Month: August 2022

Great Diners of North Country and the Adirondacks

 

Photo of diner restaurant booths.

Photo by Lee Cartledge on Unsplash

I hasten to say how many years old I was before I learned the secret of diners or shall I say the secret of dining some place new. Because I know I went to diners when I was younger. I can distinctly remember my father picking a place to eat, we’d go in, and in just a few words he’d order something that often looked like breakfast. Meanwhile, I’d be pouring over the menu and end up ordering something like a plain turkey sandwich, that, when it arrived, tasted like it was made 5 years ago. I didn’t get it. Why were these little hole-in-the-wall type of places popular? They were SO old fashioned!

But after enough tries and failures, I figured something out. Here is my profound wisdom for you:

When dining someplace new, order the special.

I can’t say that this advice just came to me as inspiration, I know I read it somewhere and tried it and discovered for myself that, indeed, it was true! The reasoning is that any restaurant that sells 50 or 100 of the same dish MUST be doing it right or their business would die (’cause maybe the guests would die).

So based on finally figuring this out, it has occurred to me that I must document a few of the places that I would recommend in the North Country and the Adirondacks and for what food.

Which leads me to what should be your default diner order IF you don’t want the special: 

BLT and coffee

With this, you can sample how a diner does 3 staple items:

  • bacon
  • coffee
  • toast

Plus the cost should be almost the lowest on the menu. Truly, I know it’s getting hard to find meals for under $5, but this should cost you under $8 for lunch, for sure.

Diners to try

Ogdensburg, NY – Tim Horton’s

What to order? Tim bits and a coffee “double double”.

https://goo.gl/maps/WuaR5RSJfLi3PYxX7


Burke, NY – Cherry Knoll Restaurant (Route 11 east of Malone)

What to order? Get a slice of pie and coffee.  

https://goo.gl/maps/ofGyUArK8qrXvDPR8

 

North Lawrence, NY  – The Pit Stop Diner

What to order? BLT and coffee.

https://goo.gl/maps/ovQG6PrsE9WcQhwX6


Saranac Lake, NY – ADK CAVU Cafe

What to order? The special. Or breakfast.

https://goo.gl/maps/7jbqAafAkWyvsgs7A 

 

South Colton, NY – Robideau’s Mahogany Ridge Bar and Grill aka RMR Bar and Grill

This is more of a restaurant than a diner. But it’s a big snowmobiler stop place. So I’d say the french fries are a good bet.

https://www.facebook.com/robideaumahoganyridge

Peru, NY – Green Acres Family Restaurant

What to order? BLT and coffee.

https://goo.gl/maps/AwsmPPxkNtqzKvrL8

 

Watertown, NY – Longway’s Diner

What to order? Honestly this entry is on my list from family history, I cannot remember eating there. Maybe once I grabbed a coffee to go. It’s a truck stop.

https://g.page/longwaysdiner?share


Parish, NY – The Grist Mill

What to order? Coffee. And get out. Really, this is the ONLY northbound food place between Syracuse and Watertown on Route 81- so you’re stuck. I would NOT recommend the food here. Drink coffee until you get to Watertown and pull off onto Arsenal Street. You can get McDonald’s, Burger King, or Starbucks there.

https://goo.gl/maps/8XnEEmUBqGnj7goz7

 

Continue reading “Great Diners of North Country and the Adirondacks”…

How to Balance Theory and Research

I love to dwell in both theory and research. Both are fascinating to me.

But how do I balance theory and research when they conflict with each other?

I share an example and I know this is stormy waters ahead for some readers because I’m going to create waves.

Photo of waves set against a cloudy sky.

 Photo by Ant Rozetsky on Unsplash

First, the theory; Andragogy or Adult Learning Theory credited to Malcolm Knowles and to smaller degrees to other theorists.  Before I go any further, I have to acknowledge that in 2022, there is a STRONG movement to discredit Knowles and Adult Learning Theory.  More than I can count, it’s currently cool to disrespect this around instructional design. It’s quite ugly.

Examples:

Screen capture of post from Learning Scientists.org called: Pedagogy vs. Andragogy: What's the Difference with a comment, Spoiler alert: Nothing really. 
 
 

I find this trend really disturbing and an example of cancel culture. Realistically, I find that IDs that put no mental effort into truly studying Andragogy dismiss it out of hand as unreal based on their surface understanding. Said another way, they believe that they know what Andragogy is and then they say it does not exist. BTW, LinkedIn comments have become hot when I’ve described that THE MOST COMMON COMPLAINT against andragogy is that “children occasionally display these adult traits too, so, therefore, adult learning as an exclusive or separate thing does not exist.”  Heads-up: Classic  logical fallacy of composition. 

Once in a while someone will ask “What is an adult anyway?” which I find to be at least a cognizant thought and then explain “Yes, defining an adult is the first exercise in an Adult Learning Theory class.” Duh. It’s actually really hard to define an adult because there are so many different standards. 

In summary, using a logical fallacy of composition argument is already weak.

Additionally, I find that Andragogy is well-respected, research-supported part of education around for over 30 years. What’s next to pick apart? Gender studies?!? 2022 does seem to be the Year to Attack Women. What about Black Cultural studies? How about studies about any particular group?? Or should I be saying “Any particular group that isn’t White Mainstream?”  See? That’s where cancel culture gets you eventually; no one is good enough. I reject all of this.

Rinse & repeat on Brain-Based Learning.

 

Continue reading “How to Balance Theory and Research”…