A Taste of Ogdensburg

I’m sitting alone at a booth at Phillips Diner. I’m right by the front window. This vantage point lets me see everything - people coming and going, action on the street, and the goings on behind the long counter. I can even eyeball the cooks in the back by way of the thin pass-through they have. Should a mass shooting occur because someone didn’t get gravy on their mashed, I’m ready.

It’s way past lunchtime and quiet; I don’t think the owner, my cousin Donny Ashley, is around. I’m having my favorite—a hot beef sandwich with gravy on both the sandwich and fries; thank you. A tall, icy Mountain Dew, an unusual combination, seems perfect. The service is good, and I marvel at all the running around these waitresses do, not just here but in tens of thousands of other restaurants worldwide. I don’t think I’d have the patience for it - you deliver their order; they ask for a side of bleu cheesing dressing. You run back, get it, and return to the table, only to hear the guy say, “I’m sorry, I meant Thousand Island”. Another round trip. “Do you have any more vinegar? This one’s out,” showing her the empty bottle. Run and get that. “Would you mind seeing if the cook has…” at this point, the waitress takes his fork and shoves it in his eye.

Phillips has been around a long time - your parents and maybe even grandparents ate there. Even Jaques Cartier may have dined here at some point on his way to making his mark on the world with a state park in Morristown. People must have been much smaller back then - judging from the size of the men’s room, which is so small, you can do your business and wash your hands at the same time.

It’s a diner, like any diner - the tipsy square tables with wadded-up napkins under a corner, the occasional fly, the silver napkin dispensers, the vintage Lions Club 10 Cent Ford Gumball machine. The large laminated menus with local ads on them have been in more hands than a 1946 dollar bill.

Then there is Wimpy’s, also a hometown favorite I visited on my last trip. First of all, Wimpys makes no apologies for “borrowing heavily” from the old Popeye cartoon series - in fact, Wimpy was a character who was a soft-spoken and eloquent yet cowardly hamburger-loving moocher who would "gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” The characters of the cartoon are painted on the wall. Then there is the namesake itself, the Wimpy Burger. It’s just a small hamburger. What “Whimpifies” it is the secret sauce they put on it, a somewhat fluid brown topping that tastes a lot like slightly spicy potted meat.  The exact formula is a family secret right up there with the Coke formula,  though many people have tried to replicate it, my old man included. I indulged in a Wimpy and some fries and was quite satisfied.

There’s a reason small hometown places like this stay around - not slick marketing, help from corporate, or a cool app - people just like what they offer.

Places like Phillips and Wimpys make your hometown a special place—as much as any other attraction, such as the Remington Museum, the Seaway Festival, or the Ogdensburg Mall.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the national chains - McDonald’s, Taco Bell - even the local titan, Jrecks, but these one-off places have their own “flavor” - and not just in a taste sense, but a visual and auditory sense. I left the ‘burg way back in 1988, having moved to Brockport for college, and later started and raised a family in Rochester; it’s nice to come back home and still have these places around, as they bring the comfort that only familiarity can bring, and foods I loved as a kid - like my mother’s pot roast - is a comforting, a warm blanket for the stomach and heart.

I’ve been to the original Anchor Bar in Buffalo - where the original Buffalo Chicken Wing was created, it’s a place full of character and history,  and there’s just something about it that no chain place can replicate. Even when they tried to open other Anchor Bars around Western NY, they just didn’t have the ambiance that one single place has.

Phillips isn’t the only place in the ‘burg that brings back tasty memories - Dixie Lee was always good. Heck, I can even remember going to Grants for a meal more than once.

Unfortunately, some of those favorite tastes are gone—Oscar’s pizza, Tevilino’s Bakery, and Ted’s Donuts. Even Shollettes (at least at Park Plaza) had delicious pizza.

And then there is Donut King, now defunct. How many nights did me and the guys go there after a night out on the town? Us, and a lot of other “jolly” folks. Poor waitresses. It seems like a lot of wings got served, as I recall, and being young, my stomach could tolerate several drinks and hot wings and go to bed and be just fine. Today, I’d end up driving the porcelain bus all night long. It was an interesting place to people watch - oh, so she did end up hooking up with him; there were some Canadians (basically Mexicans in sweaters), the too drunk, and ones that looked like they didn’t drink at all.

Yes, everyone has gotta eat, but where you eat can make it even more enjoyable, and I’m glad the ‘burg still has these old places around.