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The day the diner died

Is it possible to be nostalgic for life in an apartment off Brighton Avenue in Allston? Gaby Dunn gives it the old college try, in a reminiscence set in, oh, June, 2008, when the Grecian Yearning caught fire.

"The Grecian is burning," she'd texted me. "Come quick."

I sit beside her. “This can’t be happening,” I say. “Oh man, that guy’s drawings. They’re all gone now.”

"Why couldn't it have been Steve's?" she says, referring to another lesser restaurant down the street. We watch the firefighters try to quell the flames. I think about blueberry muffins.

Later, the Grecian Yearning is boarded up with wood and condemned. The people of Allston start coming with Sharpies and writing their "orders" down.

Via Boston Reddit.

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Comments

Even more tragic was when my beloved Deli King closed. Barrence Whitfield and I stumbled into there for breakfast many a hungover Sunday morning. They had the kindest toast around!

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Lesser?? Steve's and the Grecian were both excellent, and both excelled in different areas. We used to alternate between the two of them weekend-to-weekend, and none of my roommates or friends ever felt that either one had a significant advantage over the other. Grecian had better pancakes, Steve's had better french toast, etc.

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I once tried to eat at Grecian Yearning. After the third time the waiter returned to my table to ask yet again what I had ordered, I started thinking about leaving. My mind was made up when a large cockroach started across the table. I crushed it in a napkin, left the corpse on the table and walked out.

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Funny how every complain-about-a-restaurant story always ends up with 'and then I saw a cockroach.'

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When there was a Johnny's Luncheonette in Cambridge (Mass Ave, near the Dolphin Restaurant), I once saw a giant rat run under the bench seat that ran along one wall. One of the employees addressed the problem by covering the hole with duct tape (which I then called "rat tape" for about a year afterwards).

Cockroaches... pfft. That just means you don't have rats.

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But Union is very good. Cleaner, and better coffee. The hash is good, too.....Wish I had a T-Shirt of that "Fastest Eggs in Town" Cowboy

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The writers name is Gaby...Also, I know the house she lived in. I would go to parties there when I went to school. The place was right behind the BK and on friday nights was a haven for freshman to drink at.

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Thanks.

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