GREAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN

Thisilldous Eatery presents

GREAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN

tasty places to take your bike

COOPERSTOWN DINER 136 1/2 MAIN ST, COOPERSTOWN, NY 13326

607-282-4367 • COOPERSTOWNDINER.COM

We have all heard of the big-time restaurants. Many of us have been to a few. Americas in New York City was massive, as was their menu.

But bigger is not always better.

This month we’d like to take a ride up to that baseball mecca called Cooperstown and bring you to a diner that is SO small – they have only half an address. It SO small they are on the Delish Magazine’s Top 12 List of Tiniest Restaurants in the World.

It is SO small my 900Z could almost block the entire width of the restaurant.

Let’s ride to the Cooperstown Diner.

But rst a bit of history on this now baseball famous town.

The village, located about 4 hours north of New York City, was founded in 1786 by William Cooper. Technically the name was original “Village of Otsego” and then changed to honor him in 1812.

Otsego remains the name of the county where Cooperstown resides, and the lake on which it sits. A little know factoid on Otsego Lake.

This is the start of the Susquehanna River, the longest river on the east coast as it ows 444 miles to the Chesapeake Bay. It was also the longest river in the early 21st-century continental United States without commercial boat traf c.

But, let’s stay up by Ostego Lake and Cooperstown.

The natural setting of Cooperstown is breathtaking. Add to that the charm of Main Street and its local businesses, Cooperstown is a beautiful place to visit.

But most know it for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame was established in 1939 by Stephen Carlton Clark, an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Clark sought to bring tourists to a city hurt by the Great Depression, which reduced the local tourist trade, and Prohibition, which devastated the local hops industry. Clark constructed

the Hall of Fame’s building, and it was dedicated on June 12, 1939.

The Hall and the stadium are a joy to see if you are a ball and stick fan as well as a rider.

But, after taking all that in you will be mighty hungry and we have a big idea for you …in this littlest of diners.

It was built back in 1922 and was called Pitcher’s Lunch – not that this had anything to do with baseball – the owner was Harry Pitcher.

Ironic, right?

It is now owned by the Haywood family, and it is in very good hands indeed, as you will see.

When we stopped by it was a mid-week late morning, and we still were able to grab a table. Our waiter was handling the entire diner, tiny as it is, but he seemed to have everything well in hand.

Although it was near lunchtime, a quick perusal of the breakfast side of things made us happy we had gotten there at the perfect time for a late breakfast. All the regular egg dishes were there as well as Greek Eggs – two eggs any style over a bed of spanakopita lling consisting of spinach, scallions, parsley, dill and oregano mixed with feta cheese atop grilled bread. Following that there was Georgia Eggs – two poached eggs over the diner’s signature homemade sausage gravy on a toasted English muf n and a Mediterranean Omelet which adds tomato to the spanakopita, a side of potatoes and onions with a wheat English Muf n.

It is hard to go wrong here to start your riding day.

Shira went south to Georgia and I created my own dish, which they were happy to whip up in fast time.

The lunch and dinner meals look great and we have heard their hamburgers could go to the Hall of Fame. Their sandwich platters looked interesting as well. The Fenimore – Tuna or chicken salad melt with Swiss cheese or the Ostego Wrap looked good as well – chicken cordon bleu, buffalo, or chicken with bacon.

Dessert, if you still have room for it? A slice of their store-baked pies with a scoop of ice cream should nish your meal off in a delicious and sugary way. It’s all good. ,