Dickinson Variety & Arecibo Restaurant

Okay, so they're a corner bodega and liquor store.

You can get lotto tickets and a gallon of milk there.

But they also have a kitchen in the back that offers a wide variety of Spanish, Caribbean and American food.

If you live or work in the Forest Park neighborhood and want a hot, tasty double-cheeseburger and fries for cheap and don't want to take a bus, drive your car or walk to a fast-food place or other restaurant this is where you need to go.

Get yourself a Jamaican beef-patty with coco bread and a "potato ball" (it's a ball of mashed potatoes with tasty ground beef jammed in the middle and a crunchy fried crust) while you're there as well.

My roommate is a fan of the fish fillet sandwich and curly fries too.

In the past I've also enjoyed their fried chicken (more-so in the vein of the almost extinct Western Massachusetts institution Jim Dandy than your cookie-cutter KFC) and potato-wedges.

And when they have them the "spicy tenders" are a nice compliment to a burger.

They're not a diner per-se, but it's great to have inexpensive, greasy diner-style food available in the neighborhood.

Just don't go calling for late-night grub (something that's hard to come by in Springfield period) because they close at 8PM.