Thursday, January 24, 2008

The Boulevard Diner

Sometimes you just need friends to kick your butt to make something happen. That's exactly how I found myself in the Boulevard Diner in Worcester, MA today. As you know, it's been a while since I've posted anything here (but the dining experiences have continued unabated), so this was the inspiration I needed.

At the prompting of Joe Cascio, aka joec0914 on Twitter, we blocked out today for a true diner experience. I had gotten to know Joe through PodCamp Boston last year - and there's another diner post waiting to be made with respect to that weekend - and have been pleasantly surprised to discover mutual interests, including golf. Joe discovered this blog and it reminded him of some diner experiences of his own during his college days in Worcester. You can read his reminiscences and his take on our meal on his blog. And here's the video of our visit:



But one of the interesting things - at least to me - was an opportunity to visit a diner in the city that can be considered one of the most important with respect to diner history. Forgive me the brief history lesson here. Diners were first manufactured as replicas of railroad dining cars, originating in Providence, RI in the late 1800s. The term "Worcester diner car" comes from the Worcester Lunch Car Company, a manufacturing company that actually made the diner cars. The Boulevard is actually a Worcester (#730) from 1937 and it still has its original interior, including wood, tile, and stained glass windows. Joe's Flickr set actually does a great job of capturing this.

On the menu for us today:
  • Joe revisited his college experiences with an Italian sausage sandwich with a side of chocolate milk. To say the bread was fresh was an understatement.
  • C.C. went with the old warhorse, the one dish that is the universally-accepted diner fare: meatloaf, mashed potatoes & gravy. Veggies included carrots & green beans.
  • I decided to sample their steak & cheese - probably because it's the last thing I remember posting about here, lol.
Without a doubt, this was a true diner experience. If you're ever in Worcester, make the Boulevard one of your stops.

The Boulevard Diner
155 Shrewsbury St
Worcester, MA 01604
(508) 791-4535
Get directions

5 comments:

Len Edgerly said...

Yum! I wish I could have joined you for this happy cholesterol-fest. What a handsome venue!

Scott Monty said...

Len - keep an eye on our Upcoming badge to see where we'll be eating next. You're welcome to join us!

Kyle Flaherty said...

Just finished breakfast, yet now incredibly hungry, nice work fellas!

/kff

Elizabeth Thomsen said...

The Boulevard is definitely one of the last great Worcester diners. It's also worth a visit after dark, with all that gorgeous glowing neon!

Boulevard Diner -- Here's a night photo

Scott Monty said...

Thanks for that great photo, Elizabeth!