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| 10 years from now, when Biddeford real estate is through the moon, I'm blaming this place. |
The
thought of suggesting someone drive from Portland to Biddeford for, well, anything seems like an effort in futility. To further suggest that one make that trip for a breakfast or tuna sandwich should take you into the realm of the ridiculous. OK, OK, it’s really too easy to shit on
Biddeford but they actually have some really good things going on down
there. There’s Run of the Mill for
decent beer and pub food. There’s a really good hot dog place (that might
actually be in Saco) and, of course, there’s the Banded Horn Brewery and Tap
Room. They've got a hell of a nice beach
and a University that sports a blue artificial turf field. There’s a river lined
with mostly abandoned mills that are starting to house some really cool
apartments, artist studios, coffee shops, etc. So, really, it’s not a bad place at all but
compared to my beloved Portland it is still a sort of culinary wasteland. That was until the reopening of the Palace
Diner this past year transformed a 90 year old, 15 stool (no tables) diner into
a little food oasis where not only the locals can experience the kind of meal
that us Portland snobs take for granted but are also willing to jump into
our Prius’ and make the 25 minute journey down the turnpike to indulge
in.
Finding
the Palace Diner is the first trick. It’s
just off Main Street kinda behind the courthouse. There’s plenty of parking right out front and
even a little side park to hang in on a nice day if there’s a wait. Walking
around the block might be a bit depressing as you pass many vacant storefronts
on Main although it does make the imagination wonder about what once was and what one day may again be. Once there, you enter a building that is totally old school. It’s a
1927 diner that might have been attacked by the Blob in the original movie. There are 15 stools attached to the floor
with round, comfortable, and very spinable seats.
Pretty much everything is a throwback
to a bygone era except the food. The
place would be pretty cool with basic diner food but what you get is far from
basic. Of
the items I've tried, the breakfast sandwich deluxe alone makes the trip from
Portland worth the effort. There’s a baked egg with smoked bacon, melted
cheddar and jalapenos on a sandwich sized English muffin which sounds like you should be able to make it at home - well, you can't. I’m really not that into jalapenos but on this sandwich it works so well. It truly is the best breakfast sandwich I've ever eaten and if I didn't know better I’d swear there
must be some crack sprinkled in there somewhere because I am completely
addicted. The potatoes that come with it are worth the trip by themselves. I probably would have stopped at the breakfast sandwich but I usually bring along a friend or a wife so we can split items. I almost always steer someone towards the breakfast sandwich so I can try something else, like the tuna sandwich. Yeah, it's just a tuna sandwich but they manage to do it just right with some dill and perfectly grilled bread that makes it oh-so-good. Try the corned beef hash - I'm not really a hash guy (at least I haven't been since I stopped following the Grateful Dead back in the 70's) but this is juicy and crisp at the same time and makes me think, "ah, this is what good hash is supposed to taste like".
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| The breakfast sandwich deluxe. Worth a 25 minute drive? You bet ya. |
There's other stuff as well, like the caramelized grapefruit side order which supposedly neutralizes the lipitor I take but, what the hell, I'll double up on it tomorrow. As a friend pointed out, it does give you the very false sense that you are eating healthy, if only for a couple minutes. A great burger rounds out the very short menu (something like a dozen items) and there's almost always a special. Coffee is from Tandem in Portland. It's their blend vs. their single source that you get at the Tandem shops in Portland but I think it works better in a diner where you're going to get a refill or two. I actually like it better than their single sourced stuff, but what do I know? I have to dig pretty deep to find anything negative. Food-wise, the best I can come up with is that the French Toast is "just" very good although you get real maple syrup to pour over it. If you happen to sit in front of one of the heaters AND the sun is also at your back, there's the real possibility that you may spontaneously combust but even that is welcome on a very cold day.
It's fun to watch the friendly staff negotiate the narrow space behind the counter and when your meal is ready, the cook will ring the bell even if the server is standing right in front of the service window. Go early or during the week because it can get busy on the weekends. I hear they can do 200 covers (that's customers to you non-restaurant types) on a weekend which equates to turning each seat about 13 times during breakfast and lunch. That's 13 different people sitting on each of the 15 stools on a busy day. Yeah, it's really that good.
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| And really good coffee too... |
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| OK, not The Palace, but it could be. Steve McQueen in the Downingtown Diner in the original Blob (1958). |
