West Taghkanic Diner

West Taghkanic Diner
"The Home of Home Cooking"
Route 82 & Taconic Parkway
West Taghkanic (Ancram), NY 12502
http://www.taghkanicdiner.com/
Map and Directions

This place was awesome! I love old-school, greasy spoon, rail cart diners. I always have. Jody, Jeremy, myself and all of our friends used to hit up 24 hour diners after hockey games, high school events or even hill parties. There is nothing like an egg sandwich at 2 AM! It was a Saturday in April and I was on a mission to sell my boat... begrudgingly. As I was traveling back home after an exhausting day of running from Long Island to Massachusetts and then to Upstate NY and back, this place appeared on the horizon and I was destined to stop.

I will say that I had no idea where I was. Upstate New York is a ways from my stomping grounds and honestly, not a place I choose to visit all that often. I need to give this area a better shot because the diner was amazing. Long counter, multiple booths with tables and chairs thrown in, shiny metallic decor and a neon sign... I mean really, what is cooler than that?

My father and Uncle Phil were with me on this trip and as we walked in I was thinking breakfast for dinner all the way. It is damn near impossible for me to pass up eating breakfast at diners, but they also had wings on the menu and what kind of Wingman would I be if I did not see what the West Taghkanic Diner had to offer?

They had a few flavors of wings on the menu and for about $6.50, you get a dozen wings. That is just over $.50 per wing, which is a pretty good price. The flavors are Hot, Mild, BBQ and Honey Dijon. I asked if they could split the order 6 and 6 and they said sure, so I ordered 6 Hot and 6 Honey Dijon. My father ordered breakfast and Uncle Phil got the fish and chips, which the waiter said was one of their most popular dishes.

The wings were really good. The Hot Wings were traditional and were made well. They had a decent amount of kick while holding on to that quintessential buffalo wing flavor. They were not as crispy as I would like, but the taste and good size of the wing overshadowed the lack of crisp. The Honey Dijon were the best honey mustard wings I have had in a very long time. They were large, juicy and covered in honey mustard. They were perfectly prepared and the flavor was amazing. They are worth the trip up the Taconic Parkway. I am truly bummed that I live so far from this place.

The fish and chips, according to my uncle were pretty good and my dad enjoyed his eggs, fries, sausage and rye toast. The food at West Taghkanic Diner is better than one would expect when driving by the neon sign on the south side of Route 82. The service is a bit suspect (they forgot to bring me my fries, my dad only got 2 of his 3 eggs and they brought him white toast... he ordered rye), but they corrected their mistakes quickly and were happy to do so.

I suggest that if you are ever in the area, stop by and give this place a try... you won't be disappointed and you can buy a t-shirt as a souvenir.