Nostalgia on Greasy Spoons

Here I am reminiscing on these small, inexpensive, but not necessarily unsanitary cafes – my kinda hangout places for a bite to eat and a pot of tea. Greasy spoon caffs (they are known as “diners” in the States) are among my much-loved eateries during my years in Britland. Even my most favourite Thai place is this tiny greasy spoon in the vicinity of the Waterloo tube station, where the scene of a super long queue of chunky and sweaty builders is a norm.

Why are they called “greasy spoon?” Wikipedia told me that the name is used to imply a less than rigorous approach to hygiene and dishwashing, and appears to date from 1925. Fine. No, they are not that dingy. An archetypal greasy spoon just mainly serves fried or grilled food like fried-up e.g. bubble and squeak (ooooh, yummy), bacon, sausage butty, fried eggs and chips, baked beans, mushrooms, fried tomatoes, mash or baked potatoes, and fried bread. The entire menu would be written on a huge blackboard by colour chalks suggesting every conceivable combination of the food items afore-listed. Despite the origin of the word “cafe,” drinks offered in these eateries are usually not fresh-brewed coffee, or if available it’s instant. Instead a handful variety of British teas is listed, and bottled juices as well as sodas are on hand to be picked (no alcoholic drinks though because an alcohol license cost too much when they want to keep the food prices low). On the dessert front, bread and butter pudding, rhubarb crumble, and apple crumble are the usual.

Yes, the stereotype is of poor quality greasy food – meatless sausages, salty and fatty bacon, and weak, tepid, milky tea – team up with a bunch of tabloid newspapers like The Sun. Ok, the tabloid part is true but for me, most of these places serve quality cuisine. Also, a portion of good old all-day “full English breakfast” and a week-old copy of Hello or Ok! magazine are sometimes a perfect formula to start the day, better than fast food chains (in my opinion as I’m not big a fan of burgers and chips).

On top of that, the criteria have widened and now include those small independently-owned restaurants with a simple menu and no alcohol served under such category. That’s when I can proudly present I’m fanatic about the greasy spoons, well, since I started counting some of my regular sandwich places, small caffs, and a modest Chinese bistro that have got a gorgeous recipe of quarter Crispy Duck (the one by Russell Square, gosh, I miss that place so much – you know, one of those eating places that you don’t even have to order and they know exactly what you’d like to eat – yeah, that’s the one).


Here in Ithaca, I tallied “Sticky Rice” and my beloved “Cafe Dewitt” under the type so I’d say I’m over the moon discovering them!! Viva la Greasy Spoon!!


p.s. For the time being, let’s leave out an ugly reality that a booming trend of high-end cafes (coffee giants like Starbucks) have crushed and driven a number of these small greasy spoons out of business.