Dining at Denny's

On this trip to Tokyo, Mark and I were able to do something we missed last September -- dining at Denny's! I've been telling him about how my trips to the U.S. were made more special by the diner-style comfort food at Denny's. I remember how opening their menu would take my breath away as huge, coloured pictures of breakfast plates, huge mounds of onion rings and slabs of grilled chicken would pop out of their menu.

Thankfully, there was a Denny's just beside the hotel where we were staying. Last Saturday, that's where we decided to have lunch. Since it was a weekend, the place was a bit packed. Thankfully, we got a table in 5 minutes. Then, a Japanese lady in an American diner outfit came to our table and gave us the menu.

Strangely, the menu was a bit different from the one i've been used to seeing in the U.S. Instead of ribs and rteak, there were noodles and tempura. Instead of chicken fingers, they had kara-age. Thankfully, my favorite Denny's item was on the menu - French Toast!

Although French Toast was an odd choice for lunch, that's what I had. To balance it off, I also ordered Tuna Spaghetti and Mark ordered Fried Chicken and fries. My order did not disappoint me. The slices were thick, the toast was soft, the batter was creamy, and the maple syrup was perfect. I was hoping they would have a choice of side dish but they didn't. I miss their chicken ham and potato tots.

The entire Denny's experience brought me back to happy times in the U.S. when Biboy, his family and I would stop over at the first Denny's en route to outlet malls. We'd always have big plates of food in front of us. We'd listen to my nephew and niece argue over a piece of chicken. We'd share wonderful stories of childhood and look to the future. We'd laugh hearty laughs and have fun the entire time.

That's what dining at Denny's means to me: good food shared with very special people. And on my first dining experience at Denny's in Japan, I got the exact same thing.