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Though you'll get no argument from me that Sheetz is great (as is its eastern Pennsylvania competitor, Wawa), it is a convenience store, not a restaurant chain.
I understand its a convenience store but I think the whole MTO thingy moves it into the realm of say how Subway is in gas stations or as in one close to me a liquor store or as we call it a packie.
Moe's would be a good one to have nearby - or at least one in every major shopping district. So if I end up living on a mountain as a hermit all by myself some day, I'd still be able to drive down to the nearest shopping mall and find a Moe's.
You know how I feel about I&O. And we do not do chains very often either. We are pretty much stay at home eaters unless we are out for the day or traveling. Even then we prefer local mom and pop places.
However, when I visit a new place, I like to try a local restaurant.
Does anyone remember dinners? They are still around on the East Coast. All kinds of food to satisfy everyone in the family. Breakfast served all the time.
What I hate is that chains and fast food have put so many of the mom and pop diners, and other restaurants out of business.
However, when I visit a new place, I like to try a local restaurant.
Does anyone remember diners? They are still around on the East Coast. All kinds of food to satisfy everyone in the family. Breakfast served all the time.
What I hate is that chains and fast food have put so many of the mom and pop diners, and other restaurants out of business.
Diners are still pretty common in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey in particular and less common but still around within 200 miles or so of that core area. (Interestingly, one of my professors in graduate school who was originally from the south Jersey suburbs in the Philadelphia area wrote a book about diners about 15 years ago. Also, as someone from eastern PA, having diners around was common to me as a youth; one example I'm familiar with is the Gap Diner in Wind Gap, PA.) A lot of them are in pre-fabricated, rail car-like buildings.
Here in the DC area there are still a few diners and small diner chains. They include:
*Tastee Diner - has been around (or at least the original diner in Silver Spring has been around) for 80 years. It is a solid "greasy spoon" with fairly good and cheap food that I like to go to every so often.
*Silver Diner - this is a retro diner chain (according to their website, founded in 1989) rather than an authentic, original diner. I've never eaten there but there are some locations in the DC area.
*Ollie's Trolley - located in downtown DC not far north of the National Mall (in particular fairly close to the Museum of Natural History), this is a nice, humble, throwback-type restaurant in a city that increasingly caters to high-end, swankier tastes (the latter of which is fine from time to time but not all the time IMO).
One other, somewhat higher end place in the DC area that has some diner-like qualities is a small chain called Ted's Bulletin, which has a full menu but specializes in breakfast food.
Of the places I mentioned above, probably only the Tastee Diner is a true diner.
It should be noted that some restaurant chains, particularly Denny's, Waffle House, and Johnny Rockets, have strongly modeled themselves after old-school diners, so many people in many locations have eaten in restaurants that have diner-like qualities (though they aren't in pre-fabricated buildings like many "true" diners).
Diners are still pretty common in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey in particular and less common but still around within 200 miles or so of that core area. (Interestingly, one of my professors in graduate school who was originally from the south Jersey suburbs in the Philadelphia area wrote a book about diners about 15 years ago. Also, as someone from eastern PA, having diners around was common to me as a youth; one example I'm familiar with is the Gap Diner in Wind Gap, PA.) A lot of them are in pre-fabricated, rail car-like buildings.
Here in the DC area there are still a few diners and small diner chains. They include:
*Tastee Diner - has been around (or at least the original diner in Silver Spring has been around) for 80 years. It is a solid "greasy spoon" with fairly good and cheap food that I like to go to every so often.
*Silver Diner - this is a retro diner chain (according to their website, founded in 1989) rather than an authentic, original diner. I've never eaten there but there are some locations in the DC area.
*Ollie's Trolley - located in downtown DC not far north of the National Mall (in particular fairly close to the Museum of Natural History), this is a nice, humble, throwback-type restaurant in a city that increasingly caters to high-end, swankier tastes (the latter of which is fine from time to time but not all the time IMO).
One other, somewhat higher end place in the DC area that has some diner-like qualities is a small chain called Ted's Bulletin, which has a full menu but specializes in breakfast food.
Of the places I mentioned above, probably only the Tastee Diner is a true diner.
It should be noted that some restaurant chains, particularly Denny's, Waffle House, and Johnny Rockets, have strongly modeled themselves after old-school diners, so many people in many locations have eaten in restaurants that have diner-like qualities (though they aren't in pre-fabricated buildings like many "true" diners).
When we lived on the east coast, one of the things that we loved about traveling from the DC area up through PA, NJ, etc was all the diners. I don't care whether they were chains or mom and pop, we just loved them.
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In my best Austin Powers voice.
Cousins Subs
