The White Rose

In a previous blog, I talked about me and Papa and our Saturday night habit of going to the movies at The Walt. We have another country routine, but it's kind of ad hoc. We go to the White Rose Diner and have dinner quite often. We have our share of fast food places and a sports bar and a Pasta House and another Italian restaurant and we had a real nice steakhouse that burned down last December but nothing that compares to The White Rose.

The White Rose is the only diner of it's kind in Union (our country town). When we moved out there almost nine years ago, we discovered it pretty early on and thought it was a new place but since then we've learned it's 73 years old. They must have just rennovated it prior to our first visit, hence the new wood floor look and smell.

It has booths and tables and bar stools; hardwood floors and a large jukebox in one room and in the larger dining room, there are individual jukeboxes on the tables. I guess so you don't have to walk to the other room, to select your music. You can do it from your own table and it connects to the main jukebox. But it seems that whatever music is playing seems to go with the mood of the night and it's never silent, there is always music. All golden oldies, need I say, what else would they play on a jukebox at a diner?

You couldn't ask for a better menu of comfort food. Breakfast is served all day; every Friday night is a catfish special and every Saturday night is the ribeye steak special. Actually, every night has it's own special, the same special, week after week. We see alot of families and some younger couples, but the main clientele of The White Rose are older folks, so I guess, being such creatures of habit, they appreciate the same menu for the most part. No surprises there.

I love The White Rose because when you walk in the door, it smells like fresh coffee and pie. I've never tried the pie (they usually have 3 or 4 to choose from each night), I'm usually too stuffed from dinner for dessert, but one of these days I think I'll just go up there for coffee and a piece of pie.

Like I mentioned above, the diner must have been rennovated just before we started going there because it has both an old and new feel about it.

Papa likes it because it has framed car prints on the walls and they have "car cruises" there a few times during the year. They also have an old time phone booth in the large dining room. An actual wooden booth with a bench inside. I've looked but never touched so don't know if the phone works or it's just for decoration.

And frogs. They have alot of frogs around there. Not real frogs but glass frogs, ceramic frogs, frog pictures, just alot of frog knick-knacks. Haven't asked about this....yet, but I will I'm sure. The curiousity will get the best of me over these frogs!

It's a come as you are place. I've seen women in dresses and pearls and men in overalls and dirty tractor hats sitting side by side. The people working there are all very friendly. From the owner who runs the cash register and wishes you a good night as you are leaving to the young waitresses, who always yell hello to you when you come in the door, whether they know you or not. It makes you feel like they know you well and that you are most welcome to come in and have a seat and order something tasty to fill your belly.

Almost makes me drool just thinking about those cheeseburgers, the best around our small town.

Signing off to wipe the drool off my chin and start my own dinner....Grammy