Diners you have known and loved

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Not diners as in people who dine, but as in the dingy restaurants that refresh your cup of coffee as soon as the empty mug hits the ketchup-stained countertop. Remember your favorites here.

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm going to Steve's for lunch today to get a grilled cheese and french fries.

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Red Hook Diner, Red Hook, NY (one of the oldest in the nation)
Twig and Leaf, Louisville, KY (kinda crappy but close to parents' house and spot of many teenage memories)
Chicago Diner, Chicago, IL (not really a diner but a great vegan restaurant)
Mike's Coffeeshop, Brooklyn, NY (pretty good local spot in my hood)

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Favorites from Richmond:
Village Cafe (but really a diner). My usual was an egg-and-cheese sandwich on a biscuit with hash browns (the kind scooped out with an ice-cream scoop) on the side, though I went through a black beans & rice phase too. They have a pretty good jukebox too, I liked to play Black Sabbath on Sunday mornings. There were always a few elderly drunks at the bar there, even early on the weekend.
4th Street Diner, which we didn't go to that much since it was in the downtown/business district, but ohmygod you could order a huge plate of crispy hashbrowns cooked with onions, topped with a thick layer of cheddar cheese.

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Well I live in the city that was the birthplace of the diner building industry. Lets see there are still a few in operation around here.

1. The Parkway - best in worcester
2. Edgemere - great breakfast
3. Boulevard - good late night
4. Ralphs - now expanded into a club.

― Velveteen Bingo (Chris V), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:27 (twenty-one years ago)

worcester mass to thread

xpost!

― kephm, Friday, 23 July 2004 16:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Millar and Ally went to Village Cafe with us.

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:28 (twenty-one years ago)

warning giant diner pictures
http://www.dinercity.com/maDiner/boulevardExtM.jpg
http://www.dinercity.com/maDiner/missWorcesterExtM.jpg

― Velveteen Bingo (Chris V), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I like Leo's Lunchroom here in Chicago. They have some specials that take them a step above your dingy diner (eg, pear-ginger french toast), but the ambience is all fake wood paneling and dusty postcards, and the waiters are pleasantly surly to nonregulars. Oh, and the food is fucking good and they listen to loud rock music.

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Olympic Flame - NYC (right next to Fordham U at Lincoln Center, where I went freshman year of college)
Mary's - Rockford, IL (now it's some expensive restaurant, but it used to be a greasy diner)
House of Pies - L.A., CA (2am breakfasts followed by pie...nice)

― Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Red Hook Diner (called the Village Diner for some odd reason on the page):

http://www.dinercity.com/nyDiner/villageExtM.jpg

Diner Facts

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:30 (twenty-one years ago)

when I lived in Chicago, Leo's Lunchroom was cited for multiple healthcode violations.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:31 (twenty-one years ago)

a jukebox and beer is U&K

― kephm, Friday, 23 July 2004 16:32 (twenty-one years ago)

ahh Olympic Flame, how I miss thee

http://www.eightwheels.com/data/archives/olympicflamediner.jpg

― Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:34 (twenty-one years ago)

the shack, at shaker square in cleveland, ohio. tiny, narrow, weirdly-lit, green-tiled paradise with billie holiday 45s on the jukebox. gone but not forgotten.

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Olympic Flame? That is not a diner.

― Velveteen Bingo (Chris V), Friday, 23 July 2004 16:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Fleetwood diner in Ann Arbor.

too scared to actually eat there, but it had a hella gnarly "atmostphere" while i lived there.

― gizmo (gizmo), Saturday, 24 July 2004 01:07 (twenty-one years ago)

If you go to high school in NJ, you live in diners- we even stopped in one after our prom. I didn't really think that was weird until years later. =) The marks of true diners: Massive menus, but most people stick to the breakfast food section; when you order toast, it comes SOAKED in butter; no waitresses under 50; lots of mirrored trim and cheesy chandelier lights; great booths to disappear in.

Ones that stand out in my memories of the Morristown area:
Rockaway diner (one I went to after my prom, and the first diner we took my neice to when she was born)
Chester diner- my favorite, best super greasy breakfast food
Sparta diner- good after going skiing or rock climbing
Morristown diner- very very sketchy but so many important events in my high school life happened there...like the first time I ever got drunk, we ended up there, eating scrambled eggs & discovering how lousy hangovers were
Travelers diner in Dover

Now all we really have in Seattle are IHOP and Denny's- which really should not be called diners at all.

― lyra (lyra), Saturday, 24 July 2004 01:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Apparently some Denny's have liquor licenses? in which case, would you consider them superdiners?

― gizmo (gizmo), Saturday, 24 July 2004 01:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Poppy's Grill in the Quarter in NOLA, while strictly not a diner, kicked ass.

― Michael Stuchbery (Mikey Bidness), Saturday, 24 July 2004 02:09 (twenty-one years ago)

RIP

― 57 7th (calstars), Saturday, 24 July 2004 02:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Jones Diner

― 57 7th (calstars), Saturday, 24 July 2004 02:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh yes, there are numerous Denny's with "Lounges" around here. Interesting places.
Still not diners, though. Arrrgh, and I am about 21 days away from going back to Joisey for a weekend, but thanks to this thread now I'm longing for some late night toast & a milkshake.

― lyra (lyra), Saturday, 24 July 2004 03:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Jct. 101 - Troy, VT
Coffee Corner - Montpelier, VT
Brown Cow - Newport VT
Littleton Diner - Littleton, NH
Martha's Diner - Coventry, VT Please, Phishheads, don't kill this place next month.
Fay's Cafe - South Bolton, Quebec (long gone)
Miss Newport Diner - Newport, VT (Now in Worcester, MA, I think - you stealin' greaselovers)

― jim wentworth (wench), Saturday, 24 July 2004 03:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Pete's - downtown Knoxville

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Saturday, 24 July 2004 04:04 (twenty-one years ago)

my ex girlfriend once ate some food. i know this. i used to love her.

― dog latin (dog latin), Saturday, 24 July 2004 04:25 (twenty-one years ago)

yankee clipper, beacon, ny

http://www.norfolkwindmills.com/beautiful2/yankeeclipper.jpg

trolley stop, new orleans

http://www.norfolkwindmills.com/beautiful2/trolleystop.jpg

― elber (gareth), Saturday, 24 July 2004 08:16 (twenty-one years ago)

my ex girlfriend once ate some food. i know this. i used to love her.

...but you had to kill her?

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Saturday, 24 July 2004 08:21 (twenty-one years ago)

i live 5 minutes from mastoris diner, and it is the king of new jersey diners. they have 81 sandwiches. they're all served on slices of bread thicker than most layer cakes. best carrot cake in the world, with chocolate chips and coconut in it.

(always, always ask to be seated in the diner.)

― el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Saturday, 24 July 2004 09:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Moody's Diner, Waldoboro, ME

― 57 7th (calstars), Saturday, 24 July 2004 10:14 (twenty-one years ago)

diner on NE corner of 14th & 9th Manhattan: lived above on 2nd floor 1981-85. Got my AM coffee there everyday, used to marvel at 8:00 crowd of meat-pack workers and leather gays from local sex clubs.

"Fleetwood diner in Ann Arbor."
known for its chili when I lived there in the 70s.

― lovebug starski, Saturday, 24 July 2004 11:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm not telling

― Nellie (nellskies), Saturday, 24 July 2004 13:03 (twenty-one years ago)

when I lived in Chicago, Leo's Lunchroom was cited for multiple healthcode violations.

This is part and parcel of being a diner. I would be disappointed if it hadn't been cited for multiple healthcode violations.

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Saturday, 24 July 2004 13:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Johnny B's - Cranston, Rhode Island

peach-pear butter pancakes, ridiculously good eggs, italian sausages.. and a mysterious table in the corner with drawers on the sides, each containing handwritten notes to and from the clientele of the place, detailing meetups or gossip; this table was at one time called "the johnny b's internet." dinner is served one a week, on fridays, with tablecloths and flowers.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 24 July 2004 15:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Springfield Diner, Jamaica, Queens
alternate: The Bristol Hotel, Jamaica, Queens (where the meat tastes better than Burger King)

― Begs2Differ (Begs2Differ), Saturday, 24 July 2004 16:01 (twenty-one years ago)

the "diners" in London are unfortunately either terrible or expensive

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 24 July 2004 16:05 (twenty-one years ago)

they're called "cafs" and you get REALLY bad sausage plus eggs, beans, mushrooms, and grilled tomatoes

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 24 July 2004 16:05 (twenty-one years ago)

fucking Waffle House

― Phill, Saturday, 24 July 2004 16:40 (twenty-one years ago)

that's not a diner, that's a House of Waffles!! i mean really sir!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 24 July 2004 16:44 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.ronsaari.com/stockImages/diners/mickeysExt.jpg

The above diner is on the US Register of Historic Places. It rocks. I likek to think I know something about diners and soda fountains - my first job was in a drugstore soda fountain of quality. Try finding one of those near you NOW.

London has good caffs, Tracer! But I know what you mean about the sausages; in most cafes they're Safeway Savers sausages bought in bulk or similar - gross. You want Pellicci's on Bethnal Green Road, Andrewes around the corner from us on Gray's Inn Road and the heavenly Mario's Cafe in Kentish Town. I miss living near Mario's - good coffee too. But if you want a poncey version of diners have your breakfast at Smiths of Smithfield.

Remember, most people choose their caff/diner based on the ONE THING they always have there. I'd never have an English breakfast at Top Nosh but their felafel is the best in London.

― suzy (suzy), Saturday, 24 July 2004 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Above I refered to a "Greek coffee shop" as a diner. But that's not the same thing as a classic-style diner, the kind of spaceship-shaped restaurant that everybody thinks of as "diner." Sorry.
There are a few of these landmarks still lurking on the west side of Manhattan like the Market and the more upscale Empire. Plenty of great ones in Queens and New Jersey, at least according to legend.

― lovebug starski, Saturday, 24 July 2004 19:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Cherish your diners. I don't know of any "authentic" diners in DC (as opposed to new and self-consciously retro Silver Diner-type places). Yes, I can go to the Tastee Diner in Bethesda or Silver Spring, but they are too far away to get to easily.

― j.lu (j.lu), Sunday, 25 July 2004 21:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Is Mario's Cafe in Kentish Town the one with a Saint Etienne song named after it?

― caitlin (caitlin), Sunday, 25 July 2004 21:43 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.davidphenry.com/States/HavenBrothersDiner.jpg

― Ian c=====8 (orion), Monday, 26 July 2004 00:48 (twenty-one years ago)

above: Haven Bros. Diner-- Kennedy Plaza, Providence, RI.

Below: interior of Louie's Diner-- Brook Street, Providence, RI.

http://www.foraste.com/jpegs/editorial/louies.jpg

― Ian c=====8 (orion), Monday, 26 July 2004 00:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Louie's!

― j e r e m y (x Jeremy), Monday, 26 July 2004 01:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Aw man, memories!! Rest in peace, Louie. It's weird to see it like that, with all the tables cleared out. Spinach pie w/plenty of sauce was what I got, mainly. What a place. What a family.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 26 July 2004 01:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I really miss diners.

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Monday, 26 July 2004 07:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes the Mario's Cafe in Kentish Town is the St Et one.

Talking of which...

On Friday I was lollygagging around Regent Street and thought I would pop into the New Piccadilly Cafe for some lunch. As I walked up Denman Street I was thinking about how these 1950s formica frothy coffee places are fetishized by hipsters like St Et. And when I enter the caff it is entirely empty apart from... Bob Stanley and pal.

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Monday, 26 July 2004 07:41 (twenty-one years ago)

i grew up with the generic denny's and the not-a-diner but not generic donut mill that was open 24 hours, sweetwaters.

my diner experiences have almost exclusively on road trips, which means i can't remember where they are or what they were called. but i think my fave from last summer was in new mexico. no, actually, rach wasn't there yet. so it must have been in louisana. or maybe mississippi.

clearly, i suck at this thread. but i love diners. french toast, hash browns and milkshakes. a perfect meal.

― colette (a2lette), Monday, 26 July 2004 10:06 (twenty-one years ago)

The new Picadilly that JtN mentions is one of my favourites. Great cafs in London - All Manze's pie and mash shops. The Continental Cafe on Hoe Street Walthamstow, Tommy,s (yes, they have a comma instead of an apostrophe) tuc inn, on Forest road is really good and not visited enough, There's a really skanky but good one in Greenwich too, but I can't remember many details.

Ones great but departed - there was one in Newark (Nottinghamshire, just after the bridge over Newark Dyke) that was great, when you got your breakfast you crossed yr knife and fork over the plate and then poured off the grease. Another one was a caravan on the A1 near Sherwood Forest/Edwinstowe, that we called sweaty Sid's. All the time you were in there you'd hear this "tiss tiss" noise and try and work out what it was, after a while you'd twig that it was the sweat dripping off Sid's nose and onto the hotplate.

In most of the UK, if you want to know the whereabouts of a decent caf, or service station - ask a fisherman.

― Porkpie (porkpie), Monday, 26 July 2004 10:14 (twenty-one years ago)

We didn't go to enough in the states, which is a shame, I really enjoyed the Cosmic cafe on Broadway up near Central park, the food was good, ultra reasonable and the waiters wre just snarky enough without going into the realms of gittishness. We ate at another near the UN but it was a bit soulless and dull, not a bad reuben sammidge though.

The Mexican diner on the way into Key west was good though mmm oyster po boys - nummy but a little scary at the same time

― Porkpie (porkpie), Monday, 26 July 2004 10:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Vesta Lunch - Dupont Avenue, Toronto
http://images.toronto.com/profile/7a/d2/146844p1.jpg

Bloor Street Diner, Toronto (BEFORE they moved location and became a crappy posh place)

Lino's (RIP) - Kingston Ontario (open 24 hours and had good poutine!)

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Monday, 26 July 2004 10:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Dammit! Forgot about:
Mars Food - College Street, Toronto:
http://images.toronto.com/profile/a5/1a/147151p1.jpg

Lakeview Lunch - Queen Street West, Toronto

and even though it's very new... Shanghai Cowgirl - College Street, Toronto:
http://images.toronto.com/feature/8496/14.jpg

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Monday, 26 July 2004 10:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I lived here for a number of years:
http://www.dinercity.com/mdDiner/tasteeBethesdaExtM.jpg

― Softly Weeping at the Oki Dog (Ben Boyer), Monday, 26 July 2004 17:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I ate at Steve's again today.

― St. Nicholas (Nick A.), Monday, 26 July 2004 17:22 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.jrsfilm.com/ARKANSAS%20STARLIGHT%20DINER%20FULL.jpg

Starlite Diner
North Little Rock, Arkansas

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Monday, 26 July 2004 17:23 (twenty-one years ago)

i love the place in london, off tottenham court road, that used to be called sidlis' buttery. it's called something else now, but it's still the essentially the same - all orange inside, giant tea urn, perfect toast.

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 26 July 2004 17:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Louie's!

Skipping class and going to Louie's for breakfast = classic.

― Ian c=====8 (orion), Monday, 26 July 2004 18:12 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

I've taken to ordering a cheese omelette at Steve's instead of the grilled cheese I used to get. It comes with potatoes and toast and it's like $4 for the whole deal. Plus their omelette, greasy, with thin layers filled with American cheese, tastes like 50 times better than the fat smoked gouda omelette I got at the Bongo Room that cost like $9 and came with weird potatoes covered with dill.
Anyways, more diners.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 11 October 2004 17:51 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm very fond of this book:

http://www.dinercity.com/books/genovese1.jpg

― Germany's Fun-Loving Beer (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 October 2004 18:11 (twenty-one years ago)

The Country Diner off Route 130 near Princeton brings back memories:
http://www.dinercity.com/njDiner/countryExtM.jpg

We had one of these in New Brunswick. Open all night, with somewhat shady counter people:
http://www.dinercity.com/njDiner/whiteRoseExtM.jpg

― mike a, Monday, 11 October 2004 19:12 (twenty-one years ago)

isn't there some controversy about White Rose? There were two of them? I can't remember.

I grew up going to various diners around West Orange/Verona/Livingston/Milburn/Montclair/Wayne/etc etc.

now my favorite is Salonike aka Carroll Gardens Diner that opened up on Smith St. just a year ago or so. Why? Because they deliver big juicy delicious hamburgers to me at 3 in the morning...and their slogon is "Where else would you go?"

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:19 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.planet99.com/pix/7661_1.jpg

But mostly this one.

― Smokin' funk by the boxes (kenan), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:21 (twenty-one years ago)

haha -- "Servers are earnest but sometimes forgetful." Read: "Stoned out of their damn minds."

― Smokin' funk by the boxes (kenan), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:22 (twenty-one years ago)

isn't there some controversy about White Rose? There were two of them?

that's the white manna, no?

― Germany's Fun-Loving Beer (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Right. The White Mana v. The White Manna.

My homebase was Central NJ, so I didn't get to the northern NJ diners much.

― mike a, Monday, 11 October 2004 19:23 (twenty-one years ago)

the other is the white mana (one n):

http://www.roadsidenut.com/mana6031.jpg

― Germany's Fun-Loving Beer (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:24 (twenty-one years ago)

xpost

― Germany's Fun-Loving Beer (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:24 (twenty-one years ago)

can someone tell me why so many north amercian diners are made to look like railways cars? this is something i love btw.

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:35 (twenty-one years ago)

my favorite creepy vintage diners in binghamton, new york:

http://southsidecallbox.com/images/newyork/dannysdiner.jpg
http://southsidecallbox.com/images/newyork/redrobindiner.jpg

― Germany's Fun-Loving Beer (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:36 (twenty-one years ago)

They aren't just made to look like rail cars, they *are* rail cars.

― Smokin' funk by the boxes (kenan), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:37 (twenty-one years ago)

i love aunties and unlcles in toronto

http://images.toronto.com/profile/c4/26/151483p1.jpg

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:37 (twenty-one years ago)

and this place in miami

http://homepage.mac.com/discodave2/miami_diner.jpg

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

xxp

ah yes but the ones that aren't often are made to look like they are.

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

They aren't just made to look like rail cars, they *are* rail cars.

some are, some aren't. diner city weighs in:

Webster's Dictionary defines a diner as "a restaurant in the shape of a railroad car." The word "diner" is a derivative of "dining car" and reflects the stylings that diner manufacturers borrowed from railroad cars. Some people mistakingly believe that all diners are converted railroad cars or trolleys. While in fact some were, the vast majority of diners were built to be diners and are not salvaged rolling stock.

― Germany's Fun-Loving Beer (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah ha. I always assumed that the ones that look like rail cars were, and the rest were just long and skinny.

― Smokin' funk by the boxes (kenan), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:44 (twenty-one years ago)

cool - thanks.

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:56 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.jconline.com/community/images/west_lafayette_state.jpg (bad picture, I know)
The Red and White striped building is called Triple XXX, and it's a greasy spoon 24-hour place from the 1920s. Really.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Monday, 11 October 2004 19:57 (twenty-one years ago)

yikes! i have known and loved both kenan's choices!

― stevie (stevie), Monday, 11 October 2004 20:51 (twenty-one years ago)

"Cherish your diners. I don't know of any "authentic" diners in DC (as opposed to new and self-consciously retro Silver Diner-type places). Yes, I can go to the Tastee Diner in Bethesda or Silver Spring, but they are too far away to get to easily."

Ah yes. My parents used to take me to the overpriced, not-that-great-really, retro mini-theme park known as the American City Diner in DC -- even more cheesy than those Silver Diners. When I came to New Jersey I realized what I'd been missing. My favorite cheap one was The Hungry Peddler in New Brunswick. The Edison and Somerset Diners weren't bad either.

― Hurting (Hurting), Monday, 11 October 2004 20:56 (twenty-one years ago)

My hometown.

http://doumars.com/7DoumarsToday.jpg

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 02:19 (twenty-one years ago)

The 23517, y'all. A great history, seriously.

http://doumars.com/

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 07:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Margie's Diner of Paso Robles is amazing.

― luna (luna.c), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 15:35 (twenty-one years ago)

i had a great mexican breakfast in austin this year, cant remember where but it gave myself and my photographer terrible gas for the rest of the trip. in fact, the combined gaseous expulsions of myself and my photgrapher actually woke up my friend Courtney, sleeping in another room, as they seeped through her air conditioning system.

we were at her wedding this weekend, and i'd like to think she's forgiven us. i'm not sure though.

― stevie (stevie), Tuesday, 12 October 2004 16:14 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

blue & white cafe, tunica, ms

― -- (688), Wednesday, 26 July 2006 10:47 (nineteen years ago)

Truckstop 23 (Albany, NY)
Church of Square Grace (also known as the Court Square Diner when not on drugs) (LIC, NY)

― The Committee To Keep Jazz Caged (kate), Wednesday, 26 July 2006 14:27 (nineteen years ago)

In Boston: THE BUSY BEE.

― Jessie the Monster (scarymonsterrr), Wednesday, 26 July 2006 14:29 (nineteen years ago)

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