Review of Maggie's Diner

For most people, the pre-teenage years are marked with the introduction of acne, awkwardness, attitude, and a growing frustration with being only halfway through the dark and seemingly empty tunnel of the education system. Despite this malaise, for many people, the silver lining in the school experience is the break between fourth bell and fifth, more affectionately termed: the lunch period. There are many reasons why lunch is the runaway winner in a vote for the best part of the school day. Obviously, books and homework are never required. However, the lunch period is no less a time of debate and discussion amongst peers. In the cafeteria line, everyone knows everyone. The teachers, students, and cooking staff all can relate to each other and have a shared appreciation for the work of the day only matched by an equal appreciation for today’s house special. The cook staff knows you not only by name, but by carpool, sports teams, and sometimes even by not-so-distant family. And for some students (your dear author not included), lunch period is special because it is the first and only time during the day you are greeted with a home cooked meal. To call cafeteria food home cooked requires a liberal ladling of imagination gravy overtop of the generous portions of Sysco mashed potatoes, Sysco creamed corn, and Sysco chicken nuggets. But for many students, cafeteria lunch taps into a sense of community and exhibits a care in preparation that is absent from the fast food meals that will dominate the rest of the day.

Grown-ups have many more options when it comes to enjoying food because money can usually buy you a quasi-nutritious meal and can probably even buy you friends to enjoy it with you. However, many times we still eat fast food and deprive ourselves of a true community eating experience. If you find yourself nostalgic for this sort of meal, then Maggie’s Diner in Tuscaloosa, Alabama welcomes you. Even in an age of Global Positioning Systems and instant connectivity, the directions to Maggie’s Diner read much like they must have when the diner was first founded. “Go down Bryant Drive until it dead ends, turn left, when you see the train tracks park.” In so many ways, Maggie’s Diner hearkens back to an older, slower time. The sign on the front door is faded and barely legible. Repairs would be in order if the sign’s purpose was to attract new clientele. Rather, it is a mural of a bygone era. Whether Maggie’s Diner still existed or not, that sign would indicate to you that at one time, people congregated here to spread the news and share in each other’s lives in a manner which is lost on many modern consumers. A similar feel awaits you as you walk into the low-ceilinged diner. Yellowed newspaper articles against the wall indicate to you that this restaurant is, in fact, the progeny of a cafeteria cook who went big. Maggie worked in cafeteria prep for thirty years before striking out on her own. The place looks, smells, and sounds of cafeteria. Dishwashers bustle about, always behind in their duties. Women coo the younger people in line and sheet pans of sugary baked goods emanate a sweet warmth throughout the two room dwelling that you can indulge in whether you finish your meat and vegetables or not. It dawns on you that Mom and Dad are not here. You are free to indulge yourself in whatever foods you desire. Or sit out and eat nothing (as I so often did as a child in school). Maggie’s brings out the good and bad in the cafeteria experience. The food is not gourmet, but it is crafted with a caring and disciplined hand, and you are welcome to enjoy your lunch whatever way you please.

When you enter Maggie’s Diner you enter a community that is much richer than the soupy vegetables and fried or stewed meats that are separated from you by one pane of glass and years of liberation from the structure of primary schooling. The richness comes from the police making conversation with the wait staff in front of you in line, and the people sitting two and four to a card table, with gaily floral table covers and equally as cheap plastic chairs. Just like the assorted styles of plates (watch out for the miniature ones) that Maggie has collected for serving, her diner is an eclectic mix of different community members who share not only a meal but their stories and experiences as well. And like any great head cafeteria woman, Maggie holds court over all of the proceedings. She runs the register but will often slip out to make conversation with her patrons and refer to them by name. She is the overseer not only of the sustenance of her flock but also their social well being.

I cannot escape leveling one criticism against this restaurant. During my unusual educational upbringing, I skipped over fifth and sixth grades and started high school early before coming back down to earth and finishing seventh and eighth grades. For me, the cafeteria experience was a somber and lonesome affair. Usually effervescent in the classroom, I was quiet and sullen during the lunch hour. Furthermore, I did everything in my power to distinguish myself from my classmates, positively and negatively. As I watched them tear into their bland cafeteria food, much of it the consistency of gruel or that of the Styrofoam trays, I quietly sat and went hungry. I wanted so badly to withdraw from their barbaric dining at the long tables that I rejected the cafeteria meal as a part of my childhood. Regrettably, one meal at Maggie’s Diner did not emancipate me from that stigma. I no longer fear conversation at the dinner table. In fact, I cherish the way that food enables multiple layers of expression: the food itself, the power of food to bring people together, and the conversation that is had around the table. However, as I sit and eat my fried chicken and vastly overcooked (for my taste) greens, my mouth grows heavy. Each chew becomes so excruciating that the prospects of conversation are dramatically reduced. All people should look for places to eat as part of the community. Maggie’s Diner has been fostering that spirit for many years and based on its four busy hours of business a day, will be doing so for years to come. However, if your childhood experiences with cafeteria food are similar to mine, the food at Maggie’s will leaving you with a quiet and lonely taste in your mouth.