Larry's love letter to diners

Published on Saturday, 10 December 2011 11:44

Written by Randy Garbin

No one has a greater love and/or obsession with diners than Larry Cultrera. I can probably count on one hand the number of people who even come close, and that number would not include me. So, when Larry announced a while back that he would write a guide book to the diners of the Bay State, my first thought was "It's about *%$#@ time!" I could not imagine a roadside library without a diner book authored by Larry.

Classic Diners of Massachusetts isn't just a guide book to the diners of that state. Larry takes you on a rather personal journey as he introduces you to the ins and outs, the sights, sounds, and aromas, as well as the histories surrounding these splendid structures. Introduced to the form as a boy, he comes to the book well-stocked with his own stories describing his experiences there. The histories he writes often include his own visits with owners, former owners, and long-time customers.

Larry goes into some great detail describing his featured diners. Reading about Victoria's Diner, you not only learn about the family that brought the Swingle to Boston, you also learn about their relationship to the other Greek families responsible for the other diner greats in the area. Further, you'll find out Victoria's serves eighteen kinds of omelets and that the "Simply Plain" omelet costs $5.69.

Efficiently organized, Classic Diners divides the state into five regions and then lists all the known diners (and then some) within them. He then choses a half dozen or so out of that list to feature. Surprisingly (at least to me), Larry includes some spots that purists might overlook. The Wheelhouse Diner in Quincy is a well-known breakfast spot, but until now hasn't popped up on a list of diners thanks to its stick-built origins. Until recently, I considered Larry one of those purists, but I'm glad to see acknowledgement of any independent hash house in such a guide. I've never visited the Wheelhouse myself, but if it's good enough for Larry Cultrera, it's good enough for me.

Even though the book retraces some well-worn territory, and even as the author of a book that covers this bit of geography, I appreciate finally having a document of these places by one of the diner's greatest fans. Here's hoping that Larry's loving obsession rubs off on a few thousand more people, inspiring them to seek out and enjoy them as we all have.