Sunday, June 17, 2007

Super-Size Food with Eyes

If you’re ever in Schenectady, New York be sure to stop by Nick’s Cafe on Broadway for some great diner food made even better by the presence of two larger-than-life food with eyes mascots guarding the door. I drove past this nondescript building in a rundown part of Schenectady countless times without ever noticing Nick’s Café.


Then one day enormous hotdog and French fry cone statues appeared outside.




My interest was immediately piqued, but due to rather limited hours of operation I never made it there. Last week on a day off from work, I made it my mission to explore Nick’s Café. While the statues were the major draw, I was delighted to find an honest-to-goodness vintage diner inside complete with red leather counter stools and a quilted stainless steel backsplash behind the grill area. I instantly realized I had been missing out on something great and was thankful to the food with eyes for drawing me in. I tried the classic burger and fries duo and was most impressed – nothing frozen here, just hand-formed patties and hand-cut fries.

Other people have characterized the hotdog and French fry pair as demented and scary. I think that's harsh as it appears the French fry cone suffers from a facial birth defect, although the hotdog does seem to be applying the ketchup a bit too enthusiastically.

1 comment:

Lushie Peach said...

Here's an update on Nick's Cafe: on a subsequent visit I learned that it has only been open for 7 years (which explains why I didn't notice it until the statues appeared - there was nothing there before). The building it occupies did not house a diner previously. Through the use of authentic vintage furnishings and equipment it is easy to believe Nick's has been there since the 50s, not just 7 years.