REVIEW
If you find yourself motoring through the Catskills in New York when hunger strikes, we suggest locating a diner and settling in for a quick meal of American classics. We like to think that much of the appeal of diners is their fungibility and predictability, but in all honesty that probably overstates the situation. Yes, if all you want is an omelet or a burger, just about any diner will do, but some diners really do a better job than others. One of the most reliable of the breed is the Miss Monticello.
The lunch gyro special came not only with a side of fries, but a cup of soup and dessert as well!
The Miss Monticello has been owned for about three decades by the Nikolados family. Many diners, especially in the Northeast, are owned by Greek-Americans, resulting in the added bonus of Greek specialties on the menu in addition to the club sandwiches, meatloaf, and French toast served at all diners. We enjoy the well-dressed, drippy gyro, and Miss Monticello does a particularly good job with their spinach pie. Of course, you’ll also find pastitsio, souvlaki, moussaka, and Greek salads among the menu’s offerings.
Granted, the matzo ball soup doesn’t quite measure up to our own, but it is satisfying on a brisk fall day.
Prefer something more familiar? Miss Monticello offers everything you’d expect to find in a Northeast diner, right down to the “honey dipped” fried chicken and the Happy Waitress (for diner novices, that’s an open-faced grilled cheese with bacon and tomato). Breakfast is served all day, so if it’s a mid-afternoon Catskill Omelet you’re craving (lox, tomato, onion, cream cheese), or you want some of the aforementioned French toast for dinner (in four styles: thick Texas toast, challah, regular white or whole wheat bread, or made with homemade cinnamon raisin bread), it’s yours.
Sit in the front for full diner ambiance, or in back for roomy tables and chairs.
The front of the diner is traditionally configured, with a row of fixed stools facing a long counter, and a row of booths opposite. Or head into the back room for roomier seating at regular tables. The waitresses are diner dolls, eager to please. You can be well-fed and back on the road in 45 minutes.
Almost always the best ending to a diner meal: rice pudding.
The Spanish woman that took my order was nasty and completely rude. I wanted to pay for the order over the phone since it was to be picked up as a donation to a person with no money. She claimed that she was too busy to take my credit card. Then , when the party went to pick up the order, I called her back to pay again. She started screaming at me that she like they were doing me a favor to pay over the phone. I gave her a valid business credit card. Perhaps, someone that works the register and the phone should understand English better than she can. I explained to herthat I have run a business for many , many years and have never, ever talked to my customers that way. This woman should stay away from the customers. In addition to that, she cannot understand English. I have no problem speaking Spanish but why should I have to.
Trust me. Many, many of my friends will not be frequenting this Monticello Diner. Their money works in other places as well. Hopefully, this message will be received by the owners of the diner. Does being too busy, give people a right to be rude and condescending to others or have Americans become complacent because that’s the best we get. Good day