The Hot Biscuit Dinner

In Ticonderoga NY, on Montcalm Street, which is the main street in this old revolutionary era town, and set back from the road, is a wooden “A” frame structure with a generous front porch. It is the Hot Biscuit Diner.

Upon entering, you get the feeling that it is very old, though it has only been there for a little over twenty years. The place is adorned with cast iron farming and kitchen gadgets and small appliances of all kinds, antique glass bottles, colorful enamel pitchers; and on the walls are many antique tin advertisement signs such as Pepsi-Cola (five cents) Aunt Jamima Pancake syrup, and Ivory Soap. There is a sign over the counter wall that says “Unattended children will be served an espresso, and given a puppy.”

The large high-ceiling space is divided in two by a low partition. On the right side is an array of tables to seat from two to six people. The tables are all covered with red and white checkered tablecloths, and at the end of each is a cluster of the usual diner condiments: salt, pepper, sugar, maple syrup, jams, individually wrapped butter pats and mug of small half-and-half thingies. This area is clearly for the tourists, who flock to this diner in droves from the many camp sites in the area; a place to get a really robust breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

On the left side of the partition is a generous row of booths that accommodate six, if a few of them are children. They offer the same condiment clusters. And just across from the booths is a long counter with eight high chrome stools with red naugahide seats. This is for the town regulars.

As we sat in a booth, we watched as the town folks came in, greeted each other and the wait staff who were harried but quite friendly. The town women look no-nonsense, and the menfolk, dressed in jeans and untucked shirts, look uniformly tired as they hooked their boots onto the rungs at the bottom of the stools. Their comfort in the place is apparent as they unfold their newspapers, go around the counter to help themselves to coffee, and order “the usual” with no further explanation. They exchanged gossip, share the cross-word puzzle answers, and talk about the doings in town. The lone woman in the kitchen cooks up all the orders from an impressively extensive menu. Patience is required.

But what really makes this diner so special is the item for which it is named – their famous hot biscuits, baked to order.  They are culinary works of art, almost five inches in diameter, and two inches high. When you slice them open the aroma wafts up in such a way that you groan with anticipated joy. Some people order the house special, The Saw Mill, two biscuits smothered in a creamy meat gravy. I prefer butter, which melts into the core, and sometimes jam. It is pure heaven and all the reason you need to go.

No summer at Lake George would be complete without visiting a time or two at the Hot Biscuit Diner.