Part of the SPX pilgrimage is a visit to this greasy spoon to talk comics and share stories about Expos gone by. What are the Expo moments you remember most fondly? Tell your stories and share your thoughts.

I remember seeing Frank Cho for the first time at the SPX in 1998 (I think). I always thought he'd look a lot like Frank in Liberty Meadows. Turns out he does. Except he's buff and Asian. Despite the fact that he was possibly the shortest man at the convention, I was too indimidated to talk to him. I just bought my copy of University^2, put it under his nose and got it signed and said, "Thank you." Frank Cho is totally my hero. Well... him and Rivers Cuomo.

The Tastee Diner has one of the best mugs of Hot Chocolate in all the land... It's always fun to go there and sit with whomever is there from SPX -- it is a great way to get to know a cartoonist, publisher, or fan. Always ask to join SPX people if they are there eating!

Jeff Mason

What I always loved about the Tastee diner was how pissed off the waitstaff always was. Every year I've gone there it was packed and the waiter or waitress was downright Basil Fawlty rude.
Ah, good times!

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http://members.aol.com/ComicBookAlex

I'd gotten a hotel room despite my closeness to the venue so I could stay late and party. Since we ended up having a small SPX anyway I kept my reservation and it worked out great. And, of course, we had our breakfast at the Tastee this morning, just to keep the spirit alive.

I gotta say, the hotel was spookily empty and they've renovated it since last year. If the spiral stairs weren't still there I might've wondered if I was in the right place.

It seems like that hotel is always being renovated! One year they were painting my room's door and asked me to leave it open all day while the paint dried. That Holiday Inn really is the last of the great crappy convention hotels. The elevator takes 10 minutes to go anywhere and the bartenders always get pissy by the start of the night. Which I'd complain about elsewhere, but somehow that physical roughness in the venue became part of the charm of the SPX experience to me.

I'd been to SPX from 97-99, but 00 was the first time I stayed in the hotel and had the Tastee experience. I had invited a close friend of mine from college who was starting to waver in his love of comics. After this weekend, he was completely rejuvenated in many ways, and going to Tastee on Sunday morning really cemented the experience. I reminded us both of the little Southern diners we had gone to all the time in college. And hearing the buzz of comics creators around us simply added to the experience.

"Wouldja mind not standin' there? Wait outside"

"Wouldja mind not standin' there? Wait outside"

"Wouldja mind not standin' there? Wait outside"

"Wouldja mind not standin' there? Wait outside"

Last year I had a seat by the entrance. People would walk in and stand by the door, unsure of what they had to do to get a table. Was there a list? Could they seat themselves? They'd try to catch an employee's eye. The employees ignored them. Eventually, one waitress--always the same one, would bark:

"Wouldja mind not standin' there? Wait outside"


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Unrewarding.com The acclaimed graphic novel WHITEOUT, my life-drawing gallery and more. Morning Dragons is coming in 2002 from Image. My wife's novel, EMPRESS OF THE WORLD, (VIKING 2001) is in bookstores everywhere, as is our comics collaboration in the Sept/Oct issue of CICADA.

spiral staircase...
i always liked how it had that 5 degree lean.. not quite perfect....

though i haven't made it to the tastee in all my spx visits.. it sounds like the place to be... i was sad to see the local cofee/bakery get swallowed by the starbucks corporation.... but i guess that happens..

there is that good little health food store.. though...

I have seen nothing more horrifying than drunk comic creators going up that spiral staircase at 3am.

Now I'm hungry for some rice pudding from Tastee Diner...

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Greg McElhatton: http://www.gregmce.com
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Yep, Tastee is a regular stop after quite a few of the Expo Steering Committee meetings. The waitstaff laughs really hard when you are in there twice in one evening - dinner before the meeting and coffee and pie after the meeting.