Through a diner window

A scene glimpsed through a diner window, downtown Columbia.

Broadway Diner

The Broadway Diner during Monday night's snowstorm.  While I miss the old location on Broadway and Providence, this one has some merits.  The parking is a little better, it is easier to walk to from various bars, and the red and green neon sign fills and transforms the dark emptiness of lower Fifth street...especially on a snowy night in January.

Ernie's

My favorite item here used to be the bacon-wrapped filet mignon.  I don't even know if it is offered any longer...that was back when a man who looked a lot like Walt Whitman used to be seen sitting in one of the wooden booths near the front, drinking coffee and looking timeless.

Lucy's Cafe

I was lurking around Fifth Street one evening, looking for something that I wasn't seeing yet.  Then I found a set table inside of Lucy's Cafe.  Perfect.  It was an existential moment for me. 

Ron's Country Boy, Broadway

Ron's Country Boy diner, where Lucy's now resides.  Lucy's is as good now as Ron's was then...although I believe that Broadway Diner has a slight edge on them both.