If you're from my home town of Croton-on-Hudson, or perhaps from any Westchester County town, back to school food as something to do with a local diner. In my town, high school students viewed the Croton Diner as an iconic symbol of our teenage experience in the 1970s and early 1980s. Open since 1970, the diner had a Greek owner who we all knew as Pete who wisely opened his place with a 24 hour operating schedule. In our small town, no eatery competed with it because of its hours, great burgers, large salads, breakfast food (pancakes, waffles, French toast, and home fries) 24 hours a day, great baked goods—including killer fruit pies, and layer cakes by the slice, and enormous muffins. On a Friday or Saturday night, a corn bread muffin toasted on the grill and served with melted butter was one of my favorites! Baked large and thick, those corn muffins with a large glass of milk tied me over until breakfast the next day.
