I was a little nervous when I walked up to Circle Grill Restaurant. There were an awful lot of slow-walking, dirty people kind of skulking around the place like it was a homeless shelter.
I had to remind myself that I was simply in a part of town that I rarely visit, and this is probably just a normal day in the area.
"Don't panic," I thought to myself, "Just try and blend in."
So, I slowed my gait and breathed with my mouth. I think I might have farted just to seal the deal on my character. It worked because I made it to the door without being hassled.
When I walked in, I was whisked away to the diner in David Lynch's Twin Peaks. The scene couldn't have been more perfectly furnished by a Hollywood art director; vinyl bar stools with backs, a revolving pie showcase, fake wood siding on the booths and tacky carpet all assaulted my senses at once and almost made me feel like I was supposed to say my line when the hostess greeted us.
Even the staff and patrons looked like someone had picked them out just to be in this little cinematic moment that had been created for me.
Let me tell ya, they don't make em like this anymore.
When I sat down at the table, I saw a little notice taped to the wall of my booth "We will be closed next Sunday for a private filming."
How about that? Somebody else had admired the location for the set piece that it was and would shoot their movie there. I felt very validated in my initial observation. I wondered what kind of movie it would be?
I pictured myself as the main character... perhaps the town sheriff in a period piece about the mid 70's.
I walk in, thumbs in my belt, mustache out past my nose. I sit at my usual booth, Thelma promptly brings me coffee and apple pie (the usual).
I tip my hat and give her a "Thank ya kindly," with a little swat on the rear, not because I'm into her, but because sexual harassment was both expected and welcomed back in those days. My deputy, who also happens to be the town idiot, comes in and fills me in on the body that was just found down at the rock quarry. I throw 50 cents on the table and table and leave - mid-pie. And so starts the murder mystery.
(Sigh.....)
On to the food.
I kept it simple: a turkey and swiss with some okra on the side. My friend got the chicken fried steak.
My sandwich was fine, just fine, I mean... it's a turkey sandwich with cheese, if you can't handle that, maybe you shouldn't be in the food business. But the chicken fried steak... The chicken fried steak was ENORMOUS and had that food porn look to it. You know the kind I'm talking about -- like where they do the slow motion shots of the gravy drizzling over the impossibly perfect looking food? Yeah, it actually LOOKED like that. It didn't have that greasy, thin sort of fried breading that we've all experienced elsewhere. No, this thing looked like a damned golden cumulonimbus cloud on a plate. I was impressed. I saw some of the other plates flying around and they all had that similar high quality look to them. I realized that this place was the REAL DEAL. A real home style diner that was a credit to the genre in both look AND food.
The service was prompt and friendly too, so don't worry about that.
The Circle Grill pretty much rocked my socks. And you know how I found it -- or even knew that it existed for that matter? The Yelp app's "nearby" feature. Otherwise I would have meekly puttered back to uptown in my hybrid for a more trendy lunch of sushi or perhaps of panini of some sort. Effin' lame! Thank God for technology and for the good reviews on Yelp! This is how you get customers in the 21st century!
If I lived closer, I think I would come back for lunch and dinner regularly. Looking forward to going again when I'm in that area.
4 and a half stars because I-30 scares me. read more