Smoke and Mirrors Issue 2 - Why John's Diner
Why John's Diner
by John Chambers
I remember the first time I ever visited a diner. The memorable event occurred in August, 1968, in Red Bank, New Jersey. Being raised in the South, I had never seen such a marvel before. Things in the South close at 10 pm each evening, just before they roll up the streets.
I was delighted to find that the local diners in Jersey were open 24 hours a day, and that I could order a steak at 3:00 am, or breakfast at 5:00 pm. It was a whole new concept for me, and a very convenient one. I was 22 years old at the time, and spent many late nights and early mornings running the streets of northern New Jersey. A guy could build up quite an appetite doing that sort of thing.
When my tour of duty in New Jersey ended, I very sadly left the diners and submarine shops of the northeast for the New Mexico desert. It was back to the South again, and diners were gone from my life for many years to come.
In the eighties I moved to the Washington, DC area. While I didn't find any diners (at first), I did find the love of my life. Lucia was living in New York and making many business trips to DC. I soon began making frequent visits to Long Island to woo my future wife.
And there I found them. Names like "Embassy," "Empress," "Princess," even the "Sayville Modern Diner." All shared similar decor, and that 5 pound brown leather covered menu that diners like to drop on your table. I visited almost every diner I saw, and delighted in an array of giant plates of hot food, freshly baked breads, pies, cheesecake, and endless cups of coffee. I had truly found "Diner Heaven!" For each of my birthdays I was taken anywhere I wanted for dinner. You guessed it - a diner! Back in Washington diners weren't so plentiful, so I plodded along with unacceptable substitutes.
John's Diner first appeared a couple of years ago. Lucia was suffering from "painter's block," and was looking for a subject for an oil painting. In the interest of getting her painting again I "commissioned" her to do a painting for me. We agreed that I would provide the subject and the canvas, and she would produce the painting. I had a small postcard of Picadilly Circus in London. It was a very colorful and "busy" little postcard of this famous square. I purchased a HUGE canvas and presented both items to Lucia.
She spent almost a year on the painting, and the final product is a joy to behold. The oil shows London at sunset, just after a rain storm (among her many modifications). Amidst all the buildings, automobiles, neon signs and posters stands one little store with a bright pink neon sign, hidden away in the lower left corner of the painting. "John's Diner" was now a permanent part of the London cityscape. A little gift to me, my name on a diner!
The diner surfaced again several months ago. Lucia was naming conferences on our bbs, and suggested John's Diner for the Cooks Conference. She passed that by for the time, reserving the name for a future newsletter article instead.
So John's Diner came into being, and has now evolved into what we see as a diner in downtown Washington. It's a nice place to visit, and very unique in it's own way. Open 24 hours. Stop by and visit!
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Copyright (c) 1993 John Chambers
