New Jersey - the Diner State

[coughy]

We just ran out for dinner at the diner - the Park West Diner on Route 46 in West Paterson. The food is terrific and the staff is always nice and eager to please. They have huge salads with choices of grilled fish/chicken/shrimp, etc.

[NJ2FLA]

I can never seem to find anything there that really blows up my skirt. I don't know what it is about the menu but nothing there excites me.

[tommy]

fish at a diner? not for me. just turkey clubs and talyor ham, egg, and cheese.

favorites currently the oradell diner and tom sawyer in paramus. i spent many a night at the Malibu in hoboken, and still rank it as one of my favorites.

Edited July 31, 2003 by tommy (log)

[RockADS21]

To me nothing can top the Tick Tock on Route 3 in Clifton...

[Holly Moore]

Only been there once, but I really liked the Deepwater Diner in way down south in Salem NJ. It's just a diner, not a restaurant. No souvaki or gyros. No salad bar. No cocktails. The day I was there for breakfast, all you could eat Chicken and Dumplings was the lunch/dinner special. It's the diner of my youth, back before the ferns and mansard roofs.

Alas, another digression. Age 16. First job I ever had was as the shift dishwasher at the Five Star Diner in Parsippany NJ, at the junction of Rte 46 and Rte 202 (long gone - now a gas station). I was destined for the restaurant business. My first week I tried to organize the waitresses - how they dropped off the dirty dishes, glasses and silverware. Tried to get them to stack each size dish in it's own pile and sort the silverware and glasses. Even made directional signs. The waitresses thought it was cute and did their best to stick with it - for about an hour. Then the lunch rush started and my system went down the disposal, never to be seen again.

But I really liked my summer of dishwashing. I had my own little kingdom. The Hobart did what it was supposed to do. Slide a rack in, hit the button, slide the tray out. A very orderly, rectangular life. Square racks that everything went into. Square corners that the racks slid around to into the washer. Square stacks of washed glasses. Everything in perfect order.

It has been awhile, but I still enjoy running a dish machine. The steam. The smell of chorine. The gooseneck rinse hose (have one over my kitchen sink). Even the rubber bumper for knocking food scraps off the dish and into the garbage pan. Visible accomplishment, instant reward. Dirty dishes become glistening clean.

And it's reassuring to know that if my world ever falls apart, I have a guarenteed job waiting for me. Restaurants always need dishwashers.

[Rosie]

I just go to the Ritz diner in Livingston every now and then for lunch.

[Kim WB]

It's just a diner, not a restaurant.  No souvaki or gyros.

Funny, these two dishes are part of ewaht defines a diner to me...The short list of foods I'd order at a diner include:breakfasts, BLT's, Souvlakis or gyros.

[Rachel Perlow]

On the Rt 10 corridor, my favorite is the Whippany Diner, way better than the Brookside Diner (also Whippany) or Golden Touch in East Hanover. Oh and my mother told me never to bother going to the Morristown Diner, I trust her, so I haven't.

Current fave is the Oradell Diner formerly known as Haglers with a Haglers sign still on the building. We also frequent the Royal Cliffs in Englewood Cliffs and occasionally Matthews in Bergenfield. Not the Tenafly Diner. I don't know if we'll ever go back there again. We kept giving it second chances and it always disappointed.

[Wiener]

If you are ever down near Cape May and Wildwood, try the Rio Grande diner. Always great for breakfasts! You might say, why eat at a diner, when in Cape May? Answer: $$$$$$$$$$. A good diner breakfast will hold you until dinner.

Used to go to the Tick Tock but find the service to be poor. They know they have a solid business, so they don't care how they treat you.

Turkey clubs, BLT's breakfast foods and Grilled Cheese!

[Holly Moore]

It's just a diner, not a restaurant.  No souvaki or gyros.

Funny, these two dishes are part of ewaht defines a diner to me...The short list of foods I'd order at a diner include:breakfasts, BLT's, Souvlakis or gyros.

Me too sometimes.

I see souvaki, gyros and similar Greek items as symptomatic of the evolved diner into a restaurant. Diners in Jersey have always had a Greek heritage, but in most cases, it's only when they remodeled, added dining rooms and prettied up, that the Greek fare made it onto the menu.

[=Mark]

But I really liked my summer of dishwashing.  I had my own little kingdom.  The Hobart did what it was supposed to do.  Slide a rack in, hit the button, slide the tray out.  A very orderly, rectangular life.  Square racks that everything went into.  Square corners that the racks slid around to into the washer.  Square stacks of washed glasses.  Everything in perfect order.

It has been awhile, but I still enjoy running a dish machine.  The steam.  The smell of chorine.  The gooseneck rinse hose (have one over my kitchen sink).  Even the rubber bumper for knocking food scraps off the dish and into the garbage pan.  Visible accomplishment, instant reward.  Dirty dishes become glistening clean.

I was a Hobart jockey during my college years. One memorable event was when a busboy dropped a bus tray full of silverware and wineglasses. Hands and fingers soft and puffy from a few hours of dishwashing, looking into that plastic tray full of silverware nestled amonst thousands of shards of thin broken glass... Sigh... Dig in...

[Rosie]

Ouch!!!

[suzilightning]

The Hobart did what it was supposed to do.  Slide a rack in, hit the button, slide the tray out.  A very orderly, rectangular life.  Square racks that everything went into.  Square corners that the racks slid around to into the washer.  Square stacks of washed glasses.  Everything in perfect order.

It has been awhile, but I still enjoy running a dish machine.  The steam.  The smell of chorine.  The gooseneck rinse hose (have one over my kitchen sink).  Even the rubber bumper for knocking food scraps off the dish and into the garbage pan.  Visible accomplishment, instant reward.  Dirty dishes become glistening clean.

And it's reassuring to know that if my world ever falls apart, I have a guarenteed job waiting for me.  Restaurants always need dishwashers.

*sigh*

mine was named Hubie - Hubie Hobart - the only man who never let me down that summer....

[suzilightning]

It's just a diner, not a restaurant.  No souvaki or gyros.

Funny, these two dishes are part of ewaht defines a diner to me...The short list of foods I'd order at a diner include:breakfasts, BLT's, Souvlakis or gyros.

our local diner - Paul and Christa's on rt. 181- has these.

paul died this last winter but his daughter Christa still runs the place and they are greek. and they used to fight at the top of their voices in greek in the kitchen...an amazing spectacle to behold.

[NJ2FLA]

I concur on the Whippany diner. Never ever walk out of that place hungry.

[klinger75]

I love the old Milburn diner. Don's in livingston was the tops back when it was open. (if we consider that a diner)

[menton1]

The all time winner for nostalgia (Old railroad car) and GREAT diner food (eggs, pancakes, BLTs, and Burgers) is The Egg Platter, Crooks Avenue, Clifton/Paterson.

The only consideration is their crazy hours, they are Closed from 3PM and reopen at 10PM and stay open all night and day until the next afternoon. THE BEST DINER EVER!!!

[Rosie]

What a hoot The Egg Platter is. Had breakfast there once and it was very good. A friend brought me to this place as I would never have walked in there on my own.

[tommy]

Bubba's, on rt 46 e in south hackensack, is quite unique in that it's only open at night, ostensibly for drunk idiots, and serves only egg sandwiches (or if it *doesn't* serve only egg sandwiches, it should). no soda. only bug juice, which is quite frustrating at 2 am, actually.

[KatieLoeb]

Is the Heritage Diner still operating in Hackensack? Used to go there in high school for a slice of their California pie and coffee. Also a bit more of a prettied up diner, by Holly's definition, but a good one for sure. All baking done on the premises and all the baked goods were delicious. In fact, some of their stuff was better than what I've seen a few "professional" pastry chefs turn out.

[Rosie]

What is California pie?

[tommy]

Is the Heritage Diner still operating in Hackensack?

it's called the "new heritage diner" now. perhaps they remodeled since the 40's.

when friends of mine moved to hackensack several years ago, i passed that diner and proclaimed that it would end up being a new late-night stop for me. i've never set foot in the place.

Edited August 2, 2003 by tommy (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

Bubba's, on rt 46 e in south hackensack, is quite unique in that it's only open at night, ostensibly for drunk idiots, and serves only egg sandwiches (or if it *doesn't* serve only egg sandwiches, it should).  no soda.  only bug juice, which is quite frustrating at 2 am, actually.

That is so very cool. There oughta be more places set up to screw with drunk people like that.

"Sorry- we only serve chili. And Yoo-Hoo."

[shugga]

Speaking of Diners. I drove down Bergen Blvd. in Ridgefield the other day and noticed (I couldn't help but notice) that the Waterfall Diner is now GOTHAM CITY. A huge neon sign out front and it looks like the whole diner has been done over. Very comic book looking. Bright colors and chrome.

Will have to stop and try it the next time we're in the area.

[KatieLoeb]

What is California pie?

The California pie is a fruit tart-like pie that has a soft sponge cake layer on the bottom, a pudding-like layer in the center and then is topped with sliced kiwis, fresh berries, etc. and a clear glaze in the style of a patisserie fruit tart. REALLY tasty! It's been years since I've had a piece, so forgive me if my description is more tainted by nostalgia than current reality. But I recommend trying a slice - I recall it being extremely good. All the baked goods were excellent there, and all done on the premises. The on premise baking thing is one of my personal criteria for what makes a diner great. The others are open 24/7, wide ranging menu, breakfast available at any hour and really good coffee.