Superstar Bryce Harper liked the Silver Diner when he lived in Washington, and locals don’t quite know how to process this information. It’s as if we have just received a thank you card from visiting royalty that read: “Your city is so lovely. We especially adored your Metro system.”
Anyway, in his parting message, Harper wrote, “The city of DC was home. Filomena’s, The Silver Diner, The Italian store, and countless other places helped make it feel like home.”
Of the restaurants Harper mentioned, the attacking armies of Twitter latched onto the Silver Diner, the Rockville, Md.-based chain that has 15 locations on the East Coast, mostly dotting the landscape around Washington. Critics took pains to point out that there are no Silver Diners in the District proper, a sure sign that Harper never embraced the town that he left behind. I should note that Harper’s last known domicile was a 2,000-square-foot, two-story “N.Y. loft-inspired” apartment in Arlington, Va., which is either further confirmation that he secretly hated Washington or merely evidence that this apartment was too cool to pass up.
LOLLL Bryce Harper gave a shoutout to Silver Diner and said that place made DC feel like home. There are no Silver Diners in DC
— Josh Valles (@1stClass22) April 2, 2019
So, if you needed another reason to hate Bryce Harper, his “thank you” to DC fans comes months after he left the team, signs with a division rival, and he mentions the Silver Diner as one of his top reasons for loving the Capitol City. You do you, Bryce https://t.co/svcjLbnnPG
— Jon Evans (@jon3vans) April 2, 2019
Predictably, there were also the usual head-shaking, eye-rolling memes and emoji about Harper’s affection for the Silver Diner. The suggestion, it seems to me, is that the chain is not cool enough, not D.C. enough, not millennial enough to pass the cultural sniff test, although by that standard the old-school Filomena would also earn Harper a demerit. (The Italian Store continues to have cred among all walks of life in Washington, a sure sign the family-run business still knows its way around, ahem, “Philadelphia-style” subs.)
He said THE SILVER DINER hahahaha
— Skins 👁 Anon (@pnkyreggaeprty) April 2, 2019
Me on Harper's love of Silver Diner last July: "While there’s a Silver Diner in Cherry Hill, N.J., which is only a short drive from Citizens Bank Park should Harper join the Phillies..."
— Scott Allen (@ScottSAllen) April 2, 2019
But it’s clear from Jacob Bogage’s story that Harper loved the Silver Diner in Clarendon, not far from his former crib. He went there after he won the Home Run Derby last year, the day before the 2018 All-Star Game at Nationals Park. (He ordered bison huevos rancheros, the kind of rugged Southwestern dish that marks you as an Alpha Male.) Bogage reported that Harper was a regular at the location, probably because the staff let him eat in peace. Or partly because of that.
To me, Harper’s affection for the Silver Diner may be the first sign that a human heart beats inside that hard body of his. The son of a Las Vegas ironworker father, Harper has often carried himself as the Anointed One, which he has been, of course, since the day Sports Illustrated labeled him “Baseball’s LeBron” back in 2009. He is animated and passionate and often mesmerizing on a baseball diamond, but off it, he acts more like a stiff board. His quotes feel scripted, his hair always sculpted. His Instagram feed reads more like a space for sale to the highest bidder than a place to share life’s small, seemingly meaningless moments.
Which is why Harper’s fondness for the Silver Diner feels genuine. Who would go out of his way to promote a small diner chain, even one that likes to brag about its corporate chef and its local sourcing? Besides, I like the image of Harper as a regular, maybe sitting in a small booth and replaying the game in his head, while digging into a half-pound of meatloaf with brown gravy. It’s an image we can all relate to: just another stressed-out American worker looking for a moment of comfort at the local diner.
Now, if only he’d Instagram that moment.
Read more: