New and Venerable Institutions: Original Joe's

Original Joe's. Detail
Original Joe's is a classic San Francisco meat lover's joint in the Tenderloin since 1937. Belly up to counter at 144 Taylor Street.

The Counter

There's a diner in the City
In a dicey part of town
It's had clients through he decades
Who've come from all around.
   
There are judges, cops, and gamblers,
Cabbies, priests, and lawyers, too -
They all meet at the counter
Over pot roast or beef stew.
    
It's like United Nations
In a great reception hall
The counter knows no color,
It respects the green of all.
    
For a brief time at the lunch hour
Society's pecking order fades,
White collars blend with blue ones
As brief alliances are made.
    
It is certainly not the country club
Where impropriety makes them frown.
It's just the counter where humanity meets,
In a dicey part of town.
   
Poem courtesy of Original Joe's.


Copyright 2003 Hank Donat
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