Anyone who is familiar with New Jersey may think of beaches and casinos and jughandles. You may have heard of the Jersey Devil or how nothing beats a ripe Jersey tomato (except maybe two Jersey tomatoes).

You may think fondly of these things or wish they never existed; either way, they are there.

One of the things I think of first would be New Jersey diners. Sure, there are diners in other places, but many people I know who live in our state prefer diners over fancy restaurants. Maybe it’s the friendly atmosphere that compels you and your twenty closest friends to meet up over egg sandwiches and Caesar salad. More accurately, it is probably due to the disco fries. I’m betting that’s it.

These diners are only as good as the cooks and the wait staff. Of all the diners I’ve been to, the Tabby’s Place diner has to be the ultimate well-oiled machine, cranking out custom plate after custom plate.

If you’ve never seen mealtime at Tabby’s Place,  you’re missing out. In comparison, a table full of picky kids would seem like a cake walk. While the mac and cheese may be lacking, the “fish mush” is plentiful.

Volunteers line up the order tickets and the plates. Prescription food for the diabetics, different cans for cats with kidney issues, regular canned food, food in pouches…it’s all there.

Carts of food go out, hand delivered to each cat as needed. Much to the cats’ dismay, no one comes around with the catnip grinder to sprinkle over their bowls. That being said, they are all just happy to be fed, to have water, and to have a team of doting servants at their beck and call.

Not once have I heard someone tell them they had to stay by their bowl until they ate the whole thing. No speeches about starving kitties in other parts of the world, perhaps because many of them were those starving kitties. That’s a life behind them, and one they don’t have to worry about ever again.

Each cat is served a plate of food, with her dietary needs in mind. Each cat is served a plate of love. And our love of cats keeps these plates coming.

The cats pay for their meals by being cats. They leave tips of purring, head bumps, and snuggles. Occasionally a bad review has to be cleaned up, but if you ask me, I would tell you that it has more to do with an upset tummy or eating too fast than the quality of the food.

And, like every good New Jersey diner, the Tabby’s Place kitchen operates 365 days a year (366 on leap years).

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