"The really top-notch writers are rare birds indeed, but their works merit rereading again and again. Victor Banis is definitely a member of this exclusive club. You need go no further than the first paragraph in this new collection of tales and reminiscences to relish the magic of his pen. He sets the tone, grabs the eye, and rivets the reader right to the page. And he's funny -- ha, ha, I mean, not peculiar -- I swear that I've eaten at some of the places reviewed by The Underground Diner, including a houseboat restaurant run by a distant cousin of mine in Tennessee."

-- from the Introduction by Robert Reginald.