The Owl Diner

This past week I took a trip to The Owl Diner in Lowell, MA with my acquaintances Alexis Sprowl and Kenneth Trott, who are regulars at this particular Diner.

Kenneth, Alexis, and I getting ready to plow some food into our mouths.

The Owl Diner is a renowned place around this city. If you're from Lowell, you've been to The Owl. The only recollections I have had from this place are the one visit I had when I was around 9 years old. I think I had pancakes. The other memory I have had from this diner was just driving by. One day as I was headed to a former female acquaintance's house, I witnessed a man being scraped off of the pavement In the parking lot of the diner. I assumed he had overdosed on some sort of drug. Maybe heroin. But hey, who am I to speculate? I'm just a guy who enjoys breakfast. Anyways, it was a new day, and another opportunity for The Owl to stimulate my taste buds. Needless to say, they're food made me "hoot." (In a good way)

I was also excited that Kenneth and Alexis let me accompany them on one of their breakfast rituals. Every half day of high school they go to the Owl together. They never miss a date. Many of history's most famous relationships cannot compare to this one. Bonnie and Clyde, Sonny and Cher, Chris Brown and Rihanna, Bill and Monica, Brady and Gisele, my dog Roxy and I, all pale in comparison to this blockbuster of a friendship between Kenneth and Alexis. They say opposites attract, and this dynamic duo truly personifies that claim. Just look at them... completely different in every way. Let me stress they are just very close friends, nothing more.

Anyways, lets dig in.

(I would also like to apologize for some of the poor quality pictures in advance. I got wrapped up in the experience. I'm only human.)

Picture of The Owl Diner sign from the parking lot. They now accept credit cards.

ATMOSPHERE

My visit to The Owl was on a Wednesday, so I couldn't really get a feel for how many people normally go there or how long the wait is. From what I understand from my sources, it's usually pretty crowded on the weekends. You can also infer this from the fact that they have 2 parking lots and a rather large waiting room where you can buy Owl Diner merchandise.

From the outside, this diner looks pretty cool. It has the classic broken-down-trolley style. I've always wondered how they actually got a broken down trolley, and moved it to the middle of the city. Was the trolley already abandoned there on the side of the street? Did a bunch of homeless men by the group name of Dirty Mike and The Boys commandeer it for their own personal use, performing what they call a, "soup kitchen" only to be kicked out by local law enforcement because what they were doing inside of the trolley, "wasn't legal" and, "unsanitary?" Did the police then decided to hand it over to the four sisters (legendary owners) who then thought, "This is the perfect place to serve breakfast food." Thus the legend was born!... Maybe it was just put there and they built around it as a cool theme. Either way I liked it. The trolley car gets style points.

Inside, The Owl had a slight 50's theme. It wasn't as in your face as The Dream Diner, but you could tell what they were going for. Overall, I liked the atmosphere.

Panoramic view of the inside of The Owl with my guests, Alexis and Kenneth.

The bar at The Owl, illuminated by the light of the heavenly father

A blurry picture of the juke box and Kenneth at The Owl

Outside look at The Owl

The door that greets you as you enter The Owl

The Owl wastes no space in their diner to advertise local businesses

SERVICE

Now, our waitress was pretty average in every way. She took our order, brought it out, and brought us the check. She flirted with me a little, but just about every waitress does that. Can't blame them either.

Anyways, one aspect of the service at these diners that I have failed to shed a little limelight on are the cooks. They slave away at the stove to gives us the breakfast deliciousness we crave, on a daily basis. While their job is arguably the most important, for some reason most breakfast establishments choose to hide their efforts and had work behind the walls of the kitchen. They're the guys shoveling coal into the furnace to keep the Titanic chugging along. That may not have been best metaphor, because the Titanic did hit an iceberg, and sink to the bottom of the Atlantic, killing roughly 1500 people, but in the end, that was Captain Edward Smith's fault, not the crew members.

Below are two of the Owl's star pupils, Justin and E-Money (His real name is Elijah, but he prefers to be called "E-Money"). I have the pleasure of attending school with these two young studs, which is where this picture was taken. They are the back bone of The Owl. They'll flip your pancakes and omelets like its nobody's business. They'll flip 'em real good.

Overall, the service was good.

Justin and E-Money

KENNETH'S DIET

As you may have noticed if you are one of my regular reader's, I like to find something odd about each diner and dedicate a section to it. The Owl did not have anything odd however so I focused on something that I have been noticing for a while now, outside of breakfast. Kenneth's diet.

Kenneth has become an associate of mine through these past few years of high school. He is a laid back individual, and just goes with the flow. He's very jolly and friendly and you can always count on him for a good laugh. Overall, just a great kid, and one of my top associates. One of Kenneth's major flaws, however, is his diet. Being in his presence for the past 4 years, I have witnessed what Kenneth chooses to put in his body on a daily basis, and honestly, it's a miracle that he's still alive.

Kenneth's future is bound to be filled with diet-induced health problems. Death is imminent. This isn't me being mean and bullying him either, he completely agrees with me.

Kenneth hasn't had a bottle of water since freshman year. He said he tried to drink it, but he was so disgusted after the first sip, he dumped the rest out and swore off water for the rest of his life. He now strictly drinks Gatorade and coke. I thought a human needed a certain amount of water to sustain life, but i guess these laws of nature don't apply to him.

He doesn't eat vegetables, he says they're gross. He really doesn't eat any food with any sort of nutritional value. It amazes me. This small breakfast threesome we went on is one of the healthiest things I have ever seen him eat (eggs Benedict). Kenneth's body maintaining homeostasis is nothing short of divine intervention. He'd probably last longer hanging out with Dirty Mike and the Boys rather than keeping up this diet.

Kenneth's main source of liquid nutrition

Kenneth

FOOD

Now, what you've been craving all along, the food.

To start off, as you'll see in the pictures below, The Owl's food does not look very appetizing upon first glance. They don't dress it up at all. It ended up tasting great so I don't know if this tactic is on purpose to offer the customer a sweet surprise, or if they just don't really give a shit. A lot of people believe dressing up food is just wasted time, and stupid. Other's think it is key to having a good meal. I personally like when it'd dressed up. It makes me feel pampered. However it's not really a big deal or a necessity in my book, just something I noticed.

Alexis strongly recommended the Bridge St. omelet to me, so I took her word for it, and ordered one along with her. I also got a chocolate chip pancake on the side, with a few glasses of chocolate milk. (Breakfast tip: Always try to sneak in hints of chocolate into your meal. It tastes great and offers a burst of energy to put you in a good mood to finish the rest of your meal.)

The pancake was awesome. At first glance I wasn't sure about it but that first bite completely spun my head around on the matter. It wasn't to soft, but not burnt either. Just perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed the crispiness around the edges and how it softened up slightly as you pass through the mantel and inner core of the pancake. The chocolate chips melted in your mouth upon contact. Magnificent pancake in my book.

Next up, The Bridge St. Omelet. I usually don't mess with omelets but you only get one life, and I'm going to live mine to the fullest. I was rewarded for stepping out of my comfort zone. The peppers, sausage, and cheese within the omelet swirl around in your mouth, breaking apart and reforming in a cycle of greatness. Not to mention the home fries they serve on the side are probably the greatest I've ever had. They are cooked to the perfect level of crispiness, along with just enough salt. Truly great in every way.

Alexis about to take a chomp out of her toast, served along with the Bridge St. omelet.

Close up of the Bridge St. Omelet.

The modest looking chocolate chip pancake. As Teddy Roosevelt once said, this pancake, "Speaks softly and carry's a big stick."

Close up of Kenneth's eggs benedict.

Kenneth getting in the zone as he demolishes his eggs benedict. Notice he ordered coke as a drink.

Kenneth differed from Alexis and I and ordered the egg's benedict. I didn't even want to look at his meal. The Dream Diner's egg's benedict was enough for me. I think I may be suffering from PTSD. 

Kenneth also ordered this with a coke. Although not the healthiest of choices, had to respect him. Getting a soda for breakfast is a power move that not many would have the balls to pull off to say the least. He said he enjoyed his meal and because I am a little biased towards egg's benedict, I'm taking his word for it.

The food at The Owl was truly what made this place a great diner. Great tasting, and left you feeling satisfied.

Picture of the omelet section on The Owl's menu.  They have a vast selection of various omelets for great prices.

Overall the Owl was a great experience. Everything seemed average with a side of some great food. I thought my review was done, until our waitress handed us the check. I was flabbergasted.

The prices smack you in the face and remind you that this is a great establishment. I got a full omelet meal, chocolate milk, and a rather larger chocolate chip pancake for roughly 9 or 10 dollars. I will be surprised if I find a diner with better pricing than The Owl. If you're balling on a budget, this is the place to be.

The Owl Diner: Great place to become a regular at