Stopped by an old diner kitchen in Providence last month and felt like I walked into 1985

I was helping a buddy clean out his uncle's closed down diner in Providence. The line cook station still had that old gas range with the pilot lights always on, and the floor tiles were worn down in a perfect U-shape from years of walking back and forth. What really got me was the walk-in cooler - it had a wooden door with a latch, not a handle. The commercial hand sink was the same one from the 70s. Anyone else notice how older kitchens just feel tougher and more solid than what we install today?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade7389d agoMost Upvoted

Found an old restaurant supply shop in Detroit last year. Had racks of cast iron skillets worn smooth as glass from decades of use. You just don't get that kind of character from modern stainless steel.

kevinc849d ago

Picked up a Griswold #8 at a flea market for twelve bucks a few years back. Thing had a half inch of crusted carbon on the bottom but the cooking surface was like a mirror. Spent a weekend with a steel wool and a ton of elbow grease getting it stripped down. Seasoned it with lard and it's been my daily driver ever since. The way eggs slide off that thing now is almost unfair.