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There is a place in my town, probably not much different from a place just like it in yours. Call it a Diner, a Cafe', a Greasy Spoon, a Lunch Counter... It's been in business since the 50's, the menu and decor have changed little if any, in all those years. The service is always a little abrasive, but with a friendly and familiar edge. We're talking breakfast and lunch only, seat yourself, no parking, always a wait, lots of linoleum, real milk shakes and filled with a loyal local customers base. Sound like a place you know??
Well, this particular place may be a notch above some of the others. In fact, it is World Class. In the name of preserving the exclusive, tucked away nature of this little gem, I am going to refrain from mentioning the name, Sorry.... It so happens that John Wayne, yah, "The Duke" himself, used to eat breakfast here every morning.
Everything is cooked the same as has been for decades. How they do this, I'll never know. I mean hash browns always have the same crispy crust, the toast is always perfectly cooked, even a glass of water always tastes the same, lots of crushed ice in a little diner tumbler.
I've been eating there for over 30 years and whenever I do, there is only one obvious thing to order. Well, the house special of course, the Chili Cheese Omelet.
Now if you are a fan of the Chili Cheese Omelet as I am, you know that there great ones and there are not so great ones. In my not so humble opinion, here is the criteria for a Great Chili Cheese Omelet:
#1 You need to start with a really good quality Chili, of course.. Not to many beans and nothing fancy. Canned is even Ok, as long as it's a good one.
#2 There is only one kind of cheese, good old American Cheese that will melt into the perfect gooey molten that can only be achieved with this particular white bread, middle American variety.
#3 It must be cooked on a flat griddle and delicately folded into a little package. The egg wrapping must be paper thin and not over cooked.
#4 The interior temperature needs to be hot and I mean like 800 degrees... All the way to the very last bite.
#5 No condiments... No salsa, no sour cream, no avocado, No green chilies, no cilantro. Leave those for the Hybrid Variety. Just Chili, cheese and eggs....
This may sound easy, but the simplest things in life are usually to hardest to execute. In the case of the Classic Chili Cheese Omelet, there is a very fine line between perfection and disaster.
Being the Food Anthropologist that I am, I've had variations of the Chili Cheese, all over the country and some damn good ones at that.
- 2nd Avenue Deli in New York
- Camellia Grill in New Orleans
- The Grubsteak in San Francisco
- The Lunch Counter at the Beverly Hills Hotel
Now that isn't to say that there are certainly great Hybrid variations of the Classic. One of the best I've ever had was at Cafe' Pasquale's in Sante Fe... This version was far from the the Classic, but soooo Fr$#@ckin' Good that I had to mention it.
No matter where my culinary travels have taken me, there is really nothing like the Chili Cheese Omelet served at my own little lunch counter... If you appreciate this Classic American Creation as much as I do, there is probably no other substitute to your own Hometown Diner's version.
Please comment and send your favorites....
Alright then, I know where I'm headed right now and I know what I'm gonna say, Chili Cheese... Please!!
