As he ate with his fellow-workers in the greasy spoon, enjoying their competitive talk of growing leeks and selling scrap, he realised that under the industrial overalls lurked canny capitalist peasants.

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During lunch and dinner, customers peruse plastic-coated menus for classic greasy-spoon selections like hamburgers, French fries and club sandwiches stacked high with meat and iceberg lettuce.

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Although not everybody's cup of tea (on a bad day, the service can be as churlish as any greasy-spoon in Barnsley, circa 1972), its products and style are said to be enjoyed by Anglophile masochists such as Quentin Tarantino.

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