PREVIEW: Travel Back in Time to 1950s Luncheonette

I’ve always been a fan of cozy places where you can sit down, get a great meal, be surrounded by regular folk, and just enjoy a moment in time.

The Our Town Grille is just that place.

On every one of my “journeys” I seek to arrive at the answer to a question that I have been pondering. This time I wanted to know why some restaurants need to have a theme.

We’ve all been to restaurants where that idea goes a bit overboard. I mean, why do I need a wacky moose head hovering over me while I’m trying to eat my potato-chip-encrusted chicken?

However, the theme at Our Town Grille in Malverne is more of a natural outgrowth of the location and a gentle homage to the previous owners of this location. It's what makes this place so special.

Jerry Carter, one of the owners, decided to keep the look of an old time luncheonette, much like it was back in the fifties. Not only did I get that throwback feeling as soon as I walked in but I also immediately felt welcomed.

Sometimes when I walk into a place, I’m usually greeted by an apathetic teenager and the overwhelming aroma of spicy wing sauce and desperation, but not at Our Town. 

The restaurant lives up to its name. Everyone is friendly, the mood is jovial, and most importantly …. they have a candy counter at the front of the place!   Remember those candy buttons on wax paper? You'll find them here.

A fun, casual tour of this intimate space followed and we got the chance to mingle with the very affable clientele as they told us about how great Jerry is, how tasty the food is, and how much they enjoyed the theme of this location.

So what type of food do they serve, what is most important about finding a theme, and what’s up with the constantly changing window displays?

You'll have to come back to Patch Wednesday when "Journey to Our Town Grille" premieres at 11 a.m.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a burger waiting with my name on it!