How to Say Hello

A restaurant should be able to be classified by how they greet you when you walk through the door. An expensive restaurant will greet you formally. A good restaurant will make you feel welcome. When you walk into East 5th Street Grill & Carryout, they ask you if you want coffee. That's exactly how a diner should welcome its customers.

E. 5th Street Grill is an authentic diner. The walls are filled with garage sale pickups. In the summer time, they leave the door open and the screen door closed. They serve breakfast and lunch all day (including a huge pork tenderloin sandwich that should require two buns). The food is cheap. They even have a cook that is covered in tattoos and a shaved head (I wish I knew his name). They have a bar to sit at. All of their food is cooked on the griddle or fried in oil.

I was eating and trying to think what else the place needs. Only the waitress, a very nice woman, wasn't cast for the role. Their menu also mentions salads but can we all agree to ignore that?

All of that and you'll still remember how they greeted you,"Do you want coffee?"