By Joseph Dalton | Special to the Albany (NY) Times Union | March 20, 2008

On Easter morning a couple years ago, my partner and I picked up the Sunday papers and headed to the charming Miss Albany Diner for breakfast, only to find it closed. So, instead, we tried Jack's Diner on Central Avenue. The contrast between the places is dramatic. There's nothing particularly cute or nostalgic at Jack's. It's just a diner. We nicknamed it the Mister Albany.

Jack's has been around since 1947, and for the past 44 years it has been run by owner John J. Murtagh, 78, who still calls himself "the new Jack."

The diner's heyday was back when Albany's population was larger and Central Avenue was the destination for shopping. Murtagh says that there were once five General Motors car dealerships within one block, "and there were no McDonald's or Wendy's. Thursday nights the shops were open late, and Central Avenue looked like Fifth Avenue in New York."

Well, maybe there is some nostalgia at Jack's, after all.

I've had a couple serviceable breakfasts at the place since that first encounter, but it has been a while, and I'd never gone for lunch until a recent weekday. Though the place was full when I arrived with a friend at around 12:30 p.m., a booth opened rather quickly. Our white-haired waitress, Janice, brought coffee ($1.25) and a no-nonsense attitude.

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