Over Memorial Day weekend I was visiting my grandfather in Rhode Island, and used this as an excuse to visit one of my favorite breakfast joints down that way.
The Modern Diner is tucked away in a quiet corner of Pawtucket, RI, and is your classic Streamliner “diner car” diner that’s since been augmented with some additional kitchen space and seating.
The Modern sports quite an extensive menu, including several dozen specials posted on the wall by the entry. Pretty much anything I’ve craved for breakfast, they’ve had, including most any type of fruit-covered waffle, and about a dozen varieties of Eggs Benedict (including lobster). They are also pretty inventive, I’ve seen some pretty fancy french toast dishes here as well.
This time, I got a hash benedict, which was quite delicious, with very well poached eggs and nicely crisped hash (the hash doesn’t appear homemade, but at least they fried it up nicely), although the hollandaise sauce was a little light and runny (but quite flavorful). Two other poeple in my group got cornmeal bacon pancakes, which were very large, and very delicious (there was enough leftover for sampling).
The Modern is also proud of it’s heritage of being “the only diner on the National Register of Historic Places.” Funny, since I’ve been to at least two other diners that are on the Register (Mickey’s in St Paul, MN, and Miss Bellows Falls in Bellows Falls, VT). However, the Modern is quite good, and quite venerable in it’s own right (my 90-year-old Grandfather has told me of eating there when he was a young man), so I’ll let them get away with a little bit of exaggeration.
Actually I eat at the Modern Diner often. The hash is home made as are all the dishes they serve.
FYI, The modern Diner is the first diner invited to be accepted on the National Register for Historic Places… not claiming to be the ONLY on on the register 🙂 Hope that helps clarify! 🙂
Ah, clarification noted. 🙂