99 Walnut Street, Montclair
Friday, April 6, 2012
Dan, Howie
Shake: 3.50
Fries: $2.25
Pancakes: $4.50
Dan's Rating: 4/10
Howie's Rating: 4.5/10
A trip to
Ray’s Luncheonette in Montclair raised the old-age question or defining the
differences between a diner and a luncheonette.
Ray’s doesn’t even claim to be a diner, but it certainly had the diner
vibes down to a tee. Even on Good
Friday, Ray’s was packed with customers who seemingly came in everyday of the
week with almost no need for the waitresses to bring some customers menus. This neighborly feel made it difficult to
call-out a flaw in our trip. When served
my vanilla milkshake, it tasted pretty dreadful and I spent the better part of
my meal trying to figure out what the inadequate taste in my mouth was. The waitress even specifically asked how it
was and I didn’t have the heart to tell her how bad I thought her handy-work
had been. When we got the check,
everything fell in to place. On our bill
along Dan’s chocolate milk, was listed a “banana shake.” How vanilla becomes banana to a waitress’ ear
is a different conversation for a different time (perhaps annunciation isn’t my
strong suit). But this changed
everything. I’m sure for a banana shake,
this particular one was very good, except for the fact that I hate bananas
(it’s just too healthy a fruit for my tastes).
How can I fault such a nice waitress for an honest mistake like
this? Ray’s would have to be forgiven
for their milkshake-snafu. However, not
as forgivable was the burnt taste of the pancakes and French toast. Even though they didn’t appear burnt, that
disappointingly distinguishable taste is even worse. Chalk it up to being called a luncheonette
instead of a diner, but Ray’s dropped the ball in the food department. The regular customers must be coming back
just for the good company.
You are a whiner.
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