Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How is the food? Is the food comparable to anything we have down here? For example, is the meatloaf at K&W or Cracker Barrell similar to an "authentic" NJ diner? Is there any place here with similar style food?
Hearing you all talk about "common" foods like sandwiches, meatloaf and mashed potatoes is making me curious: is it the ambiance that's missing down here, or is there THAT big of a difference in the food?
And did anybody ever go to Pan-Pan diner in Durham when it was open? How did that rate?
And did anybody ever go to Pan-Pan diner in Durham when it was open? How did that rate?
Never been myself, but Pan Pan is alive and well. The original owners reopened it at Northgate Mall
about three years after the I-85 widening project claimed the site of the diner on Hillandale. It's under different ownership now, but they say the menu is the same.
How is the food? Is the food comparable to anything we have down here? For example, is the meatloaf at K&W or Cracker Barrell similar to an "authentic" NJ diner? Is there any place here with similar style food?
Doesn't remotely compare to Cracker Barrel or K&W, which are a bit above school cafeteria food imo. The appeal of a diner is both ambiance and eating food that reminds you of what your mom made (or wish she had made if your mom wasn't a very good cook lol). A good diner makes pretty much everything from scratch while a not so good diner is similar to K&W. Also the prices tend to be very reasonable.
It may not fit the bill, but American Hero comes to mind. I haven't eaten there in several years, so quality may have gone down. They used to have 2 locations in Durham.
How is the food? Is the food comparable to anything we have down here? For example, is the meatloaf at K&W or Cracker Barrell similar to an "authentic" NJ diner? Is there any place here with similar style food?
I miss the Jersey diners but for me it's more nostalgia, because I find just as good food here of the same kind, and I pretty much always got the pizzaburger deluxe at any diner. Hee. Thank you, Tick Tock Diner, for the great pizzaburger deluxe. Good mashed potatoes too. And pickles. And I remember the juke boxes at the tables - those were great - as seen in the series finale of The Sopranos.
So those places for me are where we went late night after going out with friends. Those poor waitresses.
Many thanks also to Nevada Diner, some diner in the middle of Rt. 22 in Springfield, and several others. Ah, the memories.
Hot Grill in Clifton rules all, IMO.
Anyway I don't really look for those here. I love Elmos but it doesn't have the same feeling to me. I wonder about Time Out in Chapel Hill, or that actual diner in Chapel Hill near the Trader Joe's (forgot the name and it's always so crowded I haven't checked it out).
Time Out and 510 Diner (I think is what you are referring too) are both good. Time Out on Franklin Street will soon be closing due to new building construction, so you might want to try them soon. They are planning on transition to a food truck during construction.
We used to have over 11,000 diners now there are about 6,000...but the ones that are still business are the iconic or popular ones like Tops in East Newark , The Summit Diner , The Brownstone , Bendix.... Diners that popped up after 1960 seem to have failed , but the ones before that are going strong. We also have a Surviving Italian Hot Dog scene in North ward of Newark , lines go out the door or in South Jersey its the Cranberry culture...or the Coast has great seafood...
You peoples are making me homesick! Although not from NJ, but from a neighboring state chock full o'diners, I am lonely for them too.
K&W just makes me think of adult school cafeteria (if that's the place I'm thinking of).
Cracker Barrel is homey food and as close to a diner as I feel this area can get.
Example: Hot open faced turkey sandwiches. Across the mid-Atlantic (NJ) and north to Maine it can be served several ways, but the baseline is the same. However down here...the next person whom I ask for a hot open faced turkey sandwich who gives me sliced deli turkey (?!), microwaved (GAG!) piled on a piece of white bread is gonna get a smack!
We had a real diner downtown. It was located in the southeast corner of McDowell And Martin street. I tagged along with my grandaddy there on Saturday mornings. I can still taste the apple pie that came out of the glass case They hauled it down highway 50 south many years ago to make room for another parking lot. It operated there under the name "The Air Conditioned Restaurant" for some time. I'm sure the place still stands today....across the road from Kens Produce. I'm not sure about how it's used today.
About that meatloaf? Try The Gateway Restaurant at Capitol and Crabtree Blvd. Monday "special" is meatloaf...good stuff
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Although not from NJ, but from a neighboring state chock full o'diners, I am lonely for them too.
