24 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} At the Dutch Goose, the floors are covered in peanut shells and the walls with carved initials. This long-running hangout in West Menlo Park has welcomed the neighborhood for nearly 60 years. They’re still serving deviled eggs made from the same recipe that’s been on the menu since 1966. The locals like it that way. This unassuming family-owned eatery serves as a backdrop for Silicon Valley lore, from its many famous patrons to the test launch of Pong, the first commercially successful video game. While the deviled egg recipe remains a secret, perhaps the real secret sauce is the connection people feel when they take a seat at “the Goose.” “You can come into the Dutch Goose alone and you will see buddies or you’ll meet buddies,” owner Greg Stern promises. “You have this community when you are at the Dutch Goose. Everybody comes together and gets along,” he says. Greg believes the restaurant’s camaraderie is its staying power, in contrast to other burger purveyors that are moving to automated ordering. “At Shake Shack or McDonald’s, you’re met with a kiosk or a QR code menu,” Greg laments. “That sense of community is lost.” The Goose is a local fixture with history—its logo was made by the same designer who created the Grateful Dead’s. A Menlo Park native, Greg seized on the opportunity to buy the Dutch Goose during a career pivot that took him from stockbroker to restauranteur. “It was the year 2000 and I was working at Morgan Stanley, while the market was crashing,” he recalls. “I was having a burger with my dad and I told him I was miserable.” The conversation turned to talk that the Dutch Goose might close down or be demolished and Greg pondered rescuing the time-honored watering hole. “I feel like these
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