Friday Nights, Friends, and Disco Fries

The time was around midnight, and loud music was blasting as my friends and I drove down the highway piled in my small Toyota Camry. The windows were down, and we all shout out the lyrics to our favorite songs through the windows on our way to our local diner. Friday nights were our favorite time of the week. After cheering on our high school football team at the game, we loved to relax at the diner and fill up our stomachs on the greasiest foods we can get. Pulling into the parking lot of this diner, you could already feel a change of atmosphere and a positive vibe through each of us because of the amount comfort and familiarity we hold in this special place. I walked up to the hostess and said, “Party of 5 for Annamarie”, as she gave me a friendly smile and wrote down my name. My friends and I requested the large booth seat, like always, and get settled in at our table ready to place our orders. Once we don’t even need to read the menu anymore, we know we’ve been coming here too often!

The waitress places our order of disco fries in the center of the table, and everybody’s face lights up. Disco fries were our go-to meal. The smell of french fries fresh from the fryer consumes the air as the waitress says, “Be careful girls! Its hot..”. Regardless, everyone grabs a fork, and starts to dig into the big plate of deliciously crispy french fries smothered in a thick, savory gravy and delightful, creamy mozzarella cheese. The greasiness of the french fries, and the heaviness of the gravy and cheese calls for the perfect cure to your late-night snack craving. Eating, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company while at our diner, munching away on plates of disco fries, is one of my fondest memories from growing up with my friends. Out of the most popular diner foods around New Jersey, disco fries are by far the most unique to me. They contain not only my three favorite things (fries, cheese, and gravy), but a sense of comfort, joy, and love. Especially while being away at college, disco fries represent a part of home for me. It reminds me of those Friday nights out with my best friends, when nothing else in the world seemed as important as sitting in that booth at midnight, devouring food and having fun.