December 15, 2011
As Al noticed in the comments section yesterday, Jeremiah Moss announced the reopening of The Waverly Diner! I’ve been waiting for this since last summer, so you know where we’re off to tonight. I hope they kept the black and white 8x10’s! And I pray the orange juicer is there for Biff, let’s go see.
I thought we'd walk there, it's a straight shot down Sixth Avenue. Just ignore the angry Cardboard Box Man to the left. He appears to be restrained...and pissed. Aaaahhh!
Hey, check out this photo in the frame store window.
It's a photo of The Waverly Diner!
Okay, we're almost there, in fact I think I see the neon in the distance.
Goddamn...it looks just the same. This is a great moment, nice to see the corner back to the way it was.
Inside the changes are minimal. There's the double and single booths to the left.
The right area is a little different, there's now booths and tables where the kitchen counter once was.
There's still a couple booths up in the front window.
The counter is now all the way in the back, which I believe seems to be a little longer. I think they gained some space in here.
Here's a view of the marble-topped counter from the back end of the diner. Looks nice!
Freddie serves up a beer with Jonna at his side. Still nice and friendly in here.
And here's Bobby, great to see the old crew back in here again!
The only disappointent for me was the 8 x 10 glossy black and white autographed photos aren't back. But Freddie said they may be putting them back up in the future. I'll bug them until they do.
The menu is exactly the same.
And here's Freddie with my order.
I just got an order of the chicken wings. It was too late for a full-fledged meal. I have the night off tonight though to see a friend of mine's band, so I'll return for the Waverly Melt, stay tuned for that tomorrow! Oh... and Biff...
And good news for Biff the orange juicer made the transition! Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
The Waverly Diner
I have to admit, as I walked up to the Waverly Diner and saw the neon signs spraying color out onto a winter’s night on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, I got a little choked up at the sight. It was really a happy feeling.
I don’t remember my first meal in The Waverly Diner, but I know it was sometime in the summer of 1993 when I first moved here and I was living on the Upper West Side. I’ve always liked to walk up and down Bleecker Street and that area in Greenwich Village and would always stop at The Waverly Diner when I made a trek downtown, which was often. Sometimes I’d sit in one of the burgundy vinyl single booths, other times I’d camp out at the counter. I’d usually get the Waverly Melt and fries, but I think through the years I’ve sampled nearly everything on that menu a couple times at least. I got to know the crew working in there and would have fun kidding around with them.
“You’re charging me for the soup? They give this stuff away for free in the missions!” Was one of my standing routines that I wore into the ground, but it always got a laugh.
You’d see other familiar diners in there and nod and smile and they’d do the same back at you. You never get to know these people, but they kind of feel like family in a strange, dinerly kind of way. It makes you feel like part of a community. And when places like this close and a Starbucks barges in, communities start to crumble and people become less familiar. Not as many smiles and nods become nonexistent.
When I saw the boards on the windows last summer, and the neon signs unlit, I thought it was the end of the Waverly Diner. I dreaded the thought of a 7-11 or a Chipotle or...well, you know the list by now, moving in and wrecking my fond memories of the place. Or even worse, someone would buy it and Fedoradize it, keep the name and completely turn it into a yuppiefied version of what it once was while serving pig’s heads and artisanal hot chocolate to a hapless band of fools who buy into a pathetic shit show like that.
You know what it felt like sitting at the counter drinking beer, talking to the crew and eating chicken wings in there? It felt like I was kicking Mayor Bloomberg in the balls. And boy if that isn’t a good feeling! Stop in the Waverly Diner and experience it yourself, you’ll be glad you did.
Waverly Diner
385 Sixth Ave. (at Waverly Pl.)
212-675-3181
Further Reading: Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, DNAinfo and Grub Street.
When I can, I will,
Words defy the plan,
When I can, I will.
(Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!)
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Bonus Christmas Song From Willy Momo!
Willy Momo sent in his new Christmas song to MAD and here it is. Thanks Willy!
22 Comments
Reader Comments (22)
HOORAY for the return of the orange juice juicer! And for the rest of the Waverly as well. The place looks great (they DID gain a lot of space in there!) and I can't wait to stumble down that block for an early morning breakfast of corned beef hash and a Coke. Thanks for the update, Marty and welcome back, Waverly Diner!
Hurrah! I'm so glad the place looks the same (minus the photos and plants). And, you can't go wrong with more booths. Good for them for keeping it cozy and not altering the menu, which is perfect as-is.
My first meal there was some drunken night long ago...I was walking up 6th Ave when a squirrel ran up to be and chirped. Only after bending down to coo at it did I realize it was a "night" squirrel (AKA: Rat!). Anyway, I had the silver dollar pancakes. :)
Diners, sometimes Greeks bearing gifts can be a good thing.
Those chicken wings looked scrumptious! Looked a hell of a lot better than that batch of chicken wings I deep fried the other day, first time I've tried to deep fry anything in years...used a batter recipie I got off the internet, not bad but probably nowhere as good as yours. I'm glad to see they keep CBBM on a short leash in that neighborhood...that's all you need when you're trying to work up an appetite on a walk is for CBBM to run up and start dry humping your leg and sniffing your crotch...
WooooHoooo.. so happy for you Marty!
glad to see the friendly faces and know that you are smiling too!
@Biff: I was really scared that the orange juicer would be gone, but it's there and I'm pretty sure it's the original one! Hooray!
@Goggla: Ha ha ha! Never heard of a rat called a night squirrel! Good one! I've never had pancakes in there, I'll have to try them sometime.
@csp: Agreed, it's all Greek to me!
@Jaws: You know, I've never deep fried anything in my life. Maybe I need to get a Fry Daddy and experiment. I wonder if they still make Fry Daddies...time to go to Google!
@Gidgie: Thanks! Friendly is the operative word for this place, a great neighborhood diner!
At M.A.D. - all you need is a medium or large size pot and enough crisco or canola oil in it for whatever you're frying to float in it. Use a candy thermometer to make sure the shortning or oil is 350 degrees Farenheit. Dip your stuff in the batter and put it in the oil for 5 to 7 minutes and pull them out with tongs when they are done. The real trick is the batter...maybe the cook at the waverly can help you with that...fry daddy gadgets are a waste of money, all you need is a pot.
...and for God's sake, don't spill that hot oil on you or you'll be dancing the funky boogaloo all the way to the emergency room...
Did you notice the happy faces of the employees at Waverly? Back to work in a great place, a really positive post here on keeping things the same. Have to celebrate a place that closes and reopens basically the same,,,,how often do you see this? No hidden agenda, no greedy bastard landlords or corporations = (I know, CSP told us who really owns NY) but in this case the good guys win,,,,One by one,,,,,we must save the New York bars,,,and Diners,,,now everyone support Waverly and stay away from the chains,,,,down with greedy corporations,,,this was a victory.
@Jaws: My problem is I don't have a stove. All I have is a microwave, an electric skillet and a toaster oven.
@Al: It's a victory for sure. It was such a happy vibe in there last night. I'm going soon to get the world famous Waverly Melt!
So glad to see it back! I( was really worried that they were going to take the sign down or even worse close completely. Good to see that it's running pretty much as usual. Now I want a patty melt.
@Brian: I was afraid too! So glad it's back, I just had a Waverly Melt and will post a photo of it tomorrow!
Great post - if seeing that neon doesn't make you feel good on a winter's night, then you aren't human.
Another thing I took from your post - notice the customers; people actually talking to each other instead of having their faces buried in their phones. And notice the staff - all smiles and on their game - nobody in a corner texting or checking their fucking facebook. Those photos could just as easily be 1988 as 2011.
Now contrast that with Starbucks; ever peer into a Starbucks? Nothing but a sea of clones staring into their phones as if their lives depended on the next message coming across the screen - it's the perfect marriage between an occupying soulless monster and the zombies that buzz about it like flies, waiting to pick at the excrement its covering the city with.
Great! I was pretty sure you'd be in there this week! Hurrah for the real diners of this world. I was first in there in the mid 80s, but certainly haven't explored the menu as thoroughly as you - almost always go for a narrow selection of eggs, corned beef hash, BLTs etc. Thanks a lot - can't wait to go back soon!
glad to see that MAD had a "pleasurable" return to the Waverly...who knows the 8x10's will return too...am sure a lot of people are happy 'bout this as well...
off topic: "bedbugs...are just as tasty"?
The art of dining well is no slight art, the pleasure not a slight pleasure.
Michel de Montaigne
rr
@JAZ: Your comparison between Starfucks and the Waverly Diner is right on the money! Starfucks=texting zombies, The Waverly Diner=a true neighborhood joint where smiles abound.
@onemorefoldedsunset: I would've loved to have been there in the 80's but I'm glad it's staying the same in the noughts or whatever we're calling this decade.
@rr: I hope the 8x10's return, I'm trying my best to talk them into it. Too funny you saw that bedbugs comment and thank you for the perfect quote, as always!
Nothin' better than that wonderful "kicking Bloomberg in the balls" feeling. Warm and wonderful! So glad to see something in the Village is intact. When I moved here in 1984 I too spent alot of time just wandering around the city, especially the Village. I'd take a subway map and some tokens and explore on my own, which was sheer heaven. Found lots of wonderful little places to eat (too shy to go into bars alone), most of which have disappeared. Waverly was one of them! VIVA WAVERLY!
@Katrink: One of the things I still love to do in NYC is just wander and find new things, but sometimes it's a nice, warm feeling going into some place familiar to eat and relax and that place is The Waverly! VIVA WAVERLY!
I *LOVE* a good diner. Too bad they don't serve alcohol in NJ diners.
@meleah: No alcohol in a diner? That's criminal!
great to see the Waverly diner back and the staff after such a long break! 8 x 10 black and whites next
#Green Monkey: it is great and looking forward to those 8x10s, for sure!