Glenwood Drive-In

Walk-In the Drive-In
Glenwood Drive-In, Hamden
June 2024

Probably saying too much here, but I’m going for it: my 13-year-old son is having an existential crisis related to his soccer “career.” He plays on a high-level team and it’s all quite intense. This year, training began in late August and his season will last at least until early July. That’s… a lot. For a kid who grew to 5’10” very quickly, constant training and traveling takes a toll on the developing body.

But it’s not even the physical toil that plagues him the most. It’s a mental thing. The team is exceptionally talented and Calvin is “just another good player.” After this season, two are off to the New England Revolution Academy (the tippy top of youth soccer in the US) – to give you an idea of the team’s level. My son has zero aspirations to become a pro (good) and he has other interests besides soccer. Jazz band, friends, girls, making money at some point – and he realizes that the all-encompassing world of “elite” (man do I hate that word) youth sports might not fit in with his life.

So after another friendly, in which he played great, in preparation for the national playoffs in San Diego (yes, you read that right), all these thoughts have been swirling around in his head. It doesn’t help either of us that as a 13-year-old boy, emotions and fully-formed sentences are not things he feels like exploring.

“You want to go eat an unhealthy lunch and get some ice cream?”

“Why?”

“Because it’s Saturday and I thought it would be nice.”

grunt

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Okay. I guess.”

And with that excitement, it was off to the Glenwood we went. Nothing like a classic Connecticut diner to perk up a mopey kid.

The building has changed a bit over the years, but the Glenwood Drive-In, which is no long a drive-in, has been a family run business since 1955. It’s now a walk-in, and it’s set up is a bit different than all the other diners I’ve been to.

The Glenwood’s system is that of a fast food place. You stand in line among the Formica tables and place your order with a person at a sort of hostess stand. Then you wait and the orders are made one by one for those in front of you. We were behind maybe a dozen people and the line went fast. Incredibly fast considering this isn’t just a burger and hotdog joint.

I was impressed.

Calvin went with a grilled cheese (weirdo) and some Barq’s root beer. I had to get the Glenwood’s famous foot-long hot dogs and some fries – which I didn’t get to eat thanks to my son’s appetite. The dogs here are offered with chili and or cheese as well. All the sides you’d expect are here, but randomly they also have zucchini on the permanent menu. Fries, onion rings, zucchini… But this place also serves up mountains of fried clam strips, whole belly clams, scallops, fish, and lobster rolls.

And I have no idea how frequently it’s on the menu, but they also serve soft shelled crabs when in season(!) I love soft shelled crabs, but – and no offense to the fine folks at Glenwood Drive-In, I’m not sure I’m getting them here.

Our lunch totaled $27 which I guess is considered cheap these days. It must be because at 51, I was the youngest adult in this place. Calvin remarked at how old the clientele was and lo! You know who orders zucchini at the Glenwood? This lovely woman in lavender:

Good for her. Maybe it’s her life of healthy choices that led up to my son, who again is just 13, to remark, “those are some nice legs for an old lady.” Yes, he really muttered that to me. (And he was right. Shout out to that zucchini-eating woman.)

Boys will be boys.

After getting our tray of food, I was confronted with an impressive condiment bar. Three types of mustard! I love mustard! I slathered my dogs in spicy brown and got some of the diner’s signature hot relish as well. There’s also sauerkraut for your sociopaths.

Glenwood Drive-In has been a family-run business for over 65 years. The Stone family took over ownership in 1955, when Rocky Stone purchased the drive-in after working as a Tip-Top salesman and deliveryman. Under Rocky’s leadership, the drive-in expanded its hours and menu offerings. Upon Rocky’s passing in 1960, his son Frank took over and continued to grow the business, expanding both the menu and the physical building. Today, Glenwood Drive-In is a beloved institution in Hamden, Connecticut.

Glenwood is proud of its commitment to high-quality food. Our hamburgers are now made with fresh certified Angus beef patties, and we only use the best ingredients in all of our menu offerings. We’ve won numerous awards for our hot dogs, lobster rolls, and homemade onion rings, and have been recognized by Connecticut magazine as having the best hot dogs in the state.

I have no idea when the magazine bestowed that honor on the Glenwood, but I think it was probably a long time ago. I’m not saying these aren’t delicious hot dogs, for they are, but in the endless pizza/hot dog/burger debates ’round these parts, I’ve never heard the Glenwood mentioned.

The dogs (and burgers) are cooked on a grate over a charcoal fire and take on a smoky flavor and keeps them snappy. These are crusty dogs – and I love them cooked this way. The hot relish is quite good too and I definitely recommend it.

Calvin was not so high on the grilled cheese, but he’s in that morose stage of early teendom, so I can’t really speak to the quality here. He downed it in about a minute, so it couldn’t have been too bad.

Signs around the joint say to “save room for dessert” with arrows pointing to the ice cream shop that shares the space. That shop is Frank Stone’s daughter’s Kelly’s Cone Connection which is the baby business, “only” having been here for half the time as the diner. (Yes, of course we saved room for dessert.)

There was a constant flow of customers while we waited and ate, and it seemed to be a very well run business. Not your typical sit-down diner with an extensive menu, but the “classic diner” bones are here, and appear to be here to stay.

Glenwood Drive-In
CTMQ’s Classic Diners & True Taverns