November 21: Planet Java Diner

I gotta confess -- I've eaten at Planet Java once before. Coincidentally, it was exactly one year ago yesterday, before I was due at meeting several blocks north of here. My breakfast that morning was good, but I hadn't tried them for lunch, and really, it was well before this project, so I don't really consider it a repeat.

With two lunches left until I can start repeating (business travel and telework will take up the rest), I wanted to pick some of the spots I'd been saving: Il Corvo (hmm; tuna noodle didn't sound good today), Rain Shadow Meats² (saving for Wednesday), or Radici (yeah, just not feeling pasta today).

Feeling wishy-washy, I remembered Planet Java. It's a 50s-style diner, and I figured a burger and fries were what I really wanted today.

A short walk from the office, up three steps, and I'm in the diner. I pick a booth seat, and the waitress is quick with a menu and to take my drink order. Season 1 episode 1 of Barnaby Jones is playing on the TV; he's roughing up some guy in an elevator.

Back at the old HQ building, my go-to lunch was a tuna melt, fries with seasoning salt, and a diet Pepsi. The Planet Java menu listed several burgers, but seeing the tuna melt on their menu, I went all wishy-washy again and for old times sake, ordered it.

Barnaby Jones is in the darkroom, talking bullet striations between commercials for treadmills and asbestos lawyers.

Unlike the grill in the old office, it did not arrive with mushy bread and cold tuna inside. Instead, the sourdough was lightly grilled, crispy, and not dissolving. The tuna was flecked with bits of celery, and some had oozed out the sides, slightly charred by the grill -- just the way I like it. The mayonnaise mixed with the tuna was just a little too pungent; maybe just a little too much mustard, but certainly edible.

The steak fries, much to my surprise, were dusted with seasoning salt, just like back at the old HQ. This is a big plus in my book.

Barnaby is intercepting the money drop, revealing that there were multiple killers.

The waitress was friendly, quick to refill my drink and with the iPad checkout. I finish up as the credits start to roll.

Planet Java Diner
72 S. Washington St.
Tuna melt, fries, diet Coke, $15.46.

(Note: My original post said I'd eaten at Planet Java just a few minutes after I shot video of our yet-to-be constructed HQ in August 2014. I corrected it when I found my receipt, but I'm leaving this link here for posterity.)