An Ode to A Classic

Just this week the University of Miami, Coral Gables and Miami communities were stunned to hear the announcement that local breakfast staple S&S Diner at Allen's Drugstore is closing*.  As someone who spent the past year sampling the best breakfast spots in the area with my roommates, this news came quite as a shock to us.  S&S, better known as DRUGS because of its huge lit sign on the corner of 57th SW (Red Road) and 40th SW (Bird Road), was known among students for having some of the best pancakes in the area.  And they were...wait for it...HUGE!  Don't believe me?  See below for proof:

S&S was also known among students for having the cheapest breakfast in the area, with the most food for your dollar.  $5.95 would get you a short stack (see above) of pancakes with a topping of your choice.  My personal favorite?  That would be the chocolate chip stuffed pancakes!  Usually they would be about three times the size of regular pancakes and twice as thick, which ended with me bringing them home and eating them cold later.  Still just as good as in the store.

But what will I miss most about this classic Miami staple?  The memories.  S&S wasn't just home to some of the best pancakes I have ever consumed in my life, it was a place that I always flocked to with friends.  And different friends each time.  The three times (2 more times than I have ever been to most Miami breakfast spots) that I went there each brought some dear college memories.  The first time I went was with roommate A once I had finished my finals and we were looking for something to eat for breakfast.  I took the picture above when we got our food because of how stunned I was at how big they were.  Then there was the time with roommate E and close friend R after sorority initiation at 8:30am on a Saturday.  It was rainy and we were tired, but nothing cures a lack-of-sleep headache quite like a chocolate chip pancake.  Fortunately I had the chance to go one last time the Saturday before graduation with my friend V.  It was the perfect way to start off a long day of studying and packing during finals week, as well as a wonderful closure with a good friend.

All rambling aside, here's to you, S&S Diner.  Here's to delicious pancakes with great friends, to iconic memorabilia throughout your establishment, to the red lit up DRUGS sign on the corner of Red and Bird, to the guest book we got to sign multiple times, and to giving me one of my favorite breakfast food experiences in Miami.  Your food will never be forgotten.

*at the time of publication, S&S Diner had released a statement that their doors were closing at their iconic Red & Bird corner location.  It is undetermined where they will relocate to when/if they pick up a new lease.