Last night I used our salad greens from one of our hydroponic gardens to make a taco salad. I usually make it vegetarian style like I used to get at Elmo’s, but the husband asked me to kick it up a notch, so I added some ground turkey, rice, salsa, jalapenos and whole grain chips. But a taco salad will always remind me of Elmo’s, and since it is yet another one of my favorite restaurants to not survive the pandemic, I decided to reflect on some of my all time best memories from this diner.
The Elmo duck. Note: I cannot take credit for this coloring. I found it on Google.
Grownups colored the Elmo duck, which I am sure was meant for children. And if I am remembering correctly there were also some Elmo duck drawing contests.
My brunch go to. As a young contributing member of society, Elmo’s was my go to late morning brunch place. Arrive around 10am (after a late night of hanging out…read: hungover), I would wait with a small group of friends and drink complimentary coffee and chat for at least an hour before being seated.
The well mannered dogs. You know the dogs that sat calmly tethered to a pole while their owners ate at one of the outside tables. I always wanted one of my dogs to eat with us at Elmo’s, but we have a history of having super smart and stubborn dogs who do not like to be trained.
The noise. It was soo loud inside of Elmo’s which made it a great spot to take rowdy toddlers who did not have table manners.
Now for the food, the best part. If I had to pick one dish that was my absolute favorite…. I would not be able to. So here are my top 5:
- The turkey reuben. A twist of the regular reuben type sandwich.
- The biscuits and gravy. I have found a good replacement at Acme, but my heart (and waistline) will always think of Elmo’s when I think about a good B&G as I call it.
- The vegetarian grilled cheese sandwich. I swear the sprouts, as strange as it might sound, made that sandwich.
- My customized heart smart omelet. I would add salsa and jalapenos to kick up those egg whites.
- And, last but certainly not least, the vegetarian taco salad.
So many memories from Elmo’s. I will cherish them all. And I wish I had kept one of my Elmo duck drawings as a keepsake.