The Ever Popular 50′s Diner In Dedham, MA

The 50’s Diner in Dedham, Massachusetts has only been around since 1993, but you will feel nostalgic walking through the doors and going back in time. The décor, the music, the menu and even co-owner Spero’s hair-do all consist of everything 50’s. But the fun interior is not the reason people, including myself, flock here on a consistent basis. It is the satisfying food and speedy service. Both will bring a smile to your face.

The diner is not something you will stumble across on your own. You need to know about it to find it. It is tucked in behind busy Route 1 on a side road that, prior to the new Legacy Place complex being built, was only used by industrial business patrons in the vicinity or shoppers looking for Costco. The signage doesn’t exactly jump out at you either, but if it is a weekend, just look for a packed parking lot and a line of folks milling around in front. That’s the place.

Coveted Counter Spots

Oh now wait. Don’t be turned off by that line business. It moves quickly. And if there are just one or two of you in your party, you can get lucky and bypass the line altogether if there’s a spot open at the counter. Those in front of you will be happy to let you know if there are counter spots available. In fact, the staff will come and pull smaller parties out of the line to seat them at tables and the counter as they open up. But even waiting for one of the larger booths doesn’t take that long. The Sunday church crowd can make things look impossible but an average wait is just about 10 or 15 minutes tops during even the busiest rush.

The reason things move so fast is that within 10 minutes of your order, the food is set in front of you piping hot and as requested. I swear that the waitress goes in one side of the kitchen swinging door and returns out the other side instantly with your food on her tray. It is a marvel. I think the reason for this is that they seem to have had the same staff on board since the beginning. Everyone from the cooks to the waitresses to the busboys is the same every time you go. They have worked here together for so long that they are a well-oiled machine. It is a pleasure to watch.

Platter Me, Baby

As for that food, you can get breakfast or lunch anytime during their operating hours of 7AM – 3PM daily. Standard diner fare fills their menu. For the indecisive, go with the 50’s Platter which gives you eggs any style, french toast or pancakes, your choice of 2 meats and home fries with all the coffee you want. I personally love their scrambled eggs and french toast. The bacon is nice and crispy without being burnt. I find nothing spectacular about their home fries but have heard people rave about the corned beef hash.

Dense But Chocolatey Pancakes

On our last visit I decided to eat outside of the box and try something different – selecting the chocolate chip pancakes instead of french toast. There was an abundance of chocolate cooked right in. I ordered the short stack of 2 pancakes and could barely finish half. They were extremely dense, made more so by the fact that they sopped up as much syrup as I poured over them. I prefer mine fluffier. Next time I’ll stick with the french toast which is Texas style and comes with powdered sugar and whipped butter if you so choose (as do the pancakes). Or maybe I’ll get really daring and order a club sandwich or one of those cheeseburgers I see the local workers scarfing down on their lunch breaks.

Dreamcicle To Die For

Then again, maybe the reason I found those pancakes so filling was due to that Dreamsicle shake I sucked down. Their chocolate frappes are also tremendous. It is always a tough choice for me to make – even at close to $5 a pop. Otherwise our bill was about $12 each.

I love the 50’s Diner. When we lived around the corner we used to bring all of our out of town guests there to top off their weekend visit. Now that we’ve moved out of the area, we make a special trip over a few times a year. It is reasonably priced and nothing ever changes, except that the staff grows a little older each time. But seeing those familiar faces serve us with a smile, expedience and accuracy is comforting. And so is the food. Even if I do need a nap after eating.

The 50’s Diner
900 Providence Highway (Rte. 1)
Dedham, MA 02026
(781) 326-1955
www.50sdiner.com/

Post by and photos credited to Molly G.

Find out what Molly is doing when she’s not eating @ The Bumbles Blog.

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