Wayne’s Family Diner…

JULY 31, 2016

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? I hear this question quite a bit. I pretty much heard it every day from “my sixteen year old girlfriend” in San Diego, Marymay, who hung out at our place a lot when we had our little ranch in the back country. I fed her well and in exchange she’d direct me in a daily workout playing tennis in front of the Wii. Now I hear “What’s for lunch?” on the road, even from RV travelers whom we’ve just known for a short time. “We’ll help you in the kitchen and we’ll do all the clean-up, but will you fix lunch for all of us?” “Okay, I can do that.” But understand that I’ll prepare lunch, not fix it. And even though I know you mean well, please stay out of my way while I’m working in the kitchen. Better yet, why don’t you go outside and clean the Weber grill…get it ready for this evening. Because I’m pretty sure you’re going to want some of that wild caught Atlantic salmon in a few hours when your appetite alarm sounds again. And cleaning the grill,  not that is something you can do.

High definition photo of Wayne’s Diner in Pensacola. Combine breakfast at Wayne’s with a visit to the nearby National Naval Aviation Museum for a fun-filled day. And you probably won’t want much dinner. Wayne sees to it that you’re full when you leave his place. Don’t count calories here.

WHAT ABOUT WAYNE’S FAMILY DINER? Or better yet, since as much as I enjoy cooking it is a lot of work and even I enjoy having someone else prepare lunch for me every once in a while. And what better place than Wayne’s. Wayne’s has an atmosphere of the 50’s with pictures, tables & booths of the period, music and lots of 50’s items to peruse. You get a friendly greeting and escort to your table. The ladies are experienced and pay attention to your needs. Here’s the review I posted on Trip Advisor after our second or third meal with Wayne, who’s owned and operated the diner for the last 12 years: “Wayne has greeted us at the door each time we’ve visited his diner. The food is consistently good, the servers are attentive and friendly and, well…it’s just good food and good people!”

MY “EATERIES” PAGE ON THE BLOG. You’ve probably noticed the “Eateries” tab on the top bar of my blog. If you click on that, it’ll take you to a group of posts I’ve published over the years we’ve been traveling on our Adventure. My standards for inclusion into this exclusive group of places we’ve discovered have become more stringent with the passage of time. Wayne’s Diner easily passes under the microscope of my higher standards.

We’re exploring the backroads and byways of America, the “nooks and crannies” of our country. It’s not hard to find diners that share the appearance of this place but that’s where the similarity ends. Wayne’s Family Diner combines that 1950’s “sock-hop era” feeling with personal attention, efficient service and really good Southern Comfort Food. And that what a diner should be all about. Don’t miss this one if you’re in Pensacola.

If Wayne isn’t at the shop to personally greet you, this young lady is there and she does a good of making you feel at home.

The “House Special” is chicken and dumplings. Florence said they’re darned near good as those her Grandmother made, and that’s saying something since Grandma was an old school Southern Cook from Ocilla, Georgia. And they don’t make comfort food much better than they did back in the day in the deep South.

Abraham Lincoln was known to have said, “If your legs are long enough so your feet reach the ground they’re long enough.” I’m short, but my feet always reach the ground. But Wayne is tall, really tall! You guys know that whey I really retire I’m going to explore the possibility of opening a small restaurant. I’m sure I could “work the front of the house” like Wayne does, and be just as effective. 

See the “To Go” box on the table next to my car keys? It’s full of chicken and dumplings we couldn’t eat on the spot, so we’re taking the extras home for lunch tomorrow. It’s unlikely that we’ll ever leave this diner without a “To Go Box.” And having a second meal the next day at home drops the amortized cost of the meal way down.

There’s a counter here, like there is at any good roadside diner. Sometimes we’ll stop for desert and coffee after having lunch at home. Why not?

One of the photos on the wall. Wayne told me this was his girlfriend, but I’m not so sure. I think I recognize her from somewhere else. I can’t quite put my finger on it but she sure looks familiar!

NOW YOU’VE BEEN TO OUR FAVORITE DINER IN PENSACOLA. I’ll let you know when we’re going back again…probably for lunch on Sunday. If you like liver and onions you might want to try it here. I wouldn’t touch that meal with a ten foot pole but lots of people consider it a special treat. I’ve got to admit, it looks pretty good as it passes by in one of the server’s hands headed for another table.

I’VE ALREADY ASKED YOU ONCE. One final thing. It’s this: I’ve already asked you guys to humor me…send me some comments at the end of my posts. Say anything in you comment, I don’t care. But please say something. I’m insecure enough as it is, and if you keep ignoring me and my need for comments I’ll probably need to get talk therapy from some psychologist. I really don’t want to go to that trouble. So I’ve given you a couple of examples, below. If it’s easier for you,  cut and past my words into future comments. That way your picture and your name will appear next to the comment, rather than my picture and Mike Huckabee’s name. Get it? Good. I don’t want to have to go over this with you again!

I’ll continue my story next time.