I Want to Try This Place

Elvis is alive - and probably Marilyn Monroe, too - in
Scarborough, Maine.

[GO Entertainment Weekly 10/11/07]


The Rock 'n Roll Diner rocks.

The new diner on Route 1 in Scarborough is
eye-catching inside and out, with its gleaming
stainless steel exterior and its interior punctuated
by shiny red upholstery, black-and-white floor tiles,
and more stainless steel.

It's a fun place too, with a free jukebox full of
tunes from the 1950s and '60s (and some more recent
ones, too.)

The menu is full of fun names that play on old rock
'n' roll songs. There's the "Wooly Bully Pizza
Burger," $6.79 with fries, and named for the song by
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.

Then there's the "Bird Dog," a quarter-pound hot dog
for $4.69 with fries. Its name comes from an Everly
Brothers tune.

The "Wipeout Burger" features grilled onions,
mushrooms and cheese and comes with fries for $6.89.
It is of course inspired by the Surfaris' instrumental
hit.

Just a few of the other fun names of dishes, to whet
your appetite: "Hound Dog" chili dog, "Venus Steak
Sub," "Love Me Tenders" chicken tenders, and the
"Rockin' Robin Egg Salad" sandwich.

The place is a throwback, in looks and attitude, to a
classic 1950s diner. A place that's fun to hang out
in, and inexpensive to eat in.

The newly built diner opened in July. It's run by Mike
and Jeanne Glaude, who had run the Silver Springs
Campground and Lodge in Saco for 15 years. This is
their first restaurant. For the record, the Glaudes
were both born in 1950, so they were kids and teens
during the period their diner tries to recapture.

When I went to the 110-seat diner on a recent Saturday
at noon, it was packed. There are regular booths,
corner booths, a counter with stools and at least a
couple of larger tables that looked like a classic
1950s "dinette" set.

We sat next to the jukebox, played some tunes for free
and ordered from an extensive lunch and dinner menu
that ranges from hot dogs and burgers, to wraps and
sandwiches, to comfort food like shepherd's pie
($6.99), liver and grilled onions ($6.99), chicken pot
pie ($6.99) and an open-face hot turkey sandwich
($5.69.)

I had the hot turkey sandwich, which featured turkey
roasted at the diner on thick white bread with gravy,
mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and carrots. It was
great, and very filling. Two things I don't like in an
open-face turkey sandwich is turkey cold cuts and
gloppy gravy. This had real turkey and very nice
gravy.

I also sampled two other dishes. One was the
aforementioned "Wipeout Burger." It was massive, had a
nicely char-broiled exterior, and was not overdone
inside.

The "Bird Dog" I sampled was also massive, and had
that nice all-beef hot dog taste. Both came with
fries, as do all the sandwiches and wraps.

For dessert, I tried a chocolate "Hippy Hippy Shake"
for $3.69. It was so big we split it three ways, and
it had enough to satisfy our collective sweet tooth.
Other desserts include strawberry shortcake, apple
crisp, pies, root beer floats, malts and ice cream
sundaes.

There is also a breakfast menu, which includes
omelets, egg sandwiches, pancakes and other breakfast
fare.