Oof, it’s definitely not like Perkins at all. Perkins feels like a chain, and the food is far worse than most diners I’ve been a regular of over the years. Goo

Oof, it’s definitely not like Perkins at all. Perkins feels like a chain, and the food is far worse than most diners I’ve been a regular of over the years. Good diners have a gestalt that’s difficult to capture by just listing the characteristics of them. Diners are community hubs in a way that places like Perkins can’t typically become (though I won’t deny they have some regulars at least). Take one of my former locals, the somewhat famous Tom’s Restaurant in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Google Image Search it and tell me if it feels like a Perkins. There’s a ton of history there that you can only feel when you’re in the diner. When Dr. MLK, Jr. was assassinated, there was unrest in the neighborhood. Tom’s had no security gate, and neighbors (of all races according to reports [and the owner at the time]) locked arms and formed a human chain around the restaurant to protect it from damage. See also this obit of Gus Vlahavas[1], the former owner of Tom’s, who was a face I saw almost every Saturday morning in my early twenties when I lived in the neighborhood. So anyway, that’s my diner spiel. Tom’s is a pretty famous diner with a lot of history, but there are countless others like it in NYC. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/nyregion/gus-vlahavas-owner-of-toms-restaurant-in-brooklyn-dies-at-76.html https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/nyregion/gus-vlahavas-own...