Postcards From Tioga-Hammond Lakes: A Legendary Diner

We've been to this diner before, several times in fact, so since we were camping in the general vicinity we had to visit the Wellsboro Diner for a good meal.  Found right on the Main Street in the center of town, this is a very popular and well known eatery for both the locals and the tourists passing through on their way to visit the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

                

The view from inside the front door

According to the information on the menu cover, The Wellsboro Diner was manufactured by the J. P. Judkins Co., Merrimac, Massachusetts.  Originally called The Sterling Diner, it is made of porcelain inside and out, and was numbered car 388.  (It was built in 1938 and was the 8th diner car produced that year, thus car #388.)

Long and narrow, it contains just a counter and one length of booths.  We were seated in one of the window booths, which allowed us to watch the food prep going on behind the counter and do some people watching out our windows too.  Perusing the menu, I saw that the restaurant had been established in 1839.  It boasted that "owner Nelle Rounsaville serves sumptuous home cooking with more than ample portions to all hungry guests."

Studying the place as I waited for our food to come, a couple of things caught my eye.  One was the soup flip chart announcing the soups of the day:

Clever way of listing the daily soups

Another was the pie case under the glass counter directly across the aisle from the booth we sat in.  There had to be about a dozen or more pies overflowing their pans, all sitting there looking at me.  The pie blackboard named one as Bumble Bee Pie, which I had never heard of.  The waitress explained that it is an apple/cherry/raisin pie.  Unfortunately I was unable to capture a photo of that glorious cabinet, as another customer decided to pick the stool overlooking the pies for his dinner spot.  I suppose he had plenty of chance while eating his dinner to decide on his dessert choice.  If I was sitting in that spot, I would have just had to have my dessert first.  Heck, maybe even two.  Hell, maybe just eat lots of pie and call it dinner.

Well I've mentioned in previous blog posts how much I enjoy eating at diners, and even though this was not our first visit to the Wellsboro Diner, it was another tasty experience.  

Of course I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for our next diner experience, but somehow I'm sure we'll return someday to this one.  It was satisfyingly good.