AN ODE TO MOM
Mirna B. Díaz Alemán, operating partner at Silver Diner Merrifield, with her three children.
AN ODE TO MOM
Lessons learned from the women who feed us.
Three words we live by: Must Love Mom. From the early inspiration for our founders, whose mothers sparked a lifelong love of sharing food, to the many mother-daughter teammates who work at our various locations (and sons, too!), to the many families who choose our tables and booths for everyday and extra-special meals together, Mother’s Day is every day at Silver Diner.
While the official holiday might have come and gone, we’re taking a moment to honor the women who nurture us, in more ways than one. Of course, everyone’s story is different—from given family to chosen; to being raised parents, aunts, and grandmothers; to the fact that not every mom actually likes to cook! But here are a few of our stories, from our mothers to yours.
The Giaimo family gathers for a meal.
ON HER CULINARY UPBRINGING
“I was born in small-town San Gerardo, El Salvador, which, during the 1990s, was struggling to survive a civil war, which devastated communities. Seeking a better future, my parents immigrated to the United States, leaving me in charge of my younger siblings—one of them just 18 months old. At only eight, I stepped into the role of parent, and that’s when I learned how to cook. That early responsibility shaped my life and taught me to be strong, organized, and deeply committed to my family’s well-being.” —Mirna B. Díaz Alemán, operating partner at Silver Diner Merrifield, mother of three, daughter of Lucia
“She was an Italian, and all Italians do some cooking. My grandmother was the major grand dame of the cooking—she was from Sicily. Cooking around our house was a big deal, and it always involved lots of people.”—Bob Giaimo, Silver Diner co-founder and board chairman, son of Antoinette
“I mostly learned how to cook from my dad, and by teaching myself. And then when I got married, my husband and I started cooking together. I'm from Nicaragua, and he is from El Salvador, so we both have different backgrounds that we bring to our food.”—Yeralda Coenen, manager at Silver Diner South Riding, mother of two, daughter of Jennis, who serves as host at Silver Diner Fair Oaks
“My mother was from the Netherlands and loved to cook. She made everything from scratch. She never wrote any recipes down. Because that’s how she learned—it was handed down from her mother, my grandmother, and her mother before that.” —Ype Von Hengst, Silver Diner co-founder and executive chef, son of Janke
ON HER BEST MEALS
“We make a lot of carne asada, with tortilla, pico de gallo, and rice. She doesn’t eat meat anymore, but when she did, that was a favorite for my mother—and it still is for the kids.” —Yeralda
“The best was a Sicilian dish called spiedini. You needed an Italian butcher to pound the beef really thin, and then you rolled it up with cloves, breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic, and other things I’m probably forgetting. It was absolutely amazing.”—Bob
“My mother made the best soup with lots of veggies—heavy on cauliflower, with lots of small meatballs, flavored with nutmeg. It was her favorite dish, and mine, too.”—Ype
“Just today, I asked my kids what they’d like for dinner, and my daughter, Camilla, said, ‘sopa de res,’ which is a stew with beef bones and meat and a lot of vegetables. . . . My mom, she lives with me, and she doesn't like to cook. But she said, ‘I don't have any idea how you learned that, but I like how you make it.’” —Mirna
Chef Ype Von Hengst with his wife Denise and mother Janke.
ON HER FAVORITE FOOD
“She loved to eat out, making friends with the restaurant servers and owners. If she didn’t like something, she never hesitated to send it back—and she gave everyone hugs before she left.”—Bob
“When she used to come to America and join us for vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, our favorite was getting lobsters in Menemsha Harbor together, freshly prepared and dipping in butter sitting on a wooden bench. It was the last meal we ate together on her last visit to America.”—Ype
“My favorite food is very simple, very easy, which might be why it’s my favorite. It's a tortilla with Spanish cheese that we have with eggs and beans. I can have it any meal of the day.” —Mirna
“My mom had a big influence on my cooking. From a young age, she got me involved.”
ON LESSONS LEARNED
“I have two kids, age 18 and 13. My daughter, she knows how to cook eggs. She knows how to make pancakes and waffles. She likes to bake dessert—mainly brownies. If she wants to learn something, she just goes online and finds a recipe. It’s important for them to learn, because later on, once they’re grown up, they’re going to need to know how to feed themselves.”—Yeralda
“My mom had a big influence on my cooking. From a young age, she got me involved. I was, oh, five, six years old, and she’d let me on Sundays help make the roasts or stews for family supper. I got a real pleasure out of that. It gave me the inspiration for hospitality, and serving people.” —Ype
“On my days off, I cook my children’s and husband’s favorite meals. ... Every week we gather as a family to enjoy a homemade meal and quality time together. We also have a small backyard garden where we grow food and teach our children about self-sufficiency skills that are especially important during challenging times.”—Mirna
“Big portions. Multiple courses. A lot of variety. Eating all night. What I learned was abundance—and the joy of being around the family hearth, and having everyone involved. I’m sure that communal eating influenced my desire to go into the restaurant business, and my happiness in making a career out of it.”—Bob
The first Kids Menu tasting in 2012.
THE COOL KIDS CLUB!
Silver Diner prides itself on being a fun and fitting place for the entire family. Did you know that our Kids Menu was actually created with input and approval from young people, age 12 and under? (And their parents, too, of course.) Those taste tests generated an award-winning selection of not just healthy, but honest-to-goodness delicious dishes, from the classics, like silver-dollar pancakes with a side of fresh fruit, to the next-level, like teriyaki salmon and Black Angus beef sliders. Sign them up for the Kids Club, which gives them a free collectible button every visit—plus a free meal every five visits and on their birthday to boot.