Blue Plate Special: Two Free Diners [PHIL-OSOPHY]
I'll take a tube steak with whistleberries and a tall moo juice. I just ordered a hot dog, baked beans and a large milk from your neighborhood stainless steel diner.
Back when diners were in their glory days, they stood out as shiny ambassadors, some open 24 hours, with their flickering and colorful neon signs pointing to "eat here."
Now, there are two diners waiting to be adopted, free of charge. All you have to do is pay to have them transported from the side lot at Handy Hill Creamery in Westport.
For over 30 years, my wife and I have known the wonderful Sanford family. They've owned the famous Handy Hill Creamery on Rt. 88 for the last 50 years. They came upon these two diners because otherwise they would have been demolished by the wrecking ball.
Each diner has a unique history. Eddie's Diner used to be up near the Quincy area. In its prime time, Eddie's was a favorite of so many. Our own Tim Weisberg still remembers the delicious egg salad sandwiches of Eddie's. The other one, Travelers Diner, came up from Dover, New Jersey.
Westport officials won't allow the Sandfords to share a well, so they wouldn't issue them the permits to locate both diners together, creating quite a nice tourist attraction. So the family is offering them free to anyone who will pay to move the diners and hopefully restore and open them. You can have one or both.
There is a catch, though. Officials have given the Sanford family a 30-day deadline to have them removed. So you have to move quickly.
Anyone care for a dish of fish eyes? Calm down, that's tapioca pudding.
Go to Handy Hill Creamery's Facebook page for more information.
Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.