Deluxe Town Diner, Watertown, MA

[bex77]

There are times when you want a turkey dinner. Not just a turkey sub, or a turkey wrap or even an open-faced turkey sandwich, but turkey with stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes and a vegetable! After much searching and a poor substitute, I found it at the Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown. http://www.deluxetowndiner.com/

I'm not sure what started it, but Tuesday afternoon I had a hankering for just such a dinner. I know they have them at Mr. Bartley's in Harvard Square, but they don't serve stuffing. And the place is a bit too crowded and crazy for me. Bickford's Grille in Burlington has it, but I recall that the turkey is from a processed roll and not very good and that's a bit far to go. I had N. do some searching on his fancy phone, thinking maybe S&S, or the Arlington Diner or maybe The 99. No luck.

So we headed to R.F. O'Sullivan's. I'd heard amazing things about their burgers and thought they might be a reasonable substitute in the "American" and "meat" direction. I didn't like the place or the food. But so many people seem to adore it, so I'll make a few notes in case it is your style. The place is small - it's a bar with a few tables in one row around the edge. We went in at 5:30 pm and it was empty. The waitress put us under a blaring tv, then let us move to where N. had the setting sun in his face of the rest of our meal. The onions rings were of the "too big and too greasy" variety, which is saying a lot for this grease-lover. The chili was full of green peppers, which I despise. And the burger (I opted for the mushroom and swiss) was a tennis ball. Hard to eat and not worth it even at a very reasonable $8.95. The fries are these huge, thick, soggy, skin-on things that don't resemble any other fries I've ever seen and weren't tasty. On the plus side, N's mixed grill of chicken, sausage and tips was tasty and big enough to take half of it home. Beacon Street does have unmetered parking.

So Wednesday I was determined to find a turkey dinner. I did an extensive Google search and some close reading of Yelp. The only place I could find was the Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown. I had heard of it in the "great breakfasts" category. I never go to Watertown. I know it's "right over there" on the other side of Mt. Auburn Cemetery, but it is mostly undiscovered country. I do recall someone taking me to that diner for breakfast years ago, but N. said he'd never been there. Google said it was 11 minutes from Harvard Square, so I decided it was worth a try. Even at high rush hour, it only took 16 minutes. There's metered parking until 6 pm.

It's a real diner - the railroad car built in type. There's a counter and a bunch of booths around the outside.

Their menu is amazing! http://www.deluxetowndiner.com/

I had a raspberry lime rickey. N. had a Coke in a Bottle. They have an entire page of beverages! You can get a beer or wine, but 2/3rds of the page is other stuff, from frappes to teas to Arnold Palmers! They served tap water in a fancy bottle with its own label. Very silly and fun. And free!

N. tried their chili - delicious! Topped with sour cream and cheese, with warm corn bread on the side. I had a delicious turkey dinner - half a plate of meat, gravy, mashed red potatoes, stuffing and spinach! They let you choose the vegetable. This dinner was exactly what I wanted! For only $10.25! And it's so much fun to order a "blue plate special." Heh. N. enjoyed a chicken fried steak with sausage gravy, which he adored.

They have all the usual diner stuff - meatloaf, pot roast, chicken pot pie, fish and chips. I was surprised by many of the "healthy" choices on the menu - offering a salad instead of home fries on many of their breakfast choices, eggplant fries or eggplant meatballs, tempe, tofu, and their international touches like a chicken curry with quinoa, a Middle Eastern platter, and various Mexican choices.

I saw someone else order pie, and that seemed like a great idea, but we had places to be and theater things to do, so that will have to wait for next time.

The service was fine except we couldn't get our check at the end...after 15 minutes I went up front and the waiter apologized for being overrun with five new tables at once. But he took care of me right that moment, so it was fine.

So I found my turkey dinner, and much more. I highly recommend it for a diner dinner!

Comments

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

That diner is my family's current go-to place for brunch (since none of them except me are willing to put up with the line at the Friendly Toast...). Fantastic diner-style brunch food.

[bex77]

Heh. It figures that someplace I think is "way out there" is someplace your family goes all the time. But don't they have lines? A lot of Yelp posts said you had to get there before 9:30 am or wait forever. I don't do lines either. My current brunch favorite is the Independent in Union Square.

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

oh yes, the DTD has long lines. My parents and brother just find waiting on line there to be less annoying than waiting on line anywhere in Cambridge or Somerville. (My sister finds waiting on line anywhere to be annoying.)

[aphrabehn.livejournal.com]

Deluxe has some really good stuff. My friends and I have been fans for quite some time. Great steak tips and hamburgers as well. They also have some of the best fries around. I think it's the peanut oil.

The S&S has turkey dinners as well - it's listed as a special but I've never been when it wasn't available.

[bex77]

I am definitely going back to Deluxe soon. Thanks for the other suggestions. And thanks for the tip about the S&S. It isn't on their web site. That is practically in my backyard, and they have lots of other great choices if I happen to hit the one night they don't have any turkey. It's interesting that these "breakfast places" actually have yummy dinners as well and don't get any press about them.

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

I work less than a mile from the diner, and right now I have rehearsals in Watertown 3 days a week, starting at 7 pm. This is a good option other than trying to bring in two meals a day to the office. (Though I'll probably do that most days due to considerations of expense & diet - I'm trying to save $$, and definitely trying to lose some of the 25 lbs I put on since I started working at the Place of Much Free Food).

[bex77]

I wish I had someplace like the Deluxe on my way to work. Though I shouldn't complain with all of Harvard Square and Inman at my doorstep.

What play are you doing in Watertown? Let me know details, and I'll add it to the "theater to see" list at Steering Committee on Sunday.

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

I'm starring in As Bees in Honey Drown at the Arsenal Center for the Arts. It's a fabulous play, and a juicy, juicy role, that I'm having a lot of fun with. We open August 13, and I'll start pimping it once we get a web page up. I think we're doing publicity photos next week, so the page should be up soon, I hope!