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Have you ever had a favorite hang out place? A place where you go and have a favorite dish, know the wait staff, can stay as long as you like sipping on whatever you're drinking and split an unbelievably huge and delicious slice of cheescake before you leave. That's a NY/NJ diner for many of us that came from there. If it's affordable down here, it's probably been nuked. If it's good, it's probably very pricey. Other than that, you have your chain restaurants.
There is one place close to uptown that I really liked that kinda comes close. It's called "Dish". It's a southern version... very good fairly inexpensive food.
I will be passing through NY on I-84 in two weeks, is there a diner I can check out?
Actually will be on our way to Maine, but would like to have the diner experience if there is one close to I-81/84/90.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MommyV
Have you ever had a favorite hang out place? A place where you go and have a favorite dish, know the wait staff, can stay as long as you like
In high school and college that was the Waffle House.
I would spend hours there doing homework between part time jobs while a student.
In Buffalo we had Perkins, then Denny's bought the group that owned the most Perkins franchises. There were also a lot of greek diners open all night, especially in the Allentown neighborhood, Elmwood Ave, and Hertel Ave. There were also a few in the burbs...open-faced souvlaki....yum. But anyway, with these chefs, the menue, the prices, the layout, the design, it is probabaly the furthest thing from a NY/NJ diner one could imagine.
When we first got here, we tried to do the Waffle House thing, but I got too grossed out. They're also very small and seating is tight and uncomfortable. You get the idea though. Now add an enourmous Black Forest Chocolate Cake slice to your meal and a big comfy booth and maybe a vanilla egg cream. OK, now I'm getting myself hungry.
I mostly hung out at diners in Queens, NY, Jersey City, Edison, Princeton, NJ. I don't know about anything about I-84, but there are several along the route 1 corridor. One sign of a good diner is how awesome their dessert display looks. I know it sounds silly, but often times those are the best places.
There might be some diners in Maine. Keep your eyes peeled. Have a safe trip.
First of all, you don't go to a diner for a gourmet meal. You go because it is cheap, the menu is huge and you get a lot of food, the food is really good for what it is, it is open 24 hours, and it has that nostalgic feel to it. Some even have a jukebox at every booth. Good Ole Days does not count. There is nothing here like a diner in NY/NJ, but I don't expect there to be one. If you want to try one and understand what it is like, you have to go if your in NY/NJ. Like someone else said, if you didn't grow up with it, you probably wouldn't understand. The only place in the South that I have found a real diner is in Atlanta, GA: The Landmark Diner on Roswell Road.
Surprise, surprise, there used to be a few around Charlotte. There was the Merita Grill on West Trade, Copal Grill (like a diner) on Wilkerson Blvd. and others that I can't remember as I was away for many years. But, they were here and disappeared when replaced by construction, highways, etc. They had juke boxes with the selection box at your table. So I guess most of us modernized folks don't need to travel elsewhere to see what nostalga we are missing out on. They were here and in many small towns around the Carolinas. In the early eightys, there was an attempt to bring them back with a facility that looked like the old diners and they lasted for a few years. I guess people found other places at which to eat previously and decided not to change again?
When we first got here, we tried to do the Waffle House thing, but I got too grossed out. They're also very small and seating is tight and uncomfortable. You get the idea though. Now add an enourmous Black Forest Chocolate Cake slice to your meal and a big comfy booth and maybe a vanilla egg cream. OK, now I'm getting myself hungry.
I mostly hung out at diners in Queens, NY, Jersey City, Edison, Princeton, NJ. I don't know about anything about I-84, but there are several along the route 1 corridor. One sign of a good diner is how awesome their dessert display looks. I know it sounds silly, but often times those are the best places.
There might be some diners in Maine. Keep your eyes peeled. Have a safe trip.
It's a place that you can take the kids to after church on Sunday and not have to pay upwards of $50 and it's also the same place where you can go wind down after a night of clubbing. An inexpensive restaurant that's open 24 hours. There's just something special about being able to hang out for hours with friends and not spending a fortune and having a huge menu of food to choose from along side some enormous homemade desserts.
Unless it was part of the culture you grew up with, you really can't understand it.
Been just kidding around with this thread. We actually did have diners in the 60s and before. It was an especially great place to go for lunch and there were the "KIss my grits" girl whatever her name was. They were great in this area for fried chicken, three vegies and a meat and the glass covered pie (banana, coconut, and even Boston Cream). They went away with lots of historic buildings in the Charlotte area.
Been just kidding around with this thread. We actually did have diners in the 60s and before. It was an especially great place to go for lunch and there were the "KIss my grits" girl whatever her name was. They were great in this area for fried chicken, three vegies and a meat and the glass covered pie (banana, coconut, and even Boston Cream). They went away with lots of historic buildings in the Charlotte area.
I would be thrilled with the return of cafeteria and/or counter food.
Growing up we could eat a meal as you described at the cafeteria in Belks at Southpark. For sandwiches (hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled cheese) we would eat at Woolworths or Eckerds, also at Southpark, with their own food counter. I would sometimes ride my bike to Southpark, or at the drug store where Brixx is now located at Foxcroft Village for the same.
I wish my daughters knew a time where you could eat a hot dog, deli sandwich, or similar at a drug store - seems so strange now, but it was fun.
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