Mel's Tea Room

I was in Sackville, NB yesterday and had lunch at Mels' Tea Room. Despite it's name, it's actually a diner of the classic variety: booths (with hard seats), bathroom tiles on the booth walls, and a menu of hamburgers, fries, milkshakes and sandwiches. The costs for such items are in the $2.00-$4.00 range, and they use real plates. You have to order each item you want- no combos here.

When I was a student in Sackville, Mel's was a local hangout. You could go in, and read the magazines for sale, without paying (I never did that, I felt too guilty). When I went in for lunch yesterday (admittedly, a little early for a university student), there were only older people eating, and playing the slot machines. There were two young guys on cash, that seemed a little flustered, but I think it was just their style. I love that flustered can be a recognizable style.

This picture is more of a pick-up truck, then Mel's. Yet, when I was a student here, pick-up trucks were a big part of the atmosphere. The region is surrounded by farms, and is especially known for the hay produced by the salt marshes dammed up by the Acadians. The salty hay is good for racing horses, and is exported to the US. Unfortunately, those salty marsh fields also produce deadly snow fields in the winter, and the pick-up trucks are replaced by snowmobiles.