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Is there anything like a real New Jersey Diner out here?
I ran into Honey's this weekend, and I was in Heaven with their eggs-and-potatoes plates but I need the meatloaf-white bread-gravy-fries and turkey-white bread-gravy-fries combos too, and they didn't have them.
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One of the best meals I ever had in my life was in a New Jersey diner. A big plate of pork chops, more fresh mashed potatoes than you've ever seen in one place, and cooked fresh vegetables. The plate was so heavy, half of you couldn't have curled it. The place was up the road from Fountains of Wayne, I think (the original business that originated the name). Beer and wine license of course.
And of course the first thing you see when you come in is the big glass cabinet full of fancy baked cakes and pies for dessert. Actually the second thing you see. The first thing you see is the hostess, about 50 years old, looking like a pre-sissy-era Barbie and dressed in a form-fitting knit jumpsuit. She was a real-life Stupefyin' Jones.
I grew up in NJ. There is NOTHING equivalent in NC. You will get some reccomendations for diners, but none are like a Jersey Diner.
I love Elmos Diner in Durham, But I am under no illusions that its even close to a NJ diner.... It has meatloaf and open turkey ect, and its good.
But I ate just yesterday at the Whippany Diner in NJ....not even on the same page as a diner in NC
Yeah I agree. You need to go to NJ for a real NJ diner experience. Even in NJ the quality of diners spans a spectrum ... Not all of them are good. A few of my favorites up at the Jersey shore have closed in recent years. They are a dying breed.
Nope, none around here. We stopped at one that had a really big menu somewhere in Virginia and have been trying to remember exactly where it was. My husband thinks it was near an IKEA...
I wish someone would open a NJ-type diner here. And a big plus if it was a Greek one!
I know not local to the Triangle, but if you happen to be near Charlotte, there is an actual NJ Diner. The old Bound Brook Diner was moved to Charlotte and has opened as Mattie's Diner. My brother in law and his father are Bound Brook natives who relocated to the Charlotte area, and love this place. Not being a true NJ diner aficionado, I cannot really weigh in, but their word works for me.
Probably the closest you'll get in the Triangle is Gypsy's Shiny Diner in Cary on Buck Jones Rd - yes, they have meatloaf, both as an entree/blue plate special and as an open-faced sandwich.
Also while not a classic diner style set-up, Hayes Barton Cafe and Dessertery in Raleigh's Five Points has some good diner style fare including their "Dial 'M' for Meatloaf" - also their cakes and pies are amazing.
The problem with Gypsy's Shiny Diner is that it's terrible lol. Every time I have gone there I have been disappointed. It should tell you something that they also run the restaurant at the State Farmers' Market. Not even close to a NJ diner.
If someone would open a Greek diner here that would be the ultimate Christmas gift for me
The problem with Gypsy's Shiny Diner is that it's terrible lol. Every time I have gone there I have been disappointed. It should tell you something that they also run the restaurant at the State Farmers' Market. Not even close to a NJ diner.
If someone would open a Greek diner here that would be the ultimate Christmas gift for me
I've been to Gypsy's once or twice and I don't know if I'd call it terrible. I'd say it was solidly average, but granted it's been awhile back while I was still a grad student at State so things may have changed in the interim! Still, I'm not sure what their management of the Farmers' Market Restaurant has to do with the authenticness of Gypsy's - last I checked restauranteurs can have multiple concepts. Does the fact that Empire Eats runs The Pit, Gravy, Sitti, Raleigh Times, and Morning Times or Ashley Christensen running Poole's, Beasley's, Chuck's, and Fox make any of those concepts less delicious? Nonetheless, I defer to you on their current state seeing as how the quality of a restaurant can change so quickly! I do stand behind Hayes Barton though!
I'll definitely agree on a good Greek diner, though! I think the closest you'll get to that in the interim is the Gussy's Greek Street Food food truck.
I meant more that the food at the State Farmers' Market isn't particularly good or fresh, which should tell you about the state of Gypsy's.
Fair enough! I've just had breakfast at the Farmer's Market and that was just OK...better than, say, Big Ed's, but not the best I've ever had!
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I've just had breakfast at the Farmer's Market and that was just OK...better than, say, Big Ed's, but not the best I've ever had!
