Westcliff Diner
I had lunch at the Westcliff Diner in Halifax today. Three-piece fish and chips: $4.60. Not delicious, but perfectly acceptable. For me though, going to Westcliff is not about the food or the prices. It's about the experience.
I first heard about the diner thanks to a terrible ad they were running on the radio. Want to get my attention? Come up with a bad slogan, or run a lousy ad on the radio.
The Westcliff ad said that "Beverly hand-dips the haddock in batter for the three-piece fish and chips." Hand dips. Imagine that. Not like all those other places that use big machines to dip their fish.
Having heard the ad over and over, I finally dropped in one day. The Westcliff Diner is housed in the same building as Gunther's Hair Salon. You come in off the street into a tiny entranceway. The door on the left leads to Gunther's and the door on the right takes you to Westcliff. One of the unfortunate things about this arrangement is that sometimes you find yourself taking in the rancid smell of hair-care chemicals on the way to get your lunch.
The decor is simple. It's so simple you can hardly call it decor: acoustic tile on the ceiling, a long counter, a few tables, and some retro Coca-Cola stuff on the walls. What I enjoy the most is sitting at the counter, watching and listening. Tyler and Beverly seem to know everyone who walks in the door. And if they don't, they make you feel like they do. Beverly calls everyone "hon" or "dear" and no matter how busy things get, she seems completely unflappable behind the counter. "Three down" when the fish and chips go into the fryer. "Two for here, one to go." Forgot someone's coffee? "I'm sorry hon. Here you go." She can chat on the phone, cook and serve customers all at the same time -- keeping up while somehow looking relaxed.
Tyler, on the other hand, constantly seems like he's about to have a heart attack, racing from one end of the kitchen to the other, sometimes grim-faced -- but never so grim that he can't crack wise, toss you a compliment, or start a mock-argument with Beverly for the sake of the customers.
I'd pay just to watch them in action
I first heard about the diner thanks to a terrible ad they were running on the radio. Want to get my attention? Come up with a bad slogan, or run a lousy ad on the radio.
The Westcliff ad said that "Beverly hand-dips the haddock in batter for the three-piece fish and chips." Hand dips. Imagine that. Not like all those other places that use big machines to dip their fish.
Having heard the ad over and over, I finally dropped in one day. The Westcliff Diner is housed in the same building as Gunther's Hair Salon. You come in off the street into a tiny entranceway. The door on the left leads to Gunther's and the door on the right takes you to Westcliff. One of the unfortunate things about this arrangement is that sometimes you find yourself taking in the rancid smell of hair-care chemicals on the way to get your lunch.
The decor is simple. It's so simple you can hardly call it decor: acoustic tile on the ceiling, a long counter, a few tables, and some retro Coca-Cola stuff on the walls. What I enjoy the most is sitting at the counter, watching and listening. Tyler and Beverly seem to know everyone who walks in the door. And if they don't, they make you feel like they do. Beverly calls everyone "hon" or "dear" and no matter how busy things get, she seems completely unflappable behind the counter. "Three down" when the fish and chips go into the fryer. "Two for here, one to go." Forgot someone's coffee? "I'm sorry hon. Here you go." She can chat on the phone, cook and serve customers all at the same time -- keeping up while somehow looking relaxed.
Tyler, on the other hand, constantly seems like he's about to have a heart attack, racing from one end of the kitchen to the other, sometimes grim-faced -- but never so grim that he can't crack wise, toss you a compliment, or start a mock-argument with Beverly for the sake of the customers.
I'd pay just to watch them in action
posted by Philip Moscovitch Link
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