The Justice

Weekends tend to attract a crowd at the family-owned Wilson's Diner, located in a cozy train dining car. Max Breitstein Matza/the Justice

Wilson's Diner is an often overlooked Waltham eatery due to its distant location past Moody Street on Main Street. It sits a little out of place among beautiful churches and ratty, family-owned storefronts. The entire restaurant is contained within a Worcester Lunch Car Company train dining car. Built in 1949, the car is on the National Registry of Historic Places, a list that also includes Brandeis' very own Usen Castle. Remnants of the dining car era appear in the large, metal refrigerator doors that can be locked shut to prevent any unwanted spilling of its contents. Patrons settle in small booths along the right wall, or at the countertop and only about thirty customers can be seated at a time.

A Greek family owns the restaurant and works together serving customers. On a busy Sunday, the three workers worked as efficiently as a single machine as plates are passed seamlessly from the cook to the two servers, presumably his wife and daughter. The cook, a grizzly-haired man with a moustache, has a reputation for jocundly chatting with customers but did not speak to me. Instead, perhaps due to the hungry crowd at 11 a.m. on a Sunday, he methodically chopped, flipped and plated without looking up from his grill. I use the verb "plated" very loosely: He plopped home fries on a plate, threw bacon on top and whipped the plate down the counter to a server. I was in a prime location to watch the action from the counter, and it was exciting to watch him work. The three family members yelled at one another in a mix of Greek and English, communicating orders verbally rather than writing the order and passing it on to the cook.

The Greek heritage of the restaurant appears in the menu and complements an otherwise unexciting breakfast selection. The omelets contain feta cheese and spinach; one can order chicken kabobs for lunch. Besides those Greek-inspired dishes, the restaurant provides standard diner fare. Home fries, pancakes, French toast, muffins, and ham omelets round out the options. I opted for French toast with raisin bread, bacon, and home fries. Out of my three dishes, I was sadly disappointed by two of them. My bacon was overcooked and the home fries had little taste, even after I sprinkled them liberally with salt. My French toast, however, was done very well and served with a slab of butter on the side.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools