The Monroe Diner - Monroe, New York

The Monroe Diner is like an old friend. It is the place we went as teenagers in high school to drink coffee all night and debate worldly chaos and teenage angst. And it is the place, a lifetime later, that we go to have more coffee, laugh about the world, debate worldly chaos, and eat waffles with our daughter.

Steve and Alex, the owners are as much family now as they were then, opening the doors to their restaurant as if you were a guest in their home. We were pleasantly surprised Christmas Eve, to find a big old St. Nick seated in an overstuffed easy chair, sitting quietly next to the dessert display. John, the manager, snapped a polaroid photo of our daughter laughing with the "big guy" while she explained the difference between and EZ Bake Oven and a Real Meal Oven.

How nice to find a place in Monroe, that didn't charge for the photo, or even advertise "breakfast" with Santa (commonly an experience you need a HELOC to attend). Typical of the low-key warmth our diner offers us all, Santa was simply there to greet the kids and hand out a few stuffed animals.

Personally, we've been to the Monroe Diner for thousands of burgers, at least a million cups of coffee, countless laughs, and one or two funerals. I’ve started a business there, ended a business there, and now started one again, and despite the myriad of other choices in our community now, it is still my favorite place to sit with my favorite people and shoot the breeze on any night of the week.

The Monroe Diner simply says, “Welcome Home.”

(To see other people’s reviews, visit http://www.yelp.com/biz/monroe-diner-monroe.)

By, Mary Vetell