Peach Valley Cafe (Maitland)
It all begins with an idea.
Click right to take a look around…
It took everything in my power not to compare this Peach Valley Cafe to a. The one I’d visited before and b. To the First Watch that existed here for so long. I turned the corner that led out to the second indoor dining room—just past the bathrooms and the MADE FRESH emblem (sporting a ripe peach at its heart)—and the table for three was no longer there...yet nothing about this memory speaks against this change as for the better. The main dining room remains bright, with large east windows along 17-92, and its nine booths along it are clean. Whether this state is due to the team’s diligence or the location’s relatively nascent state, I can’t be sure. Regardless, these booths’ backs of prismatic grey-blue-orange-yellow upholstery bring attention to the rest of the space; seat cushions of window-pane chairs and stools following suit with the same fitted pattern. Somehow, while the open kitchen’s tiling is quite literally bursting denim and grey, it doesn’t demand, but merely decorates. The same cannot be said for the tangerine, 50s-style SMEG refrigerator set against it. It’s a visual zap that never opens, an accompaniment of room scans and each the order that comes up. And yes, it suggests peaches, a fact is undisguised by the fruit depicted on the drop ceiling along with the words, painted in baby blue: Good Food and Good Feelings!. Suggestion? Hardly. A sentiment worth disputing? With many a peach-related witticism possible—call me simple if you must—I’d rather go ahead and credit any nonsticky entreaties of goodness.
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Drink: Coffee
Give it up for no frills. It comes out of a thermos into a pristine white porcelain cup. The only point of interest might be the handle of the cup, yanked from a perfect roundness into a slight angle. The server comes around regularly to refill this nondescript breakfast beverage. I’ll accept something that goes down easy—it isn’t the worst case scenario.
•••
Food: Traditional Eggs Benedict
The onion and peach pepper sauce made it. All together, it was a toasted English muffin, poached eggs atop turkey sausage (subbed from Canadian ham), fresh Hollandaise sauce, served with their home fries.Doused in Hollandaise, the dish ended up being the tiniest bit off on the potato ratio was (given all the sauce), but I wouldn’t knock it for this reason. The plate was still too full to properly upset me. And, um the potatoes were phenomenal. It’s the same price as the roast beef hash Benedict (which I’ve had before). If you eat red meat and you can do without the English muffin carbs (especially if you want to sub out carbs with protein), I’d go for the hash Benedict instead. A fruit cup was the final centered jewel. Yum.
Price: Coffee=$3.29; Traditional Eggs Benedict=$14.69
Hours: Everyday {7–14:30}
✓ WIFI
Eldorado (Elmsford)
It all begins with an idea.
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Right in front of the coffee maker, that is where the greeter placed me. Bless the diner gods. The swing door to the kitchen was at my back, the Spanish men opening and closing it turning the volume dial on “El Perro Negro” back and forth with each step through. Sometimes, in keeping up their spirits at half past midnight, you might catch them chime in. Two half cylinder recesses are in the ceiling, both tapped with short brush strokes of coral, matching a trim along the exterior wall. Rainbow lights along the inner edge of these ceiling features (bordered by tiered walnut) are unexpected, but offer constant change. Counters and tables of granite—and capping the freestanding partition separating the bar from the dining booths—simply act as overt qualitative statements; the real individualistic efforts are the smithed fasteners—like pinched flowers—along the arched booth backs and the Matrix digital rain panels of gold, copper, tan, and turquoise glass. Describing it as an alloy unto itself feels right. I wrote that last line and then went online to remind myself what El Dorado meant. While astonished by the appropriateness of my description, I’m confident it is not El Dorado that you’ll find here, but his cousin: El Ambar.
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Drink: Coffee
I asked for coffee and received a single word confirmation: “Milk?” Perfect. While the coffee’s flavor is tight, it isn’t burnt, bad, or weak. GUESS WHAT? I saw the LACAS tea on the shelf and the LACAS coffee pots. I can’t be certain what they brew, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that it’s actually LACAS. The coffee has quite the body, which is perceptible under the tongue. What you also pick up are milk chocolate tasting notes. When the man with the coffee offered me more with only a few bites left, I most gratefully accepted...and jotted down a seal of approval.
••••
Food: Apple Pie
“Warmed up?” Not served that hot after all. The sugar crystals melted into a gel nail type finish. It was one of the mildest apple pies I’l ever had, but it didn’t crunch or grit at all. Soft to the tooth, but like a Nilla wafer on the tongue. I’m glad that despite sitting in a fridge somewhere, the crust wasn’t hard as a rock. Not overwhelming or too sweet. Glad I didn’t request a la mode. It was perfect. If you’re thinking of apple pie, not desperately and not passively, but somewhere in between, this slice is perfect.
Price: Coffee=$3.29; Asst. Fruit Pies: Apple=$4.99
Hours: 24H
✓ WIFI
The Randolph Diner
It all begins with an idea.
Click right to take a look around…
The diner label is misleading. I’d say that this place and The Cheesecake Factory are on the same family tree. Is this surmised lineage a bad thing? Certainly not. It’s huge, a two-storied, stone ark on a corner of Route 10 with so much parking that I had to walk around the whole building before finding the entrance. You’re led past the kitchen and a tray of triangular slices of chocolate cake, on your right, to an ocean of dining space. The color scheme in the first tributary is kiwi, vertical tiling glazed with brown and lime while the booths are the softest yet tightest chanel in Shrek green. I mean, I was half expecting it to have a massage feature with the way it felt. Every tiled wall is another cliff face beyond which more diners wade. If you end up in the main tributary, the low ceiling will mean that you smell every order that passes by—fish, pancakes, burgers, and everything in between. Remember: Cheesecake Factory. If possible, you want to sit in this main area and as far from the kitchen as possible. Here, the ceiling is higher, where huge lampshades, with donumbek proportions, drop down. However, it’s more than the high ceilings you’re after. A painted mural with a narrative layering element reminiscent of Basquiat fit into a reimagination of Guernica fit for a schoolyard, with some of Palmer C. Hayden’s palette, renders the space with sensational, one of kind element. Of course, seating, tiling, lighting all have their place, but any diner, bar, and grill can bake an ambiance from these ingredients. To add art to this kind of eternal space picks up a special note of eternity.
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Drink: Coffee
They have the same gold packets as Acropolis Diner in Poughkeepsie, New York, and I noticed it before I ordered. I knew it was either going to be terrible or tolerable. It wasn’t irredeemable, especially for being bottomless. The real curiosity was the Thunder Group San Marino melamine mug it came in. It’s a lightweight, 9 oz. vessel that is obviously made to stack, but it’s giving Cubone. Anyways, the coffee: not bitter, not too sweet, enough flavor to act alone, and definitely worth sipping on.
•••
Food: Split Pea Soup
One of the four soups of the day. Honestly, I couldn’t help but love it. I don’t know why. It came with like a lid of croutons, but even those were little bursts of flavor. It’s a blended soup, yet it has so much character and flavor. It could have been anything. However, it is perfectly salted not gloppy but not liquid smooth, and it warmed my soul. If you want to add a little comfort to your day, here it is in yellowish brown. Oh, and while I wish the croutons were on the side, I’m so grateful that they didn’t serve it with saltines.
Avocado Mango Salad
Everything in the description is there as promised (Mixed greens, avocado, mangoes, strawberries, tomatoes, onions, almonds & citrus dressing) plus the welcome surprise of blueberries. They put the citrus dressing on the side, which is really nice. It isn’t very viscous, even more spill-prone than its powdered sugar glaze appearance let’s on. I wouldn’t have ever put red onion with mango, but it worked. I recalled mango salsa, and this made more sense. However, if you’re a fruit and veggies separatist, I would say to avoid this dish. It’s like a fruit cup on a veggie diet. Was I full after two bites? Yes. Do I blame the soup? Yes. Is all this completely ludicrous? You betcha.
Price: Coffee=$3; Avocado Mango Salad=$15.95; Cup of the soup of the day=$5.50
Hours: Everyday {6–2}
✓ WIFI
Carver’s
It all begins with an idea.
Click right to take a look around…
When I walked off 1st Avenue, an offshoot of the main Diamond Springs Road through town, I would’ve sworn it was closed. A breakfast restaurant at 7:45 on a Tuesday closed? It can’t be. And, it wasn’t. From the outside, the inside looks black. Step through the doors and stained glass lampshades hanging from the ceiling accent the daylight, dominantly with a pale amber hue. It was early enough that they got to scribbling Cobb salad in creamsicle chalk on the specials board behind the booth I spotted into moments after I’d walked in. But, at around 8:20, it really began to fill up. Some took to the front counter, two gents talking baseball for a time—wins and predictions. “We’re mixing it up,” bellowed a woman as she and a bald fellow with a horseshoe mustache, landed in a booth, obviously at an unexpected time. The clientele is very much a assemblage of the town, and you feel it more probably because of the noticeable lack of music and adamant NO WIFI stance; the clicheed words “NO WIFI Talk to Eachother” chalked onto a mini chalkboard held by a hog chef above the fresh bread case. You will hear the usual breakfast clamor and the many magnificent orders, but too the tear of the paper holding your silverware with sound quite noticeably. One other thing: the Red Rooster Inn memorabilia cannot be overlooked. A hanging rooster at the front and, in the bathroom, a canvas along with a RED ROOSTER BRAND COFFEE NAVARRE, OHIO label in a hinged frame, a theme was indisputable. I asked my waiter friend with the top knot, and he passed along the question to the kitchen. “Just some decor they found when they moved in,” he, the terminal point of a radio transmission, said to me. Just keeping around the past for funsies? I cock-a-doodle-didn’t see that coming (this is what happens when you’re a writer without an editor).
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Drink: Coffee
My coffee came in a mug with a cinched waist—I don’t find myself typing that statement everyday. However, it’s an important note given that this shape is but one of the numerous options possible. When I had walked in, I noticed these deep marine turquoise no slip mats. I thought they were a bit odd when I walked in. Then, I witnessed their utility in action—the other half of the waiting duo rushing to the booth in front of me with more than one mug and spillage as she went. She wasn’t clumsy, no, she was ambitious—filling each mug all the way to the top. That’s the hustle I love to see. The coffee itself is really pleasant, definitely a medium roast seemingly with a butterscotch or toffee tasting note undergirding the entire flavor profile. While I got an omelet, I can only imagine that it goes amazingly with their pancakes (according to their menu, they are the best in New Jersey). The dude in the hoodie with the pink top knot still offered me more coffee on my last few bites. For this, they win my undying loyalty.
•••
Food: Garden Avocado Omelet
My first instinct was to get pancakes, but when I say I’m so glad I didn’t, I’m SO glad I didn’t. While the name seems self-explanatory to a degree, avocado is somehow not listed among the asparagus, broccoli, tomato, and red onion ingredients. This omelet was almost the length of my two forearms and definitely the width of two of my arms. It was so layered with vegetables and avocado that it had the striations of a baklava. They must give up a WHOLE DARN avocado in there. The avocado, with its less solid texture, almost adopts the cheese’s role. I couldn’t even finish it. While the egg-to-potato ratio was off, the home fries were delicious—onions smartly added. I asked for hot sauce and got Cholula. Acceptable. This breakfast spot also deserves a standing ovation for the bread options. They bake is all fresh: WHITE, WHOLE WHEAT, RYE, MULTIGRAIN, CINNAMON RAISIN, MULTIGRAIN RAISIN, ONION RYE, SOUR DOUGH WHITE. I had to try the multigrain raisin, and it was an experience. The flavor was so different from what I’m used to. I’d go in every day just to change up all the elements of my classic diner breakfast, from the bread to the main course. I’ll conclude with this: without a doubt, this breakfast is one of the most beautiful I’ve had in years.
Price: Hot Drink=$3; Spec Veg Omelet=$12
Hours: Everyday {6–15}
Acropolis Diner
It all begins with an idea.
Click right to take a look around…
What drums up the magic is the lighting. Without a doubt. It achieves a your-grandfather’s-70s brain (with less smoke). The herd here is so very eclectic: from your Yankees cap with his son clutching a kiddie Pepsi cup to Spanish-speaking families. The couple in front of me clinched comic-strip status with gems like, “I can’t stand people,” “That’s going to drive me crazy, that light flickering,” and the following order: “Wings, plain. In the basket. Fries. Fresh.” They also took to dropping their smiles and gossiping about the waitress once she turned her back. I looked in vein for frosted glass squares, but nowhere could they be found. While I know you can’t control clientele, I’d be weary of these folk. The actual diner staff? Darlings. Somehow my waitress kept refilling my water in the kindest way. And, at one point, I heard one of the servers call back in indisputable jest, “I made $13 in tips today. I’m so rich.” While the soundtrack of new hits—Dua Lipa and Harry Styles among them—really didn’t fit, it didn’t matter. It was at the perfect volume to not disrupt the flow. “Only the best,” the radio’s disc jockey offered again and again, bestowing the space with an American Graffiti energy. A ROWE jukebox extensions on each table, metal vertical blinds matching the interior’s chrome paneling, and the blue vinyl booths acting as the continuing sky and sea for the Acropolis painting on the wall furthest from the door, it culminates into a vibrant dining space of vibrancy and all the imaginable classic diner concord.
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Drink: Coffee
They’ve got a cappuccino, iced cappuccino, and espresso on the menu, but there is no machine in sight. I’d be nervous to give it a shot (pun intended). The black coffee is black diner coffee. It’s not too hot (in other words, you can drink it without burning your mouth off), and it just skirts tasting like Folgers. Honestly, it could be diluted Folgers. It looks like they use gold individual packages of pre-ground coffee, but they aren’t labeled, so it’s hard to tell. Regardless, depending on the cup, you will be satisfied. I offer this cryptic final note because the second cup I had was...difficult. Supposedly it was more fresh. I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt. I have to given that I overheard my waitress saying to the host, “I’ll leave regular coffee because she’s drinking regular coffee.” That’s me. I’m she. And she appreciated this so much. However, you’ve been warned not to look for a glowing cup of joe here.
•••
Food: Avocado, Mushrooms & Onions Omelette
The home fries were like a home fries sheet. Huge. I’m a huge sucker for when diners put the bread on the plate in “ears.” That’s not any technical way to see it, just how I do. And the omelette? Oh it’s top tier. Not over cooked, none of the sink water flavor I’ve come to try getting ahead of. Thought it was going to be immediate hate. But, no. Avocado, onion, and mushroom...no way. Another bite. A thick onion ring perfectly sautéed. I took another look at my stacked rye and noticed that it was perfect...there’s something patient about their cook. The avocado is soft, ample, and intact. I pushed my fork down into the omelette: a fight with onion, mushroom, and onion. They have an omelette maestro in the back there, and I’m distraught. I now have an omelette standard. And, before I forget: the rye was as good as it looked.
Blueberry Pancakes
Let me just say that these pancakes are worth their weight in gold. Three horseshoe crab (okay, maybe not that big) discs are stacked on a plate with a side of creamed butter and maple syrup. My mind immediately got on the defensive, anticipating overwhelming sweetness or—given the craterous state of the top patty—flour taste. Have I never been so delighted to banish my anticipation from whence they came. It’s not too sweet, and the blueberries have a decent. These berries too somehow add real bursts of flavor in each bite, almost candied. I had no qualms adding syrup, but it wasn’t a necessity or a burden (when it’s too sweet, but you want the fun of drizzling this syrup). I only ate one and took the rest home. I wanted more of it the next day. Fantastic.
Price: Avocado, mushroom, onion omelette=$10.99; Coffee=$2.49; Blueberry Pancakes=$10.25 (only charged me $10, and I have no idea why)
*These two items are not listed, so just consider this gospel.
Hours*: Friday–Saturday {24H}; Monday–Thursday {7–23}; Sunday {7–22}
*While the Google Maps app isn’t updated and the sign still stays “OPEN 24 HOURS.”
Extra Notes:
This visit was my second. My first was on February 11. I didn’t even hesitate ordering food again. And, taking it to-go this time, I got to discover that they have the sturdiest takeaway boxes known to man. You could probably keep them and reuse them. They even microwave. Definitely no reason to hesitate on taking leftovers from this place.
✓ WIFI
Palace Diner
It all begins with an idea.
Click right to take a look around…
The stance is dicey—on one side (and on the menu) a landmark title and a note: “Our aim is to please and to satisfy and your comments are always welcome.” On another side, there is a whimsical “LATE NIGHT SNACKS” addition to the usual meal list and a less-than-whimsical moment when I walked in to the diner and witnessed a manager mid-reprimand. “Be better,” he was sternly saying to her. From what I experienced and could see, the waitresses and cleaning staff were on it. I would say err on the side of caution and be on your best behavior, because there is certainly an underlying tension. Nevertheless, I couldn’t get over the interior. It has everything. The fabric on the booth seats that I’d guess only exists in that form, the carpeting of acanthus crosses and spiraling diamonds, your usual metal ribbed fixtures along the window breaks, and chandeliers inspired by bridges (but also, robots?). The stylized P’s frosted onto arched glass paneling are just too much. Regardless of how many conflicting feelings one could pick up on at this diner, one thing cannot be disputed or misinterpreted: on a Thursday night at 23:00, there was activity—old, young, big parties, small parties, black, Hispanic, talkative, mute...it’s got the emblem of obscure late-night business and is a true palace for the masses.
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Drink: Coffee
An approachable temperature at 23:00 on a Thursday. And you know what? It was sweet. No, it wasn’t watered down or lacking in bitterness. It had its own expression which played a solid solo song, but also harmonized well with my cake. I could’ve have asked for much more.
••••
Food: Carrot Cake Cheesecake
The first bite had ice flecks on it. It super freezes in that case, which isn’t a bad thing. You might just hit an unexpected crunch. In any. case, it quickly becomes the intended consistency, a fluffy dense center with carrot cake thinly sandwiching it on the top and bottom. Until now, it never occurred to me how truly flavorful carrot cake is. With it making up at best 1/8 of the cheesecake, it still dominated the flavor. Don’t get me wrong, the cheesecake itself is powerful, but the carrot cake is what ignites the palette up. You’d also suspect that the cream cheese frosting would be too much. It’s not. It’s the perfect final element. They might have even been able to reduce the amount by a tad, but I wouldn’t risk it. This cake is the perfect solution to being torn between cheesecake and carrot cake...just get both in one.
Price: Carrot Cake Cheesecake=$7.99; Coffee=$2.50*
*These two items are not listed, so just consider this gospel.
Hours: 24/7
✓ WIFI
Michael’s Diner
It all begins with an idea.
Click right to take a look around…
Any place that has a dry-erase “Soup Schedule” in the holding area is immediately a friend of mine. Monday through Sunday, three choices per day, hearts to emphasize the cream of, chowder, and “noddle” affections (that last one is how they spelled noodle). Unfortunately though, patiently standing to be seated, the host called the couple behind me like I wasn’t even there. Then, barely caring to recognize his mistake, he reluctantly sat me in a cobalt booth after them. If the place had been packed, I’d understand. But, at 8:30 on a Friday, it was at best building steam. Unless you were in a booth across from other diners, it hit a quieter note than your normal diner experience. The seats are taller than you realize, a upper head panel above the blue vinyl containing the sound. The regulars do come in—one ordered tomato juice instead of coffee—and a pair near me chatted, heckled a friend over the phone, and laughed the entire time. The lower level of activity wasn’t just me being hyper-vigilant, a waitress’s comment confirming my suspicions at 9:30: “Well, it started out as a decent day.” Content with what I got to take in of the outdated tabletop advertisements, I paid at the front counter. Michael, I’m so full, I thought to (given the new ownership) no one in particular. Somehow though—by some sort of diner magic—it seemed plausible that some Michael somewhere must be pleased.
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Drink: Coffee
It’s diner coffee. There’s not much more to say here. “Half and half with your coffee,” my waitress strangely suggested in the form of a question. Nope, black. And that was that. It came out piping hot at 8:30, making it correct enough. You’ll sip and spend no time wishing it to be more.
•••
Food: Athenian Skillet
They had all your normal omelets and skillets, but this one stuck out. Eggs, potatoes, red pepper, and spinach are the components, but it’s not as obvious as you might think. “How would you like your eggs,” the waitress asked. “Oh, um, over-easy.” Nothing about toast with the item, yet this question followed, and I got the following options: “White, wheat, or rye.” When the skillet came, it was GORGEOUS. Potatoes, topped with the peppers and spinach, covered in an avalanche of feta, and finished off with two true over-easy eggs. I looked at the menu again and, where the eggs are detailed for the skillet, it says that they are mixed with cheese. Doesn’t specify which type or what happens when you don’t scramble the eggs. I guess you get a deconstructed scramble. I’m here for it. You might find a stray shred of another cheese (I found some cheddar), but overall it isn’t at all damaging. I will say that the feta might not be top tier (now, take that with a grain of salt, I’m not a fromagier by any stretch of the imagination). And yet, you’re at a diner and the crumbled cheese sits on top of hot potatoes and below hot eggs. I’ve always found that feta changes when heated. The test would be a feta-topped salad. But, if I’m being honest, the amount and look of the feta was too good to even give this attention to quality one more minute of thought. The potatoes are cooked lovingly, lightly spiced, and in big chunks. The proportion of egg to potato was praiseworthy and, you better like roasted red pepper if you order this dish (I adore it) because they do not hold back. I absolutely cleared house on this skillet.
Price: Total=$16.33 (Athenian Skillet=$13.45; Coffee=$2.25; Credit Card fee=$0.63)
Hours: Everyday {7–20}*
*According to an article online, they plan to be 24H at some point in the near future. Stay tuned!
Blondie’s Trolley Diner
It all begins with an idea.
Click right to take a look around…
And who made her way back behind the counter as I walked in? Oh, but only exactly who you’d hope would be working at a place with Blondie’s in the name. “Anywhere you’d like, hun,” the woman with the blonde slinky-mid-walk bun gently offered. I looked around—four more seats at the bar, one four-person table left. Even though it was just me, I went for the table. When I sat down, I was greeted with mini trolley cars braked along the window sill—specifically the French Montrouge streetcar and San Francisco’s Powell & Mason St cable car—and one of my all-time childhood favorites: a Tic Tac Toe board, with little blue and red pegs leaning in all sorts of ways out from their respective notches. The woman behind the griddle was a one-woman show. She took the order of the couple behind me and then was off, firing up the griddle, pulling the ice, answering the phones, and holding the requisite diner conversation. When the dry-erase board outside says they make everything to order, they aren’t kidding. In her stoplight red hoodie, her back and forth went almost laser pointer. The place was full of eccentricities, ones that are pretty standard (dollars taped to one wall and peeling red vinyl cushions), ones that can be fit in thematically somehow (the Christmas train decal stuck to the roof and the impressive oil lamp collection, hung all over but mostly situated along the top of the griddle exhaust hood), and ones out of complete left field (I dare you to find Olaf, and I certainly hope that you take a moment to appreciate the pride that is the Gloria Rose General Store puzzle, fused and transformed into wall decor). However, the true lob out of the metaphorical baseball park was THE COUNTER. If I hadn’t gone up to pay, I would never have noticed that it was foggy but transparent. Encased beneath each plate and literally right under everyone’s noses is a full model town and railway. COLOR ME HALTED. The loudest conversation was at the bar, and it was consumed by the usual dose of adult immaturity and hypocrisy (not even worth exhuming the common gripes here). Needless to say, this generic chatter made the restaurant’s elemental richness even more crucial, even more precious; atop miniature cars and facilities (Crescent Gasoline and Fueling Distributors) they all feign wisdom. And, it’s precisely this layer of childhood and play that compels diners like me to just chuckle and not pull an Ozzy Osborne, staying on the rails of this crazy train.
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Drink: Coffee
It’s diner coffee. Truly. When I type out this statement, I mean it with the utmost affection. It barely skates by as not tasting like instant, and it almost tastes like caffeine. What I loved about this routine cup was two-fold: the vessel it came in was a ceramic with the slightest conification and pin-stripe ridges, and they actually took pride in where their coffee comes from (announcing on the sign out front that it was from BK. The pot, which was pouring more coffee into my cup moments after she brought the initial cup full, also read BK. Love me a proud purveyor). Unfortunately, while off to a strong start, she topped everyone else except me off the second time around (when I really needed it) and never returned. What I realized was that coming around with the pot wasn’t a service, but rather a way to show the customers that still didn’t have food that she didn’t forget about them. Moral of the story: you will need to start Googling coffee while you consume your last few bites.
••
Food: Cheese Omelette
You get a choice of cheeses: “American, Cheddar, Pepper jack, or Swiss.” I was in the mood for a kick, so I went pepper jack then proceeded with the usual, potatoes and toast. She didn’t ask me for what kind of toast. I realized it before things were made, but she was so busy that I couldn’t catch her. I mean, I could have interrupted, but it felt so superficial. And, maybe she’d give me a different kind of bread? No, this hope was definitely in vain. So, this breakfast earns the medal for being my first with white bread ever. My omelette came out before everyone else’s—despite two couples ordering before me—and yet all of my food was slightly cold. I have no idea how this happened. I watched her stand in front of the griddle. It was three feet away from me...then, the ultimate sin: the potatoes were tragic. Microcubes of “potato” tasted dry and so sapped of everything that made them potatoes that they tasted akin to cubed bread. These little cubes glistened (from what?) in certain spots, and they were somehow dusted red (my previous question still stands). They could have had the addition of a sneeze-worth of paprika, but you couldn’t taste it. One unexpected positive? While virtually unnoticeable (unless you’re me) she did add in some flakes of sautéed onions. But, these onions added nothing to flavor, amounting to, at best, garnish. When I asked for hot sauce—to salvage what I could—she asked me whether I wanted the homemade or bottle stuff. I opted for the bottle (which was the teensiest bottle of Tabasco pepper sauce that I’ve ever come across) because I thought, with the way she asked, that the homemade stuff cost extra. It doesn’t, so I missed out. Drenched in Tabasco, I wondered three-quarters through the omelette whether the cheese was pepper jack. I eventually got to the colored specks that visually indicates the cheese‘s spicing. I had to ask for some jam, and she didn’t clarify what type, bringing me strawberry in a plastic dish (probably scooped out of a oversized Smucker’s jar). That being said, her intuition was right on the kind of jam (I just wish that I could have said the same about the toast). To conclude, this diner fare is probably the worst I’ve ever had. The only positive takeaways that I have are that the eggs didn’t have that sink taste that I abhor and that it was a lot of food. Besides these minor bright sides, I have nothing more to offer here. Maybe try ordering the Peaches N Cream Stuffed French Toast? That was my second choice, but maybe it should have been my first…
Price: Cheese Omelette=$5.95; Coffee=$1.75
(but my total came out to $9.67 before tax? I’m so confused. It might have something to do with the price fluctuation notices taped up on the wall, but I wish I would have been told or given an order slip then...)
Hours: Wednesday–Sunday {7–14}; Monday–Tuesday {CLOSED}
Extra Notes: Don’t try and come in here with a big group. Anything bigger than 4 people will mean having to split up. It’s a classic diner set up, but still…you’ve been warned.
Second disclaimer: Be prepared to wait for your food.
Elizaville Diner
It all begins with an idea.
Click right to take a look around…
Oh, it is not hard to see why Focus Features selected this spot for their 2019 film The Dead Don’t Die. It’s all the Kullman Dining Car Co. Incorporated classics without any of the clutter. And the blue of the exterior gets close to being chrome. While zombies are the calling card of this diner in the movie, the reality posits something spectacularly contrasting. The repeated sound of the traffic doors as the pleasant woman, who just seemed to float through her tasks, pushed them open is iconic. Coupled with the blaring and beeping from a TV out of immediate sight—my internal debate of sports game or protest was put to rest when I heard a nearby elderly woman ask, “What sport is that?”—it all finds a strange peace. Of course, a strong type in a black vest and blushing red shirt walked in, receiving the diner prix: “The usual?” He nodded and then politely asked, “Can you move the blinds when you have a second? I’ve really, grown fond of this view.” Doesn’t get much more la paix de wagon-restaurant than that. And, with the tuftiest red vinyl cushions on booths and bar stools I’ve ever seen, it’s the diner scene—dare I say—straight out of a movie.
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Okay, not really…
Drink: Coffee
My first reaction was...no reaction. The coffee hit my lips and I just began to sip, like a pasture animal to an utter. Yes, trust me, the words were typed and I instantly wanted to retract them, but the likeness is too uncanny to forgo. It was weird, but nice to not have to think about the coffee. It just gelled. Doesn’t disrupt the food either, which is honestly all I hope for when I get a cup of diner coffee.
•••
Food: Garden Omelet
Gargantuan. When I took the photo, I had to do so from above just to fit it all in. They didn’t serve you a plate; they put eggs and potatoes on a flying saucer. Turning back to the pre-flying saucer page of the meal, the woman did ask me if I wanted to add cheese when I ordered. I thought that was interesting. Full disclaimer before I start talking about the food: I HATE THIS. I hate so much having to write this, especially when it smelled so good. But, the potatoes are a little chewy and taste a bit old. The omelet has that sink taste too. While the taste is a miss, you definitely get what you paid for (it is surely the truest three-egg omelet that I’ve ever come across). And, in the end, leaving well fed is something. I wouldn’t come back for the food (maybe I’d alter my strategy and give the Belgian Waffles or lunch a go), but you know what is an underrated part of food? The way it’s served. And boy would I come back for that here.
Price*: Coffee=$2; Garden Omelet=$9.95
*They have a 10% student and senior discount!!
Hours**: Friday–Sunday {7–14}; Monday–Thursday {CLOSED}
**Here’s one of those rough gigs. The website lists the hours as W–Th {8–20} and F–S {7–20}. Google Maps app offers M–W {CLOSED}, Th {8–20}, F-Sat {7–20}, and S {7–16}. And, a quick Google search: M–T, F {CLOSED}, W–Th {8–20}, and Sat–S {7–20}. The variation in hours is dizzying. The final nail in the coffin? My first visit to this diner was actually December 22, 2022. I wanted to catch them before the holiday closures. Why then is this blog listed in January? Well, that’s because they were closed, the deli next door informing me that they’d be open Friday, December 23 and Christmas Eve. That’s what got me. All my planning was for naught. I will say this though: they do pick up their phone! So, if you’re looking to see whether there’s been another time shift, just give them a call.
Extra Notes: Zero bars and an SOS notice on my phone—consider yourself off the grid.
✓ WIFI
UPDATE 5/31/23: I found this photo on my phone from 6/13/2019. I had saved it because I’d wanted to see the movie, but never got around to it. Well, I finally did. Apparently my visit was meant to be.
Speedway Cafe
It all begins with an idea.
Click right to take a look around…
Can’t help but grin when I sit down to plastic-wrapped silverware. Tell me you’re sanitary without showing me the spotless kitchen. This diner is definitely a converted truck stop, once a quick bar break away from the Dover Motor Speedway. However, with the insertion of wide, deep booths—each equipped with its own pendant light the color and pattern of a the Earth’s clouds and oceans from space—this state must’ve been once upon a time. The family next to me ate their grits and pancakes, asked for boxes. “I’ll be back,” the little girl with braids dripping with beads yelled gleefully at me as she pulled on her shocking pink coat. I smiled. “Sure hope so,” I responded. Her smile stayed on her face and her eyes got wide as a stylish older man—in a Neo coat—pulled her to the door. “It’s 11:11,” someone exclaimed from the kitchen. It all followed doctrine from here. “We let you in here,” the waitress asked, poking fun at a regular. But, while this diner fits the mold, it’s also gold. Every staff member was courteous and kind—and I mean every one. They all apologized for getting in my pictures (which I begged them to not do. I’m in their way), and the response to my inability to choose a hot sauce was all the options—brought to me via that kangaroo pouch in the waiter’s apron. I admired the suspended criss-crossing wood that decorated the failing ceiling tiles and then turned my gaze to the sunny day. Astoundingly, there’s just laughter and happiness throughout...I’m going to state this plainly: if I could pick one diner to go back to at this very moment, it would be Speedway. In proper form, I might even speed a little along the way...what can I say? They close at three o’clock.
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Drink: Coffee
I drank it and...BROWN SUGAR. That’s what I tasted, but then I thought, maybe it’s just because it’s the first cup of the morning, the first cup of the new year. NOPE. This coffee got fruitier and riper as I went along. Wow. I was describing it to someone later and the words “gorgeous flavor” just rolled off the tongue. Not in a century could I have anticipated pairing this ultra visual word with a taste quality. I found out that they get their coffee from when the waitress brought around the pot: LACAS Coffee Co. out of New Jersey. I can’t stress enough how rare it is for a diner to serve a niche roaster (one from a different state no less) like this. Note: when I say niche, I mean in the sense that it isn’t Starbucks, Peet’s, Dunkin, Green Mountain, etc.—the ones with the big and cost-effective wholesale programs. Tack on refills, and this coffee (specifically LACAS’s Original City Roast) might just be the best diner coffee I’ve ever had, rivaling the likes of many of the crisply marketed cafes I’ve found false promise in over the years.
••••
Food: Vegetable Omelette
These were the words that accompanied the glorious plate of food placed in front of me: “The toast will be right out.” They didn’t dare try and wiggle off some potatoes. The rye toast gets its own plate. Correct. She listed the vegetables that were in the omelette before I’d ordered, and, sure enough, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, and peppers we’re all there, and all visible. None of that microscopic sprinkling of diced onion or one leave of spinach that you sometimes come across. I didn’t even know that it was possible to both taste and see everything in an omelette. The home fries were exactly the disproof of what I was lamenting just the other day. They were chunks; they were cooked with the occasional crispy edge; they were flavorful. They ask whether you want onions and you say yes (it doesn’t cost extra). The sautéed red onions, while adding an interesting oyster purple to the mix, elevate the potatoes to a whole other level. Finally, you didn’t think I forgot about that toast, did you? I can’t believe my life has come to this, but here it goes: I didn’t know that there was a way to make good rye toast. But, there is. Buttered like someone cared—not just hacked off and thrown in becoming half-solid, half-liquid globs—and made with ridiculously good rye (I could SEE the caraway seeds), I couldn’t have been more pleased. While the dish isn’t dreamy, it does everything SO well, and I can’t get over it.
Price: Coffee=$1.95; Vegetable Omelette=$8.25
Hours: Everyday {7–15}
Extra Notes:
Come on...COME ON. A VEGAN MENU? It’s at the back of the menu (hence why I didn’t order from it), but it’s full fledged, not just your eggless or cheeseless versions of the main menu. The options blew my mind: seitan, vegan sausage, and vegan chicken, in omelettes, quesadillas, hoagies, and gyros...it’s a couple extra bucks, but come on—loaded fries with fresh veggies, salsa, guacamole, and mozzarella? That little girl that always had to grab a loaded fry from the fringes—always to avoid the meat but keep the cheese—was jumping for joy.
Amanda made me cry of happiness the first day of the new year. Yes, she brought me to jubilant tears. I won’t say why here. No need. But—should she ever read this—I want to thank you again for getting excited about the coffee because I was excited about the coffee. Your small kindness absolutely consumed my heart, and I’ll be forever grateful. Starting off the year with a reminder of why I write, why coffee excites me, why I chronicle diners everywhere is just a priceless gift.
✓ WIFI
CLOSED: Johnny’s Diner
It all begins with an idea.
UPDATE 5/29/2023: Closed, demolished, absolutely gone. See below. And, if you’re curious as to what once was, keep scrolling.
Red Hook Diner
It all begins with an idea.
10/18/2022: Actually my first visit here was in October. Why no review? No coffee. At the time, I had ordered just the Pot Roast Dinner ($19.45). It fed me for four days.
The “Historic” Village Diner
It all begins with an idea.
4/22/23 UPDATE: I had been talking about getting my mom a chocolate milkshake here since October. Fast-forward six months, and we made it. We shared one milkshake three ways. It worked wonderfully. It wasn’t as thick as last time I had it, and my suspicion is that they accidentally made it extra thick and then charged me for the regular those few months ago. Pay the dollar to get it thickened up. All in all, the drink stood the test of time. My mom squeezed every feasible last drop out of that stainless steel malt cup. It is that good. Also, we got slices of strawberry rhubarb and cherry pie to-go as my mom felt bad just getting a milkshake. The first slice (strawberry rhubarb) is a hefty serving with light, pleasant flavor components and the second slice (cherry) wasn’t too overblown or over-sweetened. The cherries carried the filling and my mom—a chocolate connoisseur—low-key hogged the whole slice. Let me tell you: that is a compliment that money can’t buy.
11/9/22 UPDATE: Drink rating MUST BE ADJUSTED TO A 3. I KNEW IT. The coffee at 8:00 on a Wednesday was spot on for diner coffee, and I will order it with every future breakfast to come. Coffee cost $1.95 and the short stack of LA Cinnamon French Toast—described to me as thicker than the Silk City French Toast (which is made with Texas toast), baked in with cinnamon—topped with strawberries (you get a choice between this and blueberries) and whipped cream cost $9.45. It was so good and perfect in size, flavor, and presentation (and, to humor an unorthodox request of mine, they really sprung for the presentation). I love this place. Everything diner without any of the stiff upper lip, which can make you want to disappear. I have now found my one-person booth—right behind the register. If you’re looking for me, try here first.
UPDATED OVERALL: 3.8
UPDATE 10/4/22:
You better believe that I was back less than a week later for a classic diner milkshake. A table near me during my first visit just ordered vanilla and strawberry shakes. I had to round out their supplies and get a chocolate one. My responsibility is to restore balance to the universe. Apparently bliss costs $4.25 and comes in a full stainless steel malt cup (they didn’t even bother trying to pour it into a glass. Very wise move.). If this photo could talk…just read the above again because that’s what it would be saying.
