The instigation for this Mystery Book Club field trip on Friday August 28, 2015, comes from Robert Parker’s Back Story, chapter 13. So we might as well start with that; then the pictures:
The theater was dark on Mondays, and I took Paul to dinner at the world’s greatest restaurant, which is, of course, The Agawam Diner in Rowley. The place was always crowded for breakfast and lunch, but on a Monday evening, early, it was not busy and we got a nice booth with a view of the traffic light at the Route 133 intersection.“Are you and Daryl an item?” I said.“God no,” Paul said. “I like her, but she’s way too crazy for me.”“Crazy how?” I said.“She drinks too much. She smokes dope too much. She sleeps around too much. She’s too intense about her career.”“What do you know about her family?” I said.“Nothing,” Paul said. “Except for her mother’s murder she never talks about her family, except that it was a close-knit loving family. Like the other night.”“So she didn’t talk specifically about her mother?”“Just about the murder. The murder is very big in her life.”The waitress brought us menus.“My God,” he said. “Actual food.”“No reduction of kiwi,” I said.“No skate wings,” Paul said. “No pate of Alsatian bluebird. No caramelized parsnip puree with fresh figs.”The waitress took our order.“Why do you suppose she didn’t want me to talk with her aunt?”“Daryl’s hard to understand,” Paul said.“She ever talk about her father?” I said.“No. I always sort of assumed he was dead.”“Siblings?” I said.“She never mentioned any.”“How long have you known her?”“Two years,” Paul said. “We worked together in the first play I did in Chicago. When she’s up, she’s a hell of a lot of fun.”The waitress brought smothered pork chops for Paul, spaghetti and meatballs for me.“Why are you asking about her?”“Because I don’t know about her.”Paul was nodding as I spoke.“And that’s what you do,” he said. “You ask unanswered questions.”“Information is good,” I said.“So how come you didn’t ask more about the aunt?”I smiled.“Because you’re going to go up to Maine and see her,” Paul said. “You have her name and the town she lives in.”My mouth was full of spaghetti. I nodded. I was eying the assortment of pies behind the counter as I ate. Plan I ahead.“I know another reason you asked if she were my girlfriend,” Paul said.“Paternal solicitude,” I said.“Besides that,” Paul said. “If she were my girlfriend, then you’d have to welcome her to the family. And she’s afraid of dogs.”“Not a trait I value,” I said.I eyed the pies again. I thought one of them might be cherry.
So here are the nine club members at the Agawam. It is actually AFTER our great time inside.
The Club Nine at Agawam Diner
Our waitress was Melissa. She was amazingly efficient, taking all our orders without the use of notes and bringing all nine meals exactly as requested. I happened to ask Melissa if any other groups had come to the Agawam because of the mention in the Spenser books. Don’t remember what she said about that but she said she had waited on Robert B Parker several times during his visits to the diner!
“Wow,” I said, “If you were with Robert Parker, since he is one of my writing heroes, can I touch you?”
She laughed and bent in for a “touch.” Thanks, Carol, for the photo and for the use of all these pictures you took there!
Melissa, our waitress, has been at the Diner for 34 years and served Robert Parker several times. Clearly she exaggerated the “34 years”!
As you noted from the Back Story selection, Spenser ate at the Diner with his kind-of-adopted son Paul Giacomin. Parker was a lot like Spenser – down-to-earth. So you have the sarcastic dialog with Spenser and Paul, lampooning the snobby food of the elegant restaurants. Sure, he’d have a simple meal at the Ritz, the Four Seasons, and the like, if he was with Susan or had a good business reason, but it wasn’t his preference.
From the story, we know Spenser had spaghetti, but none of us chose that from the menu. Paul had pork chops, and that’s what Lois selected! She won the Spenser re-enactment award for September! Check it out!
Lois examines her pork chops upon delivery.
Close up of pork chop plate. I think we can be pretty sure Robert Parker had them when he was at the Agawam.
Now Lois found that it was difficult to use the standard knife and needed something shaper. Mike, realizing this, signaled to Melissa. “What do you want now?” she hollered at Mike. (I’m told that was a Durgin Park-like response. Well, when Susie asked if we could have separate checks after we were first seated, Melissa said, “We’ll see [how y’all behave].” ) Anyway, below you will see Mike, properly chastised, obediently eating his meat loaf… a platter which several of us ordered.
Mike – enjoying “actual food” as Parker wrote.
Maybe Melissa was wondering why Mike was promoting another diner in Rochester NH? After all, he really does have an Agawam Diner T- shirt. But Mike does not shy from controversy at the Mystery Book Club.
Selena with a BLT sandwich — saving room for pie.
Regardless of a big meal, or a BLT, seven of the crowd had a slice of pie from, as Parker said, the world’s greatest restaurant.
Judy had a hard time choosing which flavor to have for her slice of pie. Ahem.
Anyway, we all had great fun and are already wondering, WHAT’S NEXT?
All these photos are courtesy of Carol McKenna. Luckily somone volunteered to take our group picture else Carol would not have made it even into the edge of a picture.
