SAME AS IT EVER WAS

Nearly a half century later, Dot’s Diner remains a comfy refuge of caffeine, biscuits and chicken curry

BY JOHN LENHDORFF

The Friday night before had been as high as this particular Saturday morning was low, hungover and headache-y. Under mirrored sunglasses my eyes wished the Boulder skies were not so freakin’ sunny and bluebird bright. Standing in line with a typically odd assortment of hippies at Dot’s Diner, I was desperately seeking caffeine and gravy.

(I know that this breakfast happened between 1976, when I arrived in Boulder, and 1978 — the years when the Red Zinger Bicycle Classic took over the town.)

ME, RED ZINGER AND SUSAN ST. JAMES

Finally at the front of the waitlist at the original Dot’s location on east Pearl Street, I took the only seat available, a single at the cramped counter. The afterglow of excess hung in the air like the cigarette smoke then allowed inside Boulder eateries.

Begging the waitress for coffee before I plopped on the stool, deliverance arrived in a rapidly refilled white china mug. Only then did I turn my head to my right and notice that the lovely young woman next to me was Susan St. James.

St. James was a famous actor at the time, starring with Rock Hudson in the TV series McMillan & Wife. She was here because she starred in national TV ads for Celestial Seasonings, Boulder’s homegrown tea company and sponsor of the bike race.

Gazing into her bloodshot eyes, I realized that she’d also had a very short night and was trying to recover before the public race festivities. Through the blur, we exchanged smiles and nods.

I left her in peace.

Where The Folks Still Get Their Yolks

Thousands of breakfasts later, I recently found myself with a gravy craving and headed to the eatery’s 28th Street location. I hadn’t dined there in a long time, but it didn’t matter. Time is frozen in a comfortable, unpretentious Boulder past at Dot’s.

Near the front door hangs an off-kilter sign voicing a kind request: “Please limit rebirthing experience to two hours at the counter on weekends so that others may enjoy the experience.”

I grabbed a roomy booth facing a wall painting depicting the original Dot’s in that converted gas station. The place retains the same diner décor: bumper stickers, artifacts, awards, and classic rock on the sound system.

I love the fact that each table has a black pepper grinder, ketchup, Cholula and a squeeze bottle of the same seedy raspberry jam that has always been served at Dot’s.

I ordered what I always order: a large Southern Breakfast with griddled ham slices, a side of simple, thin, scratch-made white gravy, over-easy eggs, grits, and a big, warm, square buttermilk biscuit I immediately middled with pats of butter. There’s enough gravy that you can dip biscuits or ham, or just eat spoonsful as you ignore the meal’s dietary impact.

The rest of Dot’s breakfast menu features familiar favorites from the huevos rancheros and Swiss Sizzler to the German pancake that takes 25 minutes to bake.

Grilled Cheese And Spinach Saag

Instead of coffee, I washed down breakfast with a big mug of Dot’s spicy, milky house chai, one of a number of tasty tweaks to Dot’s lunch offerings in recent years.

Besides the classic lunch entrées, including an open-face roast beef sandwich, Dot’s boasts a menu of authentic Nepali curries ranging from boneless chicken curry to baingan bharta (roasted eggplant), each served with rice, dal soup, chutney and flatbread. I took home a plate of bright green saag with tofu that was perfectly spiced and creamy.

Feeding The Next Generation

It’s worth noting that when Dot’s originally opened, Nepali fare (not to mention espresso drinks) were virtually unknown on Boulder restaurant menus.

Over the years, Dot’s moved, expanded to other locations and then contracted. Through wars, recessions, pandemics and rising egg prices, the restaurant has persisted while hundreds of Boulder eateries have come and faded.

We need a few unchanging spots like Dot’s Diner, as well as Lucile’s, the Buff and the Village Coffee Shop, to keep us anchored in time.

As I finished the last of the biscuit with raspberry jam, I surveyed the