Times at The Stem

Went to the stem for breakfast/lunch with Aurora on saturday. The stem is one of the oldest diners in the city, occupying the same narrow Queen Street location since the 50s. As with many of the great diners in the city its run by a Greek family. My dad used to go there all the time back in the 70s when he was playing at the Horseshoe a lot. A few years ago Prairie Oyster was playing at the Shoe and after their soundcheck he went down the street to the Stem to get a sandwhich or something. The same guy who was running the grill 30s years ago was still there and he looked exactly the same. We were able to snag the coveted window booth. The Stem is long and narrow and only has one booth at the front. It offers some of the best people watching on Queen street. There was a woman flying miniature hand-made kites just infront of the restaurant. Aurora got eggs and hash browns. The potatoes weren't that great - kind of cold and unflavoured. I got a hamburger and fries and oh man was it great. The Stem's fries are done in the cripsy style and are really done well. Theit texture is perfect. The burger was great too - fresh, juicy beef patty. They also gave me four (!) pickels - Crazy! The Coffee was also top notch. The burger and fries runs at a pretty standard $5.25.