Your Diner

This is the thread where you can extol the virtues of your diner.

Be as succinct or as long-winded as you like. This is a free space.

My diner is called Academy Restaurant, and it is Good with a capital G. I like the counter there, and all the food. The turkey club is second to none, the meatloaf sammich is a keeper and the soups are right on. They cook everything with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Love mah diner.

i've gone through many a diner in my time

this is kinda different, but sorta one of my fave places

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/pulled-pork-and-performance-art-in-montreal/

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/1428/1600/armons.jpg

Armon's in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California. Run by these awesome Asian ladies. Old school wooden panelling everywhere. Booths or stools at the counter. One flatscreen TV the sole concession to modernity. Looks a little shitty from the outside which I think prevents it from becoming too hip, but always popular on weekends. All the classics done well. BUT...NOT OPEN AT NIGHT!!!! ='''(

omg mine either

:(

there are two diners up the street from my house. one is Alps East, which might be more of a "family restaurant" than a diner (ie it's not open for dinner), the other is the Lincoln Restaurant. The Lincoln is dingier but seems a little more popular and they have well-established comedy nights in their back room on Thursdays and Fridays. One time before I lived in this neighborhood, my band played a show around here and we ended up getting dinner at the Lincoln. I ordered a scramble/skillet of some kind, but both my bandmates ordered salad, then complained about how bad the salads were. You don't order salad at a dingy diner! Alps East is a little cleaner and the food is a little better and my wife is actually willing to eat there on occasion (like once a year) so it gets more of my business.

I'm sorry, but you don't order salad at a diner.

admrl - you didnt say anything about the food

i can't really imagine ordering soup at a diner either. i walk by the academy all the time, but have never sersiously considered eating there.

http://media1.px.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/roUoY4zdFKTIlQbgOYwo9A/l

mizzell i'm telling u they have some of the best soup in town

yeah the only things I'll order at a diner are breakfast foods or maybe a grilled cheese

don't you consider not ray's and la bagel delight to be top-tier establishments?

xp

I also really like the Cozy Corner in Logan Square but it's been a long time since I've eaten there:

http://media1.px.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/aEfqQXA3Owp-Qhb9W2qVbw/l
http://media1.px.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/t601YOLYQnTXVVuG_JPEnA/l

I don't really go to many diners, except on the rare occasion that it's 2 AM and I am with a group of people and we are hungry, which in the past had led me to Clarke's or the Hollywood Grill or the Golden Nugget/Apple/Angel.

admrl - you didnt say anything about the food

I said "all the classics done well", but okay, I like the veggie melt and the huevos rancheros. coffee also above most diner coffee (though nothing too fancy thank god)

When I moved to the US I was all like yeah I'm gonna be all Hank Chinaski and hang out in diners and make friends with the OLD DUDES, it's amazing how impractical this is on a regular basis when living your average contemporary American urban lifestyle

Things are speeding up, everything's broken, nobody cares

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6034/1428/1600/armons.jpg

Armon's in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California. Run by these awesome Asian ladies. Old school wooden panelling everywhere. Booths or stools at the counter. One flatscreen TV the sole concession to modernity. Looks a little shitty from the outside which I think prevents it from becoming too hip, but always popular on weekends. All the classics done well. BUT...NOT OPEN AT NIGHT!!!! ='''(

― painini (admrl), Wednesday, August 11, 2010 12:50 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i miss armons!! ive never been to academy. my diner is TOMS which is just the best.

actually wait once i got eggs at academy, they were ok

toms is better

what is the uk equivalent of this? greasy spoon?

at home in NJ my diner is CRYSTAL on rt 1 south... used to be CAROUSEL on nassau street in princeton they moved locations and started to suck

don't you consider not ray's and la bagel delight to be top-tier establishments?

― mizzell, Wednesday, August 11, 2010 6:00 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark

most people i know round these parts like la bagel's bagels, and not ray's pizza! :)

but yea i've turned a few people on to academy's soups and wraps. they have this fresh turkey wrap that is damn good

are wraps a diner thing typically? i didn't think so but mine's got a lot of really good wraps

There was an awesome diner around the block from me when I lived in NYC. Really quiet and crumbling. I bet it isn't there anymore. It was on Seventh Ave and Christopher street behind the big library(?)/church(?)

Also I was once on the payphone (payphone!) to my GF outside of this diner when a guy came up to me and asked for money. I said sorry I'm on the phone and he threatened to "hogtie and buttfuck" me.

haha

http://www.rentacarinlosangeles.com/Rae%27s%20Diner.JPG

rae's in santa monica is good shit.

<3 that truck

not rays sucks

http://dailydujour.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/tokyo-77.jpg

tokyo 77 in culver city is cheap and awesome (and hidden in an alley!)

LA is good for this, huh? I also like the wonderfully named Jordan's Food Center on Wilmington Ave in Watts.
http://cafelala.blogspot.com/2007/04/jordans-food-center.html

Things are speeding up, everything's broken, nobody cares

― painini (admrl), Wednesday, August 11, 2010 10:06 AM (4 minutes ago)

I recognize this from a G!YBE record i heard 10 years ago.

Ah, Stephen Shasta, legendary ILX poster

My diner in college (in Kalamazoo) was called Blake's, and they had old-fashioned airplanes hanging from the ceiling and huge buckwheat pancakes for a buck each and lots of vegan options (for some reason there were like five things on the menu featuring adzuki beans) and were open all night on weekends.

i went to the court square diner last weekend around 2 am. I had a tuna melt which i often get in diners. It was above par. the french fries and onion rings were so-so.

http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/bigmap/queens/lic/courtsquarediner/1312-16-09.jpg

I thought this was a thread for hypothetical diners!

My diner serves antipasti with everything and has freshly-squeezed juice on tap

Tokyo 7-7 is awesome. I think I mentioned it on here a long time ago. Not far from Sony.

i wanna go there!

Claremont Diner in Oakland has a sometimes-functioning toy train circling on a track suspended just below the ceiling. Nice narrow building too:

http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/display/97b99acd-809e-4f6e-b308-4d6306086331.jpg

The Church of Square Grace! That used to be my diner when I lived in LIC.

Now I have a caff called The Life Cafe & Restaurant opposite my bus stop on Streatham High St. It is not the same.

New Wave Diner 2210 Broadway bet 78 & 79 St NYC

one of the surviving "coffee shops" or "greek diners" these places used to be as ubiquitous in manhattan as starbucks is now. I will stan for the New Wave's pancakes/waffles/french toast/omlettes. my son and I have brunch here every couple weeks or so. turkey sausages taste remarkably like kielbasa. lunch food is pretty meh, soup is disappointing though the complimentary cole slaw is good, not too mayo-drenched. dinner you're on your own. waitresses are classic new york combo of gruff and friendly at the same time.

http://www.mickeysdiningcar.com/

it is the bomb

NYC: I love the Waverly on Waverly and 6th Ave
NJ: Tick Tock in Clifton, Coach House in Jersey City.

thread is a little

http://www.broadwaydiner1.com/images/diners.gif

guy fieri has a coke nail but he uses it for mayonnaise

Chef Guy talks w/his mouth full while gesturing at the camera "DUDE GRR CHEW THIS SPITTLE TRIPLE CHEESE GAG CHEW DROOL BUGERER IS GRR AWESOME"

http://oldschoolla.com/photos/nicks8d.jpg

Nick's Cafe on Spring just N of downtown. Been around since 1948 and is currently owned (if memory serves) by a couple of retired LAPD Homicide detectives. Oldest of the old school with a ham & egg plate that's biblically good.

one of the surviving "coffee shops" or "greek diners"

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

i had a pretty good chicken souvlaki at a greek diner last time i was in brooklyn. whatever apprehension you have about ordering "real" food at a diner -- you can usually count on the greeks do greek stuff well.

my diner used to be a Denny's. i know this because they have the original denny's sign around back, covered in cardboard and strapped to a wall.

I had cheese grits last weekend, not all that (I wonder if they were 'good')

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Thursday, August 12, 2010 4:46 PM (26 minutes ago) Bookmark

i would love to know what this 'means'

toms fries are great i dont think theyve changed the grease in forever

i tend to agree with slocki that the foods not that 'good' (at least insofar as i know i could make most of those dishes just as well at home) but you go for the ambience and cherry lime rickeys

I just meant it was the first time I had grits, sorry. So I had no point of reference.

ah...

i haven't had many grits myself.

My city boasts no diners because it sucks.

One thing I miss about Long Island is the diners. Boston just doesn't really have them in the same way that the NY area does. Maybe I should drive to Worcester soon. It's been too long.

― o sh!t a ˁ˚ᴥ˚ˀ (ENBB), Thursday, August 12, 2010 12:56 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

pig n whistle in brighton
deli haus in kenmore square
steve's (i think) in allston
rosebud in davis square

i have been to and enjoyed all these diners in boston, wonder if they are still there.

Pig n Whistle = closed
Deli Haus = closed (RIP ;_;)
Steve's = Still there. Never really thought of that as a diner though
Rosebud = Still there.

I guess the Grecian Urn which is sort of right accross the street from Steve's counts and I believe that's still there but I'm not 100% sure.

South Street diner is always there but I've never really been that into it.

My city boasts no diners because it sucks.

― Gucci Mane hermeneuticist (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, August 12, 2010 5:58 PM (54 seconds ago) Bookmark

don't you live in miami? where do the old jews go?

or the old québécois? QCois love their casse-croûtes

We have lots of tapas joints which I guess work as diners.

What's left of the old Jewish diners are on North Beach, thirty miles away.

ah. in my head, miami is like full of diners, but that's just from visiting my grandparents like 20 years ago

some of those aren't godamn diners, they are cafes. I'm bitter because again, diners were born in my hometown.

http://valleybreakfast.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/breakfast-1171.jpg?w=231&h=174

One of my two in Allentown, PA. Love it and Top Diner so much. DC is just short of a great city--a decent diner situation and it would be ace.

you're not far from Steak n' Egg, right?

Chris - were you talking about the ones Mizzell talked about in Boston?

Srsly going to go to Worcester soon for some real diner action. Was at a show in a converted diner there a couple weeks ago which was cool but obv not the same.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2490/3991057222_2191c11daf_b.jpg

^^^^^^^^ was gonna say ^^^^

hahahahah

xxxxxpost

my parents used to live outside Reading PA - that whole area is like diner central. my dad liked a diner west of Allentown near I-78 & can't quite remember the name it was something cute like jack n jill. when i was a kid we would come out to Reading w/my grandparents and we always went to a PA dutch style diner called Fegeley's Family Restaurant. It closed in 2003 and they moved the diner car to another location w/vague plans to turn it into a museum.

http://boyertownmuseum.org/bmhv/images/Fegely%20Move%20Aug%205%202009.jpg

xposts to self

1) old flipstyle jukeboxes at every booth packed with classic rock and country and hey also some current hits (from ten years ago)
1b) elderly ppl in twins hats who stare at you when you make them listen to bat out of hell at 8:00am oops
2) "i have <4 dollars to my name; hell yes i can afford breakfast"
3) wtf you haven't bought new dishes in like 30 years
4) so many pictures of kirby puckett

what else

ding! my dad's favorite diner was the Pied Piper in Trexlertown PA

http://www.cardcow.com/images/set169/card00350_fr.jpg

xpost being called "honey" and "dear" by waitress 4 years younger than I am (26).

vintage 1970s gas guzzlers in parking lot

god yeah all the waitresses there are like either 20 or 70 xpost

Oh man, I know Trexlertown (vaguely), but I would have gotten to know it better had I known about the Pied Piper!!!

I DIED, I think a DC diner should be your next big project :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2128/2436719737_162d4040fc.jpg?v=0

I guess the Grecian Urn which is sort of right accross the street from Steve's counts and I believe that's still there but I'm not 100% sure.

― o sh!t a ˁ˚ᴥ˚ˀ (ENBB), Thursday, August 12, 2010 5:58 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

haha, isn't that place called Grecian Yearning?

You know what? I think you're right because iirc ppl used to call it "Grecian Urine". I used to live around the corner from there but that is when the Deli Haus was still around so we'd go there more.

guys

http://tholt.com/images/al1.jpg

I like the look of Al's.

whenever i walk by there there are always too many ppl inside. by which i mean 6 or something.

just went to "rosebud," and recognized the name from this thread

was really nice, great vibe

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_lNDfVtyhO7A/RrF6L-I5vpI/AAAAAAAAADo/zKgnBG3wb-I/s400/Cabazon+Dinosaurs+4.JPG

i don't live in Socal anymore, but when i had LA Kings season seats we always useda stop here @ midnight for a slice of peanut butter cream pie (sounds worse than it tasted) before heading home.

Al's is only possible in the wee morning hours. i liked going there right before exams, after i'd been up all night. but yeah, even showing up at like 6am there's a crew, and i'm pretty sure they're all regulars?

i think i still have like $20 of credit there??

Does Al have a "little man" complex?

i don't believe so, no

do you??

Surmounter you're in Boston??

RIP this place, which closed in January after being open 24/7 for 60 years.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/30505349_6977b062eb.jpg

Also RIP that sign. The sign was better than the food, tbh. But it was still a great place to grab coffee and eggs at 3 am.

oh boy, this shit is SOOOOOOO NJ

new jersey diners.com

a rutgers tradition ... the somerset diner, complete with 10% discount for rutgers students.

stop inn, woodside queens

dead center of the neighborhood, great for people watching, open very late. super diner-y. sorta pricey but portions are absurd and it has a tome for a menu...lotsa stuff aimed at irish people including 'chef sauce' at every table.

we went last night actually, cause gf wanted pancakes for dinner - usually go for a very late dessert or on saturday mornings. food-wise it's decent...there's better diner food out there, but the atmosphere and people watching is A+.

(dan selzer might have different thoughts)

No, I'm a regular. It's certainly not the best diner food...however the hash-browns are a nice touch for breakfast. And the burger is better then you'd expect. I usually go there for breakfast during the week if I get up early enough before getting on the train, or if I'm working from home. There's a pretty awesome crew of morning regulars that sit together at the counter, real old-school Queens characters. They also deliver, so when I'm feeling lazy AND decadent, I'll order the bacon cheeseburger deluxe for delivery. It comes with an onion ring. Sometimes it comes with a pickle and cole-slaw, sometimes it doesn't. (sad face)

When I first moved to the neighborhood I figured I'd try something authentic so I asked for the special which was an Irish Ham Sandwich or something. Don't know what I was expecting but I got two pieces of sourdough bread and a few thick slices of dry ham. I figured there'd be more to it and didn't know what kind of condiment is traditional or acceptable!

Not quite the neighborhood, but I tried the famous "Georgia Diner" on Queens Blvd and it was terrible. Also tried Pop Diner further down Queens Blvd and it was just ok.

Georgia Diner is near my office and I only went once because it was terrible. Why is it famous?

People on chowhound seem to wax nostalgic about it. It was packed when I went, we had walked there from woodside all the way down broadway through elmhurst chinatown and were really excited and the breakfast was gross.

it has a nice sign

http://www.dailyreceipts.com/img/places/georgia_diner_queens_blvd.jpg

I know, I was always excited about it when driving down QB.

Not quite the neighborhood, but I tried the famous "Georgia Diner" on Queens Blvd and it was terrible. Also tried Pop Diner further down Queens Blvd and it was just ok.

we were on the q60 the other day and passed both of those being like 'yeah we should really try them' - having a cool exterior is pretty key

(on the hamburger note, have you tried the burgers at quaint? really great)

I think I did one brunch some time ago, I can't remember. Will again. Also want to try burgers at PJ Horgans which are supposed to be good. Got Shephard's Pie the time i went, to keep with the Irish theme. It's a cozy place.

Had to consult with my sister because I couldn't remember the names, but these are the Diners of my childhood:

The Clairidge Diner.

The Milburn Diner.

The Pilgram Diner.

The Eagle Rock Diner.

None of those were like 1930s traincar diners, but they're classic NJ greek diners.

Funny, just realized several of those are right near local movie theaters.