USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Foxfyre]

They tore down the Elite Diner. People from any other place than East Liverpool would have called it the Elite Diner. If you were born and raised here, you would have called it the E light. It was an old style trolley style diner with a long counter and booths along the windows.

On cold days the windows were covered with a sheen of fog. Otherwise, they were covered with a sheen of grease. The stools along the counter were upholstered with tangerine colored Naugahyde. The booths were lime green and the table tops were black with little silver boomerang shapes. The floor was 9x9 black and green vinyl tiles and the walls and ceiling were a shiny ivory color (probably antiseptic white originally but years of cigarette smoke mellowed the color to a warm ivory).

Two drink dispensers held orange and grape flavored drinks that constantly fountained under clear plastic domes. The cash register, no credit cards were every accepted at the Elite, had no electricity pulsing through it. Keys were punched, numbers appeared in a slim rectangular window and the highest denomination bill in the drawer was a twenty.

The Elite was a favorite for breakfasts. Regulars, old timers who met there each morning, held court in the end booth where they smoked Lucky Strikes and consumed gallons of strong black coffee while they discussed the prospects for the Potters football season, doings at City Hall and solved all the world's problems.

The other busy time for the staff at the Elite was Friday and Saturday nights after the bars closed. College age kids would stumble in from The Oasis up at the foot of St. Clair Avenue. More mature drinkers would filter in from the Corner Tavern at Sixth and Jackson. The juke box was controlled from the booths with a little flip chart listing the hits available. An eclectic mix of Buddy Holley and the Crickets, Loretta Lynn, Led Zepplin and Henry Mancini would ring through the diner while laughter, tears and raucous conversation bounced off the barrel shaped ceiling.

The food was edible, but not spectacular. I usually ordered scrambled eggs, sausage links, their fabulous hash browns and wheat toast. At the end of all that cholesterol Laden grub, you could raise the heavy locally made restaurant ware plate. The grease would flow downward and, like an etch-a-sketch, if you turned the plate 90 degrees, the streaks of grease would change direction.

If breakfast fare wasn't appropriate, a hot roast beef sandwich and fries was the best option. What I did not know until I was well into adulthood was hot roast beef means something different on the East Coast. Around here, a hot roast beef sandwich is slices of roast beef between two slices of white bread and a ladle full of beef gravy poured over the sandwich and the potatoes, be they fried or mashed. I ordered a hot roast beef at a diner in Brooklyn and they looked at me as if I asked for a lobster milkshake.

But they tore down the Elite Diner. Now only chain restaurants are here. America is getting more homogenized every time they take away local institutions like the Elite. Mores the pity.

I hear that. In Salina, KS there is a little hole-in-the-wall place called the Cozy Burger. Back in the 1970's and early 80's, they sold little slider-size hamburgers for 25 cents apiece--you ordered them by the bagful. These were old fashioned greasy hamburgers--yes the grease was visible--so laden with grilled onions, you could smell the place a block away and you could identify anybody by smell who had been to the Cozy Burger that day. I can feel my arteries harden just thinking about it, but those little burgers were soooooo good.

We were back in Salina for a 50-year-reunion of our church there a few years ago and of course we had to make a stop at the Cozy Burger. I think it is still in business, but alas, it is likely only a matter of time before it too will close up shop. And like your E-lite Diner, we will lose another little piece of Americana.

 

[Nosmo King]

They tore down the Elite Diner. People from any other place than East Liverpool would have called it the Elite Diner. If you were born and raised here, you would have called it the E light. It was an old style trolley style diner with a long counter and booths along the windows.

On cold days the windows were covered with a sheen of fog. Otherwise, they were covered with a sheen of grease. The stools along the counter were upholstered with tangerine colored Naugahyde. The booths were lime green and the table tops were black with little silver boomerang shapes. The floor was 9x9 black and green vinyl tiles and the walls and ceiling were a shiny ivory color (probably antiseptic white originally but years of cigarette smoke mellowed the color to a warm ivory).

Two drink dispensers held orange and grape flavored drinks that constantly fountained under clear plastic domes. The cash register, no credit cards were every accepted at the Elite, had no electricity pulsing through it. Keys were punched, numbers appeared in a slim rectangular window and the highest denomination bill in the drawer was a twenty.

The Elite was a favorite for breakfasts. Regulars, old timers who met there each morning, held court in the end booth where they smoked Lucky Strikes and consumed gallons of strong black coffee while they discussed the prospects for the Potters football season, doings at City Hall and solved all the world's problems.

The other busy time for the staff at the Elite was Friday and Saturday nights after the bars closed. College age kids would stumble in from The Oasis up at the foot of St. Clair Avenue. More mature drinkers would filter in from the Corner Tavern at Sixth and Jackson. The juke box was controlled from the booths with a little flip chart listing the hits available. An eclectic mix of Buddy Holley and the Crickets, Loretta Lynn, Led Zepplin and Henry Mancini would ring through the diner while laughter, tears and raucous conversation bounced off the barrel shaped ceiling.

The food was edible, but not spectacular. I usually ordered scrambled eggs, sausage links, their fabulous hash browns and wheat toast. At the end of all that cholesterol Laden grub, you could raise the heavy locally made restaurant ware plate. The grease would flow downward and, like an etch-a-sketch, if you turned the plate 90 degrees, the streaks of grease would change direction.

If breakfast fare wasn't appropriate, a hot roast beef sandwich and fries was the best option. What I did not know until I was well into adulthood was hot roast beef means something different on the East Coast. Around here, a hot roast beef sandwich is slices of roast beef between two slices of white bread and a ladle full of beef gravy poured over the sandwich and the potatoes, be they fried or mashed. I ordered a hot roast beef at a diner in Brooklyn and they looked at me as if I asked for a lobster milkshake.

But they tore down the Elite Diner. Now only chain restaurants are here. America is getting more homogenized every time they take away local institutions like the Elite. Mores the pity.

I hear that. In Salina, KS there is a little hole-in-the-wall place called the Cozy Burger. Back in the 1970's and early 80's, they sold little slider-size hamburgers for 25 cents apiece--you ordered them by the bagful. These were old fashioned greasy hamburgers--yes the grease was visible--so laden with grilled onions, you could smell the place a block away and you could identify anybody by smell who had been to the Cozy Burger that day. I can feel my arteries harden just thinking about it, but those little burgers were soooooo good.

We were back in Salina for a 50-year-reunion of our church there a few years ago and of course we had to make a stop at the Cozy Burger. I think it is still in business, but alas, it is likely only a matter of time before it too will close up shop. And like your E-lite Diner, we will lose another little piece of Americana.

There still is a restaurant in town, the Hot Dog Shoppe (you know it's classy because they spell shop with and extra 'p' and an 'e'). The fries there are fresh cut, not frozen. Lots of folks like the cheddar and chili sauce on top, I prefer them as they come out of the deep fryer. They are sold in white paper bags. When the bag turns clear, you know you're in for a treat!

 

[Big Black Dog]

It always amazes me how stupid news casters stand out in the middle of a hurricane to tell you how bad the weather conditions are. What do you expect? It’s a hurricane! Some day some poor soul is going to get badly hurt or killed doing this. I’ve encountered a few hurricanes in my day. Not a picnic or something to take lightly.

 

[Nosmo King]

I always wonder where the reporters and their crew stay during a hurricane. All the wise folks beat feet for high ground, yet there must be some hotel staying open to make a little media money accommodating the reporters.

And all the reports are the same. Someone standing knee deep in water, wearing a plastic poncho while they brace themselves against the driving wind and rain. Some roof in the background is blown away, some idiot in a canoe paddles by and a stop sign vibrates like it's strapped to the paint shaker at Home Depot. The reporter clings to the microphone and shouts the obvious. He winces as rain pelts his face and the cameraman staggers under the force of the wind.

And we watch safely ensconced in our living rooms hundreds of miles away. I've been in two hurricanes and, for my money, that's two too many. Hurricane Elena swept past Sarasota Florida back on Labor Day weekend 1987. Then Hurricane Jerry in Houston during the World Series in 1989. I've learned to stay in the upper Ohio River valley during hurricane season.

 

[Foxfyre]

The weather channel has a lot of mini documentaries of the people who try to get valuable video footage of the storm probably after the news people are gone. But whether news people or professional storm chasers I always wonder what sort of message they are sending by standing out in the storm long after the government officials have told everybody to evacuate inland.

 

[WelfareQueen]

I just saw this and immediately thought of all the bikers in the Coffee Shop. (Sorry guys, no implications here other than I thought it was funny.)

The official Coffee Shop "Harley" That baby can really motor when your going downhill.

 

[Ringel05]

It always amazes me how stupid news casters stand out in the middle of a hurricane to tell you how bad the weather conditions are. What do you expect? It’s a hurricane! Some day some poor soul is going to get badly hurt or killed doing this. I’ve encountered a few hurricanes in my day. Not a picnic or something to take lightly.

Pfft!! I lost count of the number of Typhoons and Hurricanes I've been through. The worst I saw is when the neighbor lost a roof and we had lost our screen door (Philippine Islands). The media here seriously over react but they do that with most stories, I think it's ratings related.

 

[Montrovant]

I found this hilarious! I'm sure most people with kids have felt the urge to do something like this at least once or twice.

 

[Foxfyre]

I found this hilarious! I'm sure most people with kids have felt the urge to do something like this at least once or twice.

I see when I reply that some media something was attached but it shows up as nothing on my screen?

Edit: no worries. . .your link did show up in your quoted post when I responded here. And as for that guy. . .maybe. But I would have liked to have taken out that guy with a 2 x 4.

 

[Foxfyre]

By the way, I am glad to be back on USMB. I've been getting the 'bad gateway' message from last night up to about a half hour or so ago.

 

[Foxfyre]

By the way, just in case for whatever reason the powers decide to close USMB after all these years, any of you who will trust me with an e-mail address, please PM it to me. I do not share these with anybody but in case we all needed to regroup somewhere, it would be a way to allow that to happen. I will delete the PM as soon as I get the e-mail address and anybody who could access my PMs already has your e-mail addy.

 

[Ringel05]

By the way, I am glad to be back on USMB. I've been getting the 'bad gateway' message from last night up to about a half hour or so ago.

It was okay up until around 7:30ish this morning.

 

[Ringel05]

By the way, just in case for whatever reason the powers decide to close USMB after all these years, any of you who will trust me with an e-mail address, please PM it to me. I do not share these with anybody but in case we all needed to regroup somewhere, it would be a way to allow that to happen. I will delete the PM as soon as I get the e-mail address and anybody who could access my PMs already has your e-mail addy.

It's my humble opinion (based on what I'm seeing) that the board is being hit with random DDoS (Direct Denial of Service) attacks. Unfortunately, not knowing the parent company's commitment to this particular board, if it becomes too costly to fight the attacks then they will shut the board down.

 

[Michelle420]

Happy Fryday I'm feeling high on life.

 

[Lumpy 1]

Happy Fryday I'm feeling high on life.

Me too, I try to make a habit of it...

 

[Ringel05]

Happy Fryday I'm feeling high on life.

 

[Foxfyre]

By the way, I am glad to be back on USMB. I've been getting the 'bad gateway' message from last night up to about a half hour or so ago.

It was okay up until around 7:30ish this morning.

I was getting a bad gateway message last night around 10:30ish or so. Kat said she was shut out all night. Maybe it was spotty?

 

[gallantwarrior]

News from BBD... It won't be long and we will be picking corn and soybeans in my neck of the woods. Both the beans and corn are drying up very nicely. Our corn is looking really good and I expect a good harvest. The deer here (bucks) are still in full velvet on their antlers and my trail cams prove it. That too will change pretty soon now. My son, who is currently stationed at Fort Hood, TX will be transferred to Korea and he leaves on October 8th. He has been selected for SSGT so the next time I see him he will have another stripe. Had a routine cardio doctor apt. today. All is well. That's about it except I burned the popcorn and the house stinks. Mrs. BBD is not happy with me. More news as it comes along.

Congratulations on all counts, except the burnt popcorn.

 

[gallantwarrior]

They tore down the Elite Diner. People from any other place than East Liverpool would have called it the Elite Diner. If you were born and raised here, you would have called it the E light. It was an old style trolley style diner with a long counter and booths along the windows.

On cold days the windows were covered with a sheen of fog. Otherwise, they were covered with a sheen of grease. The stools along the counter were upholstered with tangerine colored Naugahyde. The booths were lime green and the table tops were black with little silver boomerang shapes. The floor was 9x9 black and green vinyl tiles and the walls and ceiling were a shiny ivory color (probably antiseptic white originally but years of cigarette smoke mellowed the color to a warm ivory).

Two drink dispensers held orange and grape flavored drinks that constantly fountained under clear plastic domes. The cash register, no credit cards were every accepted at the Elite, had no electricity pulsing through it. Keys were punched, numbers appeared in a slim rectangular window and the highest denomination bill in the drawer was a twenty.

The Elite was a favorite for breakfasts. Regulars, old timers who met there each morning, held court in the end booth where they smoked Lucky Strikes and consumed gallons of strong black coffee while they discussed the prospects for the Potters football season, doings at City Hall and solved all the world's problems.

The other busy time for the staff at the Elite was Friday and Saturday nights after the bars closed. College age kids would stumble in from The Oasis up at the foot of St. Clair Avenue. More mature drinkers would filter in from the Corner Tavern at Sixth and Jackson. The juke box was controlled from the booths with a little flip chart listing the hits available. An eclectic mix of Buddy Holley and the Crickets, Loretta Lynn, Led Zepplin and Henry Mancini would ring through the diner while laughter, tears and raucous conversation bounced off the barrel shaped ceiling.

The food was edible, but not spectacular. I usually ordered scrambled eggs, sausage links, their fabulous hash browns and wheat toast. At the end of all that cholesterol Laden grub, you could raise the heavy locally made restaurant ware plate. The grease would flow downward and, like an etch-a-sketch, if you turned the plate 90 degrees, the streaks of grease would change direction.

If breakfast fare wasn't appropriate, a hot roast beef sandwich and fries was the best option. What I did not know until I was well into adulthood was hot roast beef means something different on the East Coast. Around here, a hot roast beef sandwich is slices of roast beef between two slices of white bread and a ladle full of beef gravy poured over the sandwich and the potatoes, be they fried or mashed. I ordered a hot roast beef at a diner in Brooklyn and they looked at me as if I asked for a lobster milkshake.

But they tore down the Elite Diner. Now only chain restaurants are here. America is getting more homogenized every time they take away local institutions like the Elite. Mores the pity.

Sorry to know that another piece of Americana in your precious part of the world has become a footnote in the local history. Sad day when such landmarks die.

 

[Foxfyre]

By the way, just in case for whatever reason the powers decide to close USMB after all these years, any of you who will trust me with an e-mail address, please PM it to me. I do not share these with anybody but in case we all needed to regroup somewhere, it would be a way to allow that to happen. I will delete the PM as soon as I get the e-mail address and anybody who could access my PMs already has your e-mail addy.

It's my humble opinion (based on what I'm seeing) that the board is being hit with random DDoS (Direct Denial of Service) attacks. Unfortunately, not knowing the parent company's commitment to this particular board, if it becomes too costly to fight the attacks then they will shut the board down.

It isn't like it happens that often. Every few months for a few hours or maybe a day. They can't shut us down.