I grew up not far from here and worked across the street at Pathmark Supermarket and probably ate here 5 nights a week for the good part of two years of my life. They say, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and in retrospect, I am surprised that I survived my "regular" order:
- 2 cheese dogs with bacon
- Mozzarella sticks
- Grilled cheese sandwich with bacon
All 2500 calories (?) of which I was able to put down in a 15 minute break. Oh, to be 16 again...
In some ways the Canteen has stayed true to its heritage and in other changes leave me yearning for the good old days.
The good:
- The hot dogs taste the same as they did 30 years ago. The dogs are natural casing mix of beef/pork. I think they are deep fried in lard and then grilled to order. The chili is the same recipe and is crazy hot
- Whole belly clams are still served in season
- They make a cheese dog by frying a piece of cheese on the grill and then putting it on the dog. I've tried this myself an there is a narrow window of opportunity where the cheese is cooked just enough but not too much.
- There's something good about the breading in the mozzarella sticks. It's a little bit thicker than normal and they served them before the trend caught on.
- There's a method to the ordering system that exposes the locals vs. the out-of-towners.
- No credit cards accepted.
- They've always had a cheesy arcade game in the corner. It's now a crane game. It may have been a crane game for quite some time.
- The bathroom looks like a great place to commit a murder. I'm not saying that murder is great, but it's great that the food is so good that the risk of being murdered in the bathroom is worth it.
- It is kinda dingy inside with terribly uncomfortable tables and because it's small and the door is always opening and closing, it can be pretty cold in the winter
The bad:
- They have an ATM machine on site. This removes one barrier to entry at the Canteen, you used to have to go find a bank, or perhaps rob the place
- They have a website. In the old days, much of the good stuff wasn't even on the menu
- They changed French fries. They used to serve a thicker, longer crinkle cut and now are a bit on the skinny side, still crinkle cut though.
- They have a more diverse menu with items that are actually healthy, like salads.
- They painted the place
- There aren't as many shady characters roaming around the parking lot as there used to be
This was planned as our last visit to the Canteen. I wonder if the sausages at the Shilin Night Market will serve as a worthy substitute. I think so.
My brother ate at the Merritt Canteen almost every day until he turned vegetarian around age 15. I've been trying to think of a clever message in that fact. While I haven't come up with anything, I don't think such a message would be used in a commercial for the Merritt Canteen.
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