In a restaurant one is both observed and unobserved. Joy and sorrow can be displayed and observed "unwittingly," the writer scowling naively and the diners wondering, What the hell is he doing?
The most successful food, I think, is food that both appeals to the super-sophisticated diner or foodie and to the lay diner at the same time.
The food being presented at the most expensive restaurants, by the most sophisticated chefs, was not always recognizable as food to the diner - it required a leap of faith, and I felt curious about that phenomenon.
Great food needed more than chefs; it needed gourmet diners.
Mel's Diner in L.A. - they are my favorite hamburgers. I could eat there every day. They are ridiculous.
In 2002, I was in a diner in southern Illinois that didn't allow black people to eat in the restaurant. I was there while a black customer came in, ordered from the counter and left with the food. I checked it out and it is known that the diner is segregated.
When do you learn that the world, like any diner worth its salt, is open twenty-four hours a day?
First of all, just to get Diner made would have been an achievement in that I got a chance to direct.
My first movie was 'Diner.' My second movie was 'Tender Mercies.' I did really good work.
I always like to find those little mom-and-pop sandwich places, or diners. Those are my favorite kind of places.