William Morgan: Good old working man’s fare

Dee Martin and her husband, Bob, are closing for vacation next week – their first break in months. Their walk-up restaurant sits at the corner of Tarkiln Hill Road and Bellevue Avenue, on the gritty north side of New Bedford. Dee’s is open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., except for Sunday, when they close at 5 p.m. It has been there for over 40 years.

This is a decedly unglamorous location, and we aren’t talking about an exciting or unusual dining experience . They offer ice cream cones, frappes, and sandwiches (including burgers and linguiça patties). But the reason to go to Dee’s is simply the hot dogs. "The Special" is two hot dogs, potato chips, and a drink for $6

My wife, Carolyn, and I go to New Bedford at least once a week, and a lot of times we drive the couple of miles up along the Acushnet River, between brick mills and triple deckers, to eat at Dee’s. No pretentions, no fuss, just good old working man’s fare.

William Morgan, a Providence-based writer, historian and photographer, is the author of many books. Many of his posts for New England Diary are explorations of nostalgia and cultural memory.