Martindale Chief Diner
Craryville, NY
It’s just above freezing. You spent the afternoon traveling in the rain and you’re cold, wet, and hungry, so when you spot the five oversized neon letters at the crossroads between the Taconic Parkway and Route 23, you’re drawn like a moth to a flame.
“What’s good here?” you ask a man in a trucker hat sitting in the booth behind you.
“Nothing’s not good here, I’ll tell you that,” he mumbles from beneath his beard.
The waitress behind the counter is memorizing menu items and their prices. When she stops at your booth to take your order, you ask, “First day?”
“Fifth,” she replies with a smile.
“What’s good here?”
“Get the French dip.”
“I’ll take it.”
The sandwich is the best you’ve ever had—succulent roast beef dripping with au jus and smothered with cheese. Before it’s done you ask the passing waitress for a strawberry milkshake to top it off.
You’re warm, full, and rested, and as you watch families laughing in booths and police officers having coffee, you realize the trucker was right. Nothing’s not good here.