College Diner of New Paltz, NY

Hi,

Over the holidays, we were in New York Catskills area for a day trip. I didn't do any research to find a treasure in the region. Winged it instead, which didn't dig up diamonds though we sure were amused.

College Diner is the equivalent of Chicago's Greek diner without Greek specialities nor plastic wrapped bread slices in baskets. It has a lengthy menu covering breakfast all day to sandwiches and dinners. I love reading lengthy menus in unfamiliar locations hoping to find a unique dish.

We had an older waitress who didn't like to answer questions. She wanted us to order and allow her to move onto whatever was on her mind. Unfortunately, my family and I annoyed her greatly with our questions.

Irksome question one: "What kind of sausage is on the sausage sandwich?" "Sausage!" "What kind of sausage?" Sucking her breath in, "You know, sausage. Not the Jimmy Dean skinny sausages, these are thicker." She began writing sausage sandwich on her ticket.

Irksome question two: "Do the sardines on the sandwich have their skin and bones?" Crosses off sausage sandwich, adds sardine sandwich to her pad. "It's sardines!" "Your sardine plate says no skin and bones, but the sandwich only says sardine." Gritting her teeth, "It is the same can of sardines, so no bones and skin." "Ok, I'll have the liverwurst sandwich." Eyes narrow as she crosses off sardines to correct the list.

I thought I was much easier, because I knew I wanted the turkey croquette on the specials. Instead of French fries, could I please have mashed potatoes with gravy. All was good, until I learned a beverage was included with my meal.

Irksome question three: "Does the drink allow for free refills." "No." "Ok, I want Coke with no ice. I want water with lots of ice." I felt a telepathic wave through those ever narrowing eyes: cheapskate. There was also soup or salad available with the special, did I want salad or soup.

Irksome question four: "Is the soup made on the premises?" Ready to snap, "It is made fresh every day."

Mom ordered the meatloaf sandwich special also substituting mashed potatoes for the French fries. She joined me with the onion soup.

The soup was nothing special, which wasn't a surprise.

Mom's meatloaf sandwich was pretty generous. Nothing extraordinary, though Mom found it quite satisfying.



Turkey Croquette is something I have been fascinated by since 7th grade home ec class. The film strip covering cream sauce advised 4 tablespoons + 4 tablespoons flour + 1 cup milk + 1 teaspoon salt was the base for croquettes. I had never had a croquette and really looked forward to fulfilling this pent up desire. I had visions of turkey and peas suspended in cream sauce rolled in breadcrumbs and fried. I looked forward to piercing the crust to initiate a river of sauce, turkey and peas. Instead, I got Bali Hai.



This turkey croquette was made with turkey and what appeared to be leftover stuffing. It was shaped and apparently deep fat fried for a crusty exterior. It wasn't the turkey croquettes imagined in my dreams, though it was a crafty reworking of turkey leftovers. The mashed potatoes were fresh and the gravy generously poured. Can't really complain when I ate the entire dish.

If our waitress hadn't been so cranky, this visit to College Diner would have been a whole lot less memorable. I had a few more questions on the menu, because it featured a branded ham I was curious about. It just seemed a kinder gesture to simply suspend the questions or we risked watching her fly to the moon.

College Diner Inc
500 Main St,
New Paltz, NY
Tel: (845) 255-5040

Regards,

Since you were within twenty miles, did you get a chance to stop at the Culinary Institute of America?

Hi,

We also drove past West Point, too.

We stopped at the CIA a few years ago when we visited the Vanderbilt Mansion and FDR's home. We learned showing up as-is got you into a cafe, because there is a dress code for the restaurants. To walk in without reservations in advance can also sideline you to the cafe. Of course, dress code or not, you could spend money in the gift shop.
I don't feel very compelled to make the special effort required for dining there.

Regards,

To clarify on the dress code at the CIA restaurants, at least in Hyde Park, it is no jeans or sneakers. Reservations are pretty much a necessity on the weekends, and can be during the week at certain times of the year as the CIA has beome a popular stop on bus tours.

Debbie and I frequently stop at CIA on our way Montréal <—> NYC. The café for lunch is pretty nice food, and, as C2 noted, you don't need a rez. We've also made a special stop a couple of times for dinner, which can be AWfully good, and most certainly worth the trip.

It's a pretty campus, and the river topography there is just gorgeous. But I don't know that we'll stop at College Diner, C2—we'd be afraid to run into your crabby serveuse!

Geo