Dining in Awe

Walking through, staring at the empty parking lot, one’s mouth waters with the Niner Diner a few yards away; however, one does not just go into a restaurant for the cuisine, but rather the essence of it. When entering this little diner one gets the gist of a post World War II era. After frolicking up the cement pathway gripping onto the rusty railway, gazing through the circular window and pushing open the licorice colored door, one enters a time warp, with an old fifty’s tune playing in their heads as the waiter asks whether they want a seat inside or outside.
If one chooses to sit outside as I regularly do, they have a choice of the family-sized white picnic table or a three-seated plastic table with green plastic chairs to match. In the middle of each table, regardless of size, is assorted a bottle of ketchup, a black container with several packets of Cane sugar, for those who prefer to sweeten their coffee, a dispenser of white napkins, a stack of berry flavored jams, and right next to the ketchup, is a tiny bottle of hot sauce that contains more flavor than the size indicates. The cold breeze brushing against one’s cheek is rather refreshing as they stare out into the scenery granted before the diner. An airport staggered with tiny planes maneuvering around with the green hills shadowed in the background, a sight one can only imagine to see in California. Having to wait for food is not much of a nuisance when the eyes are being treated as well as your taste buds.
For those who prefer heat waves from the air vent over the fresh air, would tell the waiter they would like a seat inside; sitting inside is a whole different experience. From the moment you open the door, fumes of warm french fries enter you and invite you in. The first question to be answered is where to sit. Do we want to sit in a booth, giving us a family feel, or the tables, which are placed in the middle making us feel like important costumers, or at the counter where we get to witness close-up the walls of ice cream waiting to be scooped, especially the chocolate mint.
Sitting in the middle table is the best way to observe everything the diner has to offer: You can glance down into the kitchen, eavesdrop on all the other costumer’s gossip, and get a good glimpse at the proudly covered walls. Almost every inch of the walls are covered with a portrait or diagram of an airplane. The airport itself is located right across from the diner, so one can infer that it had some influence on Niner Diner’s creation. Looking to the right of the diner, into the kitchen, it appears as an endless hall way that must have a magical garden supplying them with the food in the back. To some it may seem like a greasy, dirty environment where overly priced meals are made, but to other pupils it is the sanctuary where the magic happens.
“Sweety you’re getting ketchup all over yourself,” is one of the few lines you hear as you sit patiently at your seat waiting for your order. It is habit to listen to what others have to say, even when the conversation is not intended towards you. One middle-aged women sitting in the corner booth with her obedient husband, raises her voice as she looks at her order and discovers they have not given her her fried onions as she wanted. Oh dear. Oh no. This is terrible. The woman was infuriated and refused to listen to any staff member as they gave her their apologies. They even offered to give her any meal on the house. She could have ordered chicken strips or french fries or a steak sandwich or french stuff or BLT or soup or onion rings or seven different types of sandwiches or coleslaw or calamari or a banana split or a chocolate milkshake, but she refused everything and demanded she have her original order with the correct onions. The people in a restaurant can determine many characteristics about it. The Niner Diner was packed with senior citizens and their grand children at every corner, in fact the only two costumers under twenty without supervision were my sister and I. This indicates that the diner is more old-fashioned and appealing to folks from a different time period.

Looks and appearance are vital to a restaurant’s image and the number of costumers they receive, but when it comes down to it, the food is what really sets it off. When the waiter or waitress walks out of the kitchen with a tray of food you hope every time that he or she has come with your order; when the realization that it is not your order kicks in, you drool for the other person’s meal. Across from my table I spotted a little six year old boy being served his banana split. The banana split- put together with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup, sprinkles and whip cream, a banana and cherry- was mouth watering to look at from a distance. When one’s own meal does come, before gorging down on it, one tends to take in the scents of each little ingredient of the meal, inspect the meal, and then dine on the meal. When feasting on this desirable meal, gazing at the diner around you, listening to the important discussions not concerning you, for a while you can forget about everything and just enjoy this moment in time along with your turkey on rye.

-Sharendeep