J&M Diner
February 19th, 2007
I had heard for a while that the J&M Diner was worth checking out so this weekend we finally did. J&M is at 969 Concord St. in that little plaza next to Stop &Shop and Firefly’s.
We went a little before noon and it was packed but we only had a 10 minute wait,in the meantime we watched the waitresses run around in their pajamas.
The hostess was really nice, I’m guessing she was also the manager for some reason. She asked us if we had even been there before and took our drink order. The menu was mainly breakfast with a couple of burger specials on the board.
Ethan got a huge pancake with bacon and we split some home fries.
I got the cinnamon french toast. It doesn’t look like french toast, at first I thought maybe it was pancakes they gave me but after a bite into them I realised it was infact what I ordered. I guess someone walking by thought it looked odd and stopped to ask me if it was french toast, and that it looked “mushy”. Kind of odd but this is the kind of place where something like walking up to someone’s table and asking them what they got and making a comment about it was ok.
The home fries were really good, plenty of both crunchy and soft potatoes. Ethan liked his pancake and bacon and I really liked the french toast. I haven’t had french toast in years so it was nice that it wasn’t disappointing.
The service was ok, our waitress just took our order and left the check on the table when she brought out our food and we never saw her again. That is typical of breakfast places so it’s fine, but I guess if we had needed something after we took a bite we’d have to flag her down. Also, a little weird was when Ethan ordered a grapefruit juice, it was over $2 for a bottle of Minute Maid that was only 30% juice (70% corn syrup?). We thought that was a little pricey for not real juice but it’s not enough to make us never come back, just an observation.
I would definitely go to J&M again since good breakfast places are hard to come by and I liked the feel of this place and the hostess/manager was so nice.Â
It was kind of funny, after we left Ethan asked me if I noticed a strong pro-woman theme in there. I didn’t but he said he noticed that everyone working there were all female. Also, everything hanging on the walls were of women including the old Rosie the Riveter “We can do it!” poster and a version of Charles Ebbets’ “lunch atop a skyscraper” with all women. It’s funny I didn’t notice the female-strong theme at all but I’d be curious to know if there is a story behind that. Little breakfast places are not as common as they used to be and the food is good so I’ll be back.
How funny, my husband and I drove past that this morning, and I wondered aloud how the food was.
Thanks for posting reviews. It’s nice to know where to find good meals in the neighborhood. I’ve been eager to try the 400 since you posted about it, but haven’t gotten there when they were open.
Comment by Janet — February 20, 2007 @ 1:07 am
I try and hit J&M a few times a month, the food is always fantastic. I was watching Chronicle on channel 5 and they went to J&M because some of the top chefs in Boston were bringing them to the places they like to eat . The only problem is the wait on the weekend can be long.
Comment by mike — February 20, 2007 @ 7:45 pm
Love J and M. Great ambience and food.
I wish they had smaller portions of omelets, for example, at lower prices. One omelet could easily feed 3 people. Also, wish they had shredded hash browns; a great place for those is Brittney’s in Northborough, but it is far away.
otherwise it is a local gem. beth
Comment by beth grossman — February 20, 2007 @ 7:51 pm
Is it my imagination, or are the waitstaff wearing pajama bottoms?
Comment by Bill — February 24, 2007 @ 12:40 pm
There’s always a longer wait on weekends (but there’s often a wait on weekdays too). It’s a good place to go - large portions, enough to share or take part of the meal home. The waitstaff only wear pj’s on weekends and holidays (like around the Friday after Thanksgiving). Somehow it’s a tradition. If you have a chance to read the menu, the family that owns it is really interesting. 3 kids (maybe 4?) and the wife also sings professionally. I don’t think that family sold the place but I could be wrong. I’ve read history about where they were before they bought this restaurant and it’s somewhere on the walls (framed). The staff is friendly, if you needed something you could flag anyone down and they’d make sure you got it. During the week - a lot of ‘regulars.’ We’ve even eaten at the counter on occasion when it was crowded and we didn’t want to wait.
Go back and try it out also for lunch. Great soups, too.
Comment by Lisa S. — March 4, 2007 @ 1:49 pm
J&M is a great place, a little pricey in my book if you’re just going to get some eggs and hashbrowns, but they do a great job. And in Framingham, it’s practically the only place in town.
Down route 30 a ways is Mels - overpriced.
Want a great diner breakfast? Head to Waltham on route 20, just east of Moody Street, and enjoy a great, inexpensive breakfast at Wilson’s Diner!
Comment by scott — March 6, 2007 @ 10:00 pm
I have been there at least a dozen times, always early on weekday mornings. At that time (before 8:00) there are always open tables and prompt service. I did not know about the pajama thing - I feel like I have missed out. I suppose I could start a trend of customers wearing pajamas…
As far as a gender theme goes, I have seen a guy working as wait staff,but I think he lasted less than a week. Otherwise it has always been women.The grill crew has always been 2 guys. I noticed the decorations, but I saw them as more of a 40’s - 50’s diner theme decor and not gender-specific.
I agree that the portions are large for the cost. The pancakes are HUGE - 2 and a side of bacon or hash browns will fill the most hearty appetite. I usually get the “A” special with eggs, 1 pancake, sausage, and bacon. I have often left it unfinished. Coffee is fine and refills are free.
I have not found a better breakfast place in Framingham, Ashland, Wayland, or Sudbury.
Comment by alan — March 8, 2007 @ 6:10 pm