Earlier this month I traveled to Massachusetts for a quick trip with my parents to attend my grandfather’s funeral. While it was a somber occasion and reason, it was nice to be able to get back East for a quick trip, to see my family, and to celebrate my grandfather’s life.
We took an overnight red eye flight and got into Boston around 6:30AM. Logan International hadn’t quite fully awakened by the time we got off the plane, but the first thing I saw was this:
Dunkin’ Donuts! This is how you know you’re in Boston – Dunkin’ Donuts are seriously EVERYWHERE.
First things first for our short trip to the East Coast. We need breakfast, stat! We went to one place first but my dad didn’t want to go there and we kind of stumbled upon this little place in South Boston called My Diner.
This is my view of it from the rental car, hence the raindrops on the window.
It’s a weirdly shaped building on the corner of two intersecting streets. See that breakfast special? 3 eggs, 3 slices of bacon or sausage, home fries and toast for $3.99. Crazy cheap!
Here’s my momma stirring her coffee while I snapped a quick shot inside. This is one half of the restaurant – there’s a counter top with five pull up stools. If I had taken a photo to my left, you would have seen four or five tables, all full of patrons. The table next to us is maybe 2-3 inches away from our table. What I’m telling you is this: My Diner is a tiny little place.
There’s not much scenery going on outside either in South Boston on a Friday morning.
This is a diner so the prices are pretty much on par.
Side two of the menu.
[coffee – bottomless cup – $1.40]
My parents both got coffees and I just got a water. I had a few sips though, it was decent enough.
What caught my eye about the mugs was the advertising on them! I wonder if they get new mugs made every year?
[3 egg special / $3.99]
Folks both got the special with over medium eggs and sausage. This is a HUGE amount of food for a mere four dollars! Half of the plate is home fries and you also get all of that toast. Pretty simple, but pretty filling way to start the day.
[homemade corned beef hash and eggs / $6.50]
I have to be different and so I ordered something else. The corned beef hash! This is a very generous portion of corned beef and I also got like a whole mound of eggs over there.Yes, eggs are semi-acceptable again in my life. But no runny yolks, please. I’ll just have my eggs scrambled.
The corned beef was very delicious. It was crisped and browned on both sides of the hash. There was a good meat to tiny potatoes ratio and you could see the herbs used here. The consistency was smooth for the meat while the little potatoes gave it a slight chew while the crispy edges gave it texture. One of the best corned beefs I’ve ever tried! The herbs and other spices gave it excellent, bright and earthy flavor that I really enjoyed.
The home fries were also done very well. The potatoes were soft enough on the inside and had a good, crispy char on the outside which made them taste wonderful. I usually don’t like home fries but these were a very tasty version.
It was a nice start to our day and after a night of flying and semi-sleeping it was good to sit down and have a hot meal on a cold, rainy morning in Boston.
My Diner
98 A St
South Boston, MA 02127
617-268-9889
Holy cow! That’s a lot of food!!!! Your corned beef hash looked pretty good! That little diner is pretty cramped in there, but it seems like a reliable neighborhood eatery.
Hi CC – It was a ton of food for pretty cheap! The corned beef hash was really good, I have never had corned beef hash with herbs in it before and I really enjoyed it. The locals must know about this place since it was packed in that morning (we had wait maybe 20 minutes for a table, not too bad).
Why can’t we have places like this in SD.
I love the rainy weather and always thought Boston was such a beautiful city. That’s the first pic I’ve ever seen of your pretty mum 🙂
Corned beef hash is one of my favorite things. My dad used to make it (from the can) and sis and I used to joke that it looked, literally, like canned dog food (kinda smelled like it too). His canned version wasn’t as good as OPH’s though.
Do you have a recipe for corned beef hash?
Hi Faye –
Boston is a beautiful city – I love the history and the look of the town, though the traffic is terrible haha. Mom doesn’t really like photos of herself but I thought, too bad, momma’s going on the blog this week hehe.
The canned corned beef is pretty bad… though I used to enjoy it when I was a kid! I’ve actually never tried or thought to try to make my own corned beef hash! I also had it at Richard Walker’s and I liked their version, too (post soon!).
I am craving some Dunkin Donuts now, with some coffee. I guess My Diner can afford to offer so much food for cheap (and possibly renewed mugs with advertisement) because of what they save in costs of square footage of the place? Wow, when that place gets packed, I can just imagine how cramped it can get. All your dishes look hearty.
Hi Miss Kim! Someday Dunkin Donuts will be back in California in full force! I actually found I didn’t really care for their coffee once I tried it – at least the iced version. It tasted watery!
Yeah, I’m sure the mug advertising helps. They have an incredibly small space so maybe their lease isn’t that high – plus they are in South Boston which isn’t the “main” part of Boston. More like a locals part of town. The food was very hearty and comforting, especially on a rainy day.
Dunkin Donuts is definitely a sign that you’re on the East Coast! We found Dunkin Donuts creamer at Stater Bros and T swears it makes coffee taste just like Dunkin Donuts coffee.
The Dunkin Donuts downtown has opened! I think it’s in the Embassy Suites hotel? Or somewhere by there… around the convention center.
I am impressed by your corned beef hash plate for only $6.50! Corned beef hash with herbs reminds me of scrapple (everywhere in PA) – it’s a pork and cornmeal mixture that gets fried into patties or slabs. I’ve been told it’s “everything but the oink” but you mainly just taste pork and spices. T grew up with it, so we always eat it at least once when we go back east.
Hi Leanne – I made one quick visit to the DD Downtown but it’s so hard to park down there… I went late at night right before they closed and only got munchkins so it wasn’t as exciting as I’d hope it’d be. I’m starting to think DD is more nostalgic than super yummy, haha.
I loved how cheap the food was at this little homey diner in Boston! It was definitely off the beaten path, seemed like a mostly locals place. I really dug it. I have heard of scrapple but have never seen it anywhere. Pork and cornmeal doesn’t sound so bad to me.