And a healthy dose of nostalgia, if the '70s and '80s count.
The opening credits and choice inside scenes for Alice the successful sitcom that ran from 1976 to 1985, chronicling a Hollywood hopeful forced to take a waitress job at a diner after her car breaks down in Phoenix were filmed inside Mel's.
The spot retains that no-nonsense charm, complete with a Mel Sharples-type character in the form of foul-mouthed Frank, a busboy who will begrudgingly pour you bottomless cups of coffee. Just don't smile too much because he'll wipe that grin right off with a verbal slap across the piehole.
Death by gobbler is gonna get you either way, so why not go out in style? The Wrigley's annual Thanksgiving feast is style personified. Get a load of these offerings from last year's menu: baby lamb chops with a mint glaze and grilled salmon with a roasted red pepper coulis. Even the turkey slathered with cranberry chutney is life-affirming. What price mental health? A mere $27.50 to $55, which we'd consider cheap at twice the price.
This tiny, sunny diner's a downtown icon, and not just because of its orange counters or sassy retro décor. Here, the coffee's always strong, the juice is straight-outta-the-orange, and the thick bacon strips from The Pork Shop in Queen Creek are the best we've ever had.
Whether we go with the salami scramble, a fluffy Belgian-style waffle, or a fat omelet stuffed with roasted red peppers and aged provolone, Matt's hearty eats gear us up to take on the world.