Sunday, September 09, 2012

Sept 9 - Photo a Day - Something I Do Most Weekends

The Ultimate Diner - Ralph & Sons

Something I/we do most weekends... Eat Out!

Sundays around here are usually a toss-up between heavenly breakfast at "Ralphies" (as we so nerdily call it, borrowing from The Honeymooners/Looney Tunes) or a blissful lunch at Mucho Burrito.

For two great reasons -- we wanted to join Val for breakfast, and I'd snuck in a taco lunch at Mucho Burrito last Wednesday -- this was a Ralph's morning. The traditional diner is attached to a gas station/convenience store, where you pay on the way out, sometimes--like today--standing in line behind a four-time lottery-ticket winner!

The place has been family run for over 30 years. Our waitress knows us, and is always good-spirited about our "special order" brekky -- my half order of their incredible homemade baked beans, among other things. And she gets it right 99% of the time. Standing in line to get a table is customary, as people come to this west-end hotspot from all over the city. Sometimes the best things require patience, and since one of my favourite smells is breakfast food, hangin' out in that atmosphere visiting with good company is part of the joy of it.

Second choice, Mucho Burrito, it turns out, hails from my old neighbourhood -- Lynnwood, Washington! I may have mentioned somewhere on this blog that one of the most difficult things about moving to Ottawa was the serious scarcity of great restaurants. Luckily, that is changing, and the three branches of Mucho have added to that trend. Think of a super fresh Mexican-style Subway, where you choose-your-own goodies, (reminders of the most mouth-watering greasy spot in Oakland, CA years ago), and you've got it nailed. This one's spanky clean and actually healthy. There's also usually a line-up, but it moves along quite steadily, and as their website says: The wait has always been worth it!

1 comment:

Julee said...

LOVE little diners ... especially ones where they have good food!!!