The Gateway Mystery

In most offices, there’s a little group of people who go to lunch together and while they’re out, you wonder what they do because they come back and they’ve solved all the world’s problems, they are full of bright ideas, and they have determined whether or not the latest office rumor is fact or fiction. You might be lucky enough to get invited sometimes, or even most of the time, to the standard lunch hotspots. Around here, there’s a surefire way to know that you’re finally a member of “the group”. The words I’d waited so long to hear, the words that would tell me that I was finally “in”, came to me sometime last year and they’ve come again a few times since then. And they never fail to excite me!

“Do you want to go to Gateway?”

Oh boy! An invitation to Gateway is the equivalent to being given the secret handshake or the special knock on an always-closed door. Gateway was the holy grail of lunchtime mystery. Or so I thought…  

As it turns out, Gateway is a quaint, family-run diner tucked in a strip mall just off of Capital Boulevard on Crabtree Boulevard in Raleigh. If you didn’t know it was there, not only would you miss it but you’d be missing out.

Gateway is one of those places where everyone knows your name, and where the food is fantastic and reasonably priced. Once you’ve been a time or two, Martina, our favorite waitress and the owner, will probably know your order without you having to place it. Service is friendly (as long as you don’t try to order the Tuesday special on a day other than Tuesday) and your meal, along with cornbread sticks and rolls, comes to your table quickly. Styrofoam plates and plastic utensils are the Gateway standard but with food this good and people at neighboring tables quickly becoming friends, you won’t even notice. In a space that probably doesn’t have 20 tables and booths, Gateway doesn’t feel like a restaurant; it feels like home, where everyone’s gathered around for a good story, a great laugh, and a hearty meal.

And believe me, hearty is an understatement. If you leave Gateway with a clean plate, you must have skipped breakfast and are planning to skip supper too. If you leave Gateway hungry, as my grandfather would say, “it’s your own fault.” And, if you’re taking suggestions, I’d highly recommend the macaroni and cheese and okra.

So, the mystery has been solved. Gateway is a secret only because if we tell everyone, it’ll get crowded and the regulars will not be able to get to sit in the same booth they sit in every day, to get the same consistent favorites they get (without ordering) every day. Open from 6-2 Monday through Friday and 6-noon on Saturdays, Gateway offers a selection that includes daily specials (one meat and two veggies) as well as everyday items and lighter fare like sandwiches and burgers (the grilled ham and cheese is quite tasty!)

Give it a try, let me know what you think, and if it’s crowded when we get there, scoot over and make room for us at your booth. Martina won’t mind.