Moody's Diner is famous, and it deserves to be

Moody's Diner is one of those places that is famous for good reason.

There are books, T-shirts, hats and mugs spreading the Waldoboro diner's name. And people from all over the country stop there when driving up Route 1 in the state's midcoast. It's often profiled in magazines and on TV shows as the quintessential Maine eatery, full of real Maine people.

But you could put Moody's in New Hampshire, in a strip mall on the Massachusetts border, and I'd still go. I'd go for the incredible array of meal-sized pie slices ($3.29), ranging from Moody's signature walnut pie (like pecan pie, but with walnuts) to the indulgent custard pie, with a half-dozen berry pies in between.

And I'd go for the kind of hearty, home-style and low-priced lunch I had the last time I stopped by Moody's. For $4.19, I had a whole grilled cheese sandwich -- nice and buttery, thick white bread and real cheese -- plus a cup of beef barley soup.

The soup was almost like a stew, with a thick stock, lots of tender barley and very tender beef. The way the big pieces of beef fell into shreds reminded me of a perfectly done pot roast.

I also sat on a stool at the front counter, a great spot for watching the locals and tourists alike. If you're alone, it's usually not difficult to get a stool. But if you're with a group, sometimes there can be a substantial wait to get in, even though the place has 104 seats.

However, this time of year, the wait is probably not going to be long. So if you haven't made the drive to Moody's in a while -- it's a little more than an hour north of Portland -- now would be a good time.

Lunches at Moody's are really inexpensive. A Western omelet sandwich is $2.99; a bacon and egg sandwich is $3.19; a hamburger is $2.59; and a hot dog is $1.99. There are more than 30 sandwiches on the menu, and for $2.29 you can have french fries and cole slaw with any one of them.

For fans of breakfast served all day, there are plenty of items to choose from. You can get sausage or ham, two eggs and toast for $3.79; bacon, two eggs and toast for $3.89; three blueberry pancakes for $3.89; or three slices of "Texas-style" French toast for $3.89.

The diner is also well-known for its comfort-food dinners such as chicken croquettes with gravy ($5.39 for two, $6.49 for three); Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy ($7.69); veal cutlet with gravy ($7.69); or a hot turkey sandwich on a biscuit ($7.99).

For dessert (besides the great pie and New England specialities like Indian pudding and Grape-Nut pudding), there are homemade whoopie pies. They had pumpkin and chocolate the day I went.

After you've eaten, you can browse the gift shop across the parking lot for your own piece of Moody's to take home.

There are about a dozen T-shirts to choose from, many with the diner's trademark orange neon sign depicted.

But because the place is really a piece of Maine history, I especially like the T-shirt that shows a copy of a Moody's menu from the 1930s.

A bacon and egg sandwich was 20 cents then; it's $3.19 now.

The price of inflation isn't that significant, but the fact that Moody's has many of the same menu items as when it started is.

Moody's Diner