Last week me and the long suffering went to a local diner about 3 minutes from my house. We had been their before, usually the food has been fine. But it seems to depend on who is cooking. I peeked through the order window and sometimes it's an older lady, but this last time it was a young kid. He couldn't execute an omelet and the hashbrowns were a skinny slab of old and overcooked taters. The wife actually sent hers back. Something neither of us ever do. Her Hashbrowns were worse then mine and the poached eggs resembled hard boiled. Nearly 30 bucks later we left. And I fumed the rest of the day.
Today we drove the 20 plus minutes to our favorite place. Sit at the counter (I always sit at the counter)and watch my favorite griddle operator do his magic. A huge slab of fresh real hashbrowns cooked to order. Real taters. Never frozen or the rehydrated stuff. He fills my omelet with fresh chopped meat and cheese and cooks it perfectly. All the while talking to us. This cook never disappoints.
Moral of the story. Drive the extra 20 minutes and leave with a smile.