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My wife and I went to the diner the other day. Our oven is on the fritz, and we are trying to wait on 4th of July sales before we replace it. Sure, there are endless meals that we could make on the stovetop, but we decided to eat out.
If you are not sure what you want, you can’t go wrong with a Jersey diner. Usually, the menu is eight to ten pages long, so you should be able to find something. A proper diner will have excellent breakfast items that are served always (so you don’t have to go all “Falling Down” if you want breakfast at 11:31 AM). While diners will each have their own specialties, every diner will have great burgers, fries (regular and Disco), club sandwiches, hot open-faced sandwiches (turkey or roast beef), pot roast, meatloaf, and matzo ball soup. If the diner is owned by a Greek family (and it really should be), they will also have very good gyros, moussaka, and spanakopita.
Anyway, after our meal, I went up to the register to pay. I paid. He gave me my change, and then we both said, “Thank you.” There were no winners or losers in that transaction. I got a tasty dinner and friendly service at a price I was willing to pay, so I was thankful. The owner got enough money to pay for the meal and the workers who prepared it, with some left over for a profit, so he was thankful as well.
To me, the two thank yous show that free-market capitalism works. No one could force me to pay more than I am willing, and no one can make the diner provide goods and services for less than what they want. In this transaction, both sides leave happy, thank you, thank you.
Things don’t work that way when the government gets involved. For instance, I don’t get to decide who I buy electricity from. I can understand why a monopoly was granted to the power company. It would not be practical to have 100 companies running electrical wires all over town. While I am grateful to have access to electricity, I don’t get much say regarding how much I am willing to pay. Allegedly, the government is advocating for the consumers (while also banning the cheaper forms of power). But let’s just say I never sent a thank-you note to Jersey Central Power & Light, and I'm not really feeling the love from them either.
Next time your thank you is met with another thank you, know that you are engaging in the fairest and most efficient form of commerce.
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We have a diner that has what you describe - only open for breakfast and lunches. It is the best! In fact, it's so good we can't bring ourselves to try anything else on the menu except the 2 things we always order! They have plenty of booths, a wraparound lunch counter, those big thick coffee mugs and is frequented by all ages, but a lot of elderly love it. Some people just sit at the counter and actually read a paper while eating! Friendly attentive waitresses and the Hispanic owner comes out to greet people and check how you like everything. It's top notch and all homemade.
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One we like is the Red Line Diner in Fishkill, NY. That's where we usually stop overnight on the 10+ hour drive to Boston to see our grandsons (can't make it in one day anymore, especially given the afternoon rush hour traffic on I-95 around Boston).
The diner is always crowded, but never much of a wait, everything is good and massive portions, and they even have beer flights, 4 glasses for $10!
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I love this way of explaining the free market. I've had that the thought of "everyone walks away happy" in regards to garage sales and perhaps other informal, unregulated arrangements.
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I will remember that! We stop at Exit 6 interstate in across the river for gas when we drive to NC by way of Gettysburg for overnight. It’s about halfway to GBurg and dinner. Breakfast before we leave the next morning at the Gettysburg Family Restaurant. The best eggs and local sausage on the planet. Except for the sausage/egg tacos at Bill Miller’s in San Antonio.
gettysburgfamilyrestaurant.shop
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Thank you for a thought provoking post.
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