Rox Diner's Kelly Lydon on MacGyvering at Greasy Spoons

Kelly Lydon is the executive chef at West Roxbury's Rox Diner, which she calls an "anti-greasy spoon." Don't let the "diner" in the name fool you: it's comfort food for sure, but there's a bit of an upscale twist to everything, and it's all prepared from scratch with a focus on locally sourced ingredients. Lydon doesn't have a current favorite greasy spoon, but as a child, she loved Arthur and Pat's in Marshfield. For Greasy Spoons Week, she shares some thoughts on her past greasy spoon experience:

"I have worked in greasy spoon-like conditions. Something's always broken, so I've learned a lot of tricks to fix things in a pinch. It makes you quite the MacGyver. You have to be fast. People want their food and they want to leave. That's a concept you just don't learn in a "finer" dining establishment. Meals tend go at a slower pace, and nobody is in a rush to eat or to leave. The experience of working in a greasy spoon makes you really think about each motion and action you make on the line so that you're going as fast as humanly possible without flailing all over the place and making a mess. You learn life hacks at a greasy spoon and they really come in handy down the line. You also learn a lot about space. You never realize how much space you're taking up with your movements and your body until you're crammed behind a small line with three other people. I make myself "smaller" now when I work, if that makes sense. If only that were possible outside the kitchen!!"
· All coverage of Rox Diner on Eater [~EBOS~]
· All coverage of Greasy Spoons Week on Eater [~EBOS~]
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