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Yankee Diner inspires ‘Currymania’

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Written by Brian Goslow

Update: The Yankee Diner closed in the fall of 2010 and reopened in January, 2011 with new ownership. We understand that the menu is strictly traditional diner. 

Andy Pinto (left) and an able assistant at the reopened Yankee Diner in Charlton, Massachusetts. (Photo by David Goldberg)

The Yankee Diner, a circa 1939 Worcester Lunch Car Company diner (#735), has been an enigma for the fifteen years I’ve been a customer. At first, coinciding with the five years my would be wife lived a few blocks away, its early — for city folk used to having late weekend breakfasts in the early afternoon — 10:30 a.m. closing time always provided a challenge. Subsequent ownership changes always made timing the diner being open in the decade that followed a challenge and it seemed it might actually have served its final customer until Andy Pinto became its new owner earlier this year.

While its imminent reopening was announced back in via the local newspaper in August, its doors weren’t opened. and the first customer of the new era served until mid-November. It had been open two weeks when my now wife and I returned to the scene of those early too-early breakfasts to meet a friend for lunch. That first story suggested the diner would be serving an all-Indian menu, which sounded ominous for a diner, but still, quite exciting to this fan of Indian food. But when we arrived, around 1 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, we were slightly disappointed to find out we had missed the one Indian special of the day, chicken curry, one of my favorite dishes in the world.

That disappointment quickly faded when I saw they served pork chops (another favorite of mine that’s not as easy to find on diner and comfort food restaurants as they used to be) along with good-sized tasty potato home fries. Other lunchtime offerings included grilled chicken (regular, teriyaki or barbecue) on a bun, and a steak bomb sandwich. They had just started serving soup and sandwiches and were getting ready to add chili to the menu and, once the snow starts falling, Pinto expects they’ll be a demand for comfort food like roast beef — and he’ll be happy to oblige.

But back to the pursuit of curried happiness.

The key to getting some of its fast moving curry (which rotates between lamb, chicken and beef and is served with Indian bread, including Tandoori Nan) is getting there as soon as the Yankee begins serving lunch at 11 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday; most days it’s gone within an hour and a half. “Some days I don’t even get a chance to put it up on the menu board and it’s gone,” Pinto said. “I’ve got people coming in at 10:45 asking for it as take-out.”

Not everyone in the Charlton area has experienced an Indian dish before; Pinto’s been more than happy to let them get their first taste. “People will try anything,” he said. “Many of them have never had Indian food before so I give them a sample. They say it’s spicy and I say, ‘It’s not spicy, it’s got flavor.’” We plan on going back soon to find out for ourselves.

Breakfast is offered whenever the Yankee is open: a variety of French toasts (including Berry Berry or Stuffed); waffles (Patriot, Cinnamon Apple); pancakes (blueberry, nutty chocolate chip, cinnamon and oatmeal, omelet) and “Not Your Everyday Breakfast” offerings that included “Porky’s Wrap,” sausage burritos, steak tips and eggs and pork chops and eggs.

Towards the end of our visit close to the diner’s 2:30 p.m. closing time — after enjoying a great slice of apple pie that hadn’t been up on the menu board but offered when we inquired about dessert options — there was a mini-convention of diner fanatics on hand just happy to have the Yankee Diner open again; Pinto welcomes all roadside warriors to make the pilgrimage because when the weather’s warm, he’s one himself. “I’m a (motorcycle) rider,” he said. “In the summer, we all go riding and all we stop at are diners.”

While some customers have asked Pinto to open up on Friday nights to offer fish and chips, he plans on sticking with his current schedule for the time being: Sunday from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 5 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; and Thursday from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The Yankee Diner is located on Route 20 (23 Worcester Road) in Charlton, Massachusetts; call 508-380-2607 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .