard mayonnaise. A true craftsman can make beauty out of basics. The bread was perfectly toasted, with the exactly right of mayonnaise spread evenly on it. The romaine was extremely fresh, and was all sweet leaf. The fresh tomato was sliced thinly but scalloped to add some density. The bacon was griddle fried, crisply ridged, and piled 2 inches thick. A bite was the full variety of crunch and so perfectly proportioned as to be the platonic form of BLT.
I like local diners, and I like going to them with my son.