So I met up with my British Museum friend whilst in New York and he decided I had to experience this diner on the Lower East Side. It’s a classic place. The staff are unfussed and  unpretentious. It is what it is. They serve that ridiculous (almost undrinkable) American coffee which they refill numerously whilst you’re there, leaving you on a caffeine high of epic proportions. The milk comes in those little throwaway plastic cartons.  We met for breakfast.For me this meant only one thing – pancakes. I love a pancake. I particularly love a diner pancake and when I’m in a classic American diner, like something out of the movies, that is the only thing to order. So I did. Blueberry pancakes with a side of bacon and a large jug of maple syrup. It was delicious. The serving size was enough for about four people so I got nowhere near finishing but it was the perfect combination of flavours: sweet from the syrup, salty from the bacon. The pancakes provide the best vehicle for these two combinations of flavours. In my humble opinion that is.

The other diner I visited on my trip was just up the road from my hotel, and is called The Bowery Diner. This has been retro-fitted to look like the sixties and attracts a cool crowd. I sat out front on these cute chairs and ordered a cheeseburger with fries. The burger was good, the fries better. I couldn’t finish it all (portion sizes) but it was a classic meal which I managed to have all by my itty-bitty self. That in itself was a learning experience.