The DINER.

[Marlowe P.]

if there is one i have a strong reccomendation for.. I mean the real deal man... the old scool look and the old school service... where some lady named Flo takes your order and tells you need a haircut... there a couple in Albany, NY that also offer the best cocktails you will ever drink in your life. But the best, man the creme d' la creme is the Little Gem in Syracuse, NY where the Greeks still own the diners and hire working class folks to run the tables, where smoking is still legal even though its an ill eagle, where its still under 4 bucks for 2 over ez eggs and homefries. 2 pieces of rye over buttered toast and coffee is included, the place you drive to after the bar or the morning after the bar. The place where the start of a seedy story starts and where most american novels should start.
I dont offer pictures as further encouragement to get there on your own. What other reason will you ever have to visit Syracuse, NY??

 

[Larry C]

Larry? That you?

Yeah, who else would it be!lol

 

[RockBottom]

A few original diners have been imported into the UK and are still in use.

This one was originally known as the Riverside Diner, and was located on the banks of the Susquehanna River, just north of Harrisburg, PA.

It was moved to London in the early 90s after a complete refurbishment, and it was in Covent Garden for a few years. It was put into storage when the site it was on was due to be redeveloped, and it finally ended up in a garden centre in Ashford, Kent, to the south-east of London.

There are some photos of the interior here.

Ironically, there's a similar one which is still on the Susquehanna River just north of Harrisburg, PA. That's not far from me and I drive the route often, to fish or visit my kid at college.

 

[Sweet Leilani]

Are you talking about the Bluebird? I haven't eaten there in a couple of years, but I do drive by it occasionally; as of last summer it was still going strong.

 

[Dinerman]

Yeah, who else would it be!lol

Figured you'd show up here eventually.

Spencer

 

[RockBottom]

Are you talking about the Bluebird? I haven't eaten there in a couple of years, but I do drive by it occasionally; as of last summer it was still going strong.

I'm not sure of the name--it's on 11/15 north of Marysville.

 

[Dinerman]

The West Shore Diner of Lemoyne, PA. One of my personal favorites. Hit it over winter break.
It's a super rare early '30s Silk City.

 

[Dinerman]

Kim's classic diner. Ohio. 1946.

Summit Diner. Pennsylvania.

Summit Diner Interior after an unfortunate recent remodel

Not really a diner, but a cool roadside restaurant.

 

[mrswheats]

Dinerman, where is Kim's Classic Diner is located?
And thanks for posting so many great pictures, everyone!

 

[Dinerman]

It's in Sabina.

 

[mrswheats]

It's in Sabina.

Thanks a million! We may have to meander that way the next time we travel south to visit my sis-in-law in Cincinnati.

 

[Dinerman]

Thanks a million! We may have to meander that way the next time we travel south to visit my sis-in-law in Cincinnati.

It's definitely worth a stop. It was recently restored, and looks like it just rolled out of 1946, with the exception of some retro stuff that's been put up. Nothing major, though.
The owner of the place is one of the nicest you could care to meet, and the food is excellent.

 

[Dinerman]

 

[Dinerman]

Out in Omaha, NE

 

[Sweet Leilani]

RIP Vale-Rio Diner

I'm sure its not news to some of you, but I just want to lament the closing of one of my favorite diners, the Vale-Rio in Phoenixville, PA. I've eaten there whenever I'm in the neighborhood and it was just exactly what a diner should be.

It will be moved and supposedly re-opened, but I'm not holding my breath- the owner seems like a real jerk: the lot it sits on was sold to become a Walgreen's and a Starbucks- just what we need more of around here!

 

[Dinerman]

The bridge diner- A 1930s Silk City in Havre DeGrace, Maryland. The roof is much later.

A possible diner in Mass. If it is, it has been remodeled beyond identification as to manufacturer. Then again, it might not be a diner at all. The barrel roof and dimensions suggest it was at least inspired by one.

This one is a '50s model made by Master, a small company, the product of wom not many survive. It has been integrated into the addition, and covered with a roof, and now serves as the restaurant for a small airport in Mass.

The yankee Diner inc. , built by Worcester in 1939. It's in Charlton, Mass. Got stopped by a cop here.

The A-1, a 1946 Worcester semi-streamliner in Gardiner, ME. The best food, and the most interesting food I've ever had at a diner. It's worth the drive.
The location is unusual, as it's perched on stilts next to a bridge.

 

[Story]

Brothers recreate World War II era diner






By Ronnie Roy
Thursday, April 10, 2008 2:53 PM CDT


If you'd like to travel back in time but don't have access to a time machine, step inside T. Alderson's Cities Service Diner in St. Charles. It's the next best thing.

The decor, the furniture, the menu, the candy counter, the soda fountain, the milk dispenser - all are carefully designed to evoke being in a 1940s diner.

"If you were to walk into a diner in 1945, these are the things you would see," said Dan "Jake" Jacobs, who opened the restaurant in February with his brother Rick. "Everything we've got, we tried to make it authentic, even down to the signage outside."The restaurant is named after Thorley Alderson, the brothers' grandfather, who owned a diner in St. Charles from 1946 through 1979.

http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.co...tainment/sj2tn20080410-0411stc_diner0.ii1.txt

 

[Dinerman]

terrible picture- I was in a moving car at the time, but this is the Tastee Diner, a 1946 O'Mahony.

 

[59Lark]

The love of the Diner.

I travel very little as i own a sewing machine shop attached to my home and work six days a week, not whining but one of my few pleasures is to take every bus trip to henry ford museum, greenfield that is offered and i love Lammy diner, a restored diner inside now there is no eating , but restored and period music, but as a person that is so sentimental as to cry during movies such as the majestic, and the forever young. I have too keep my self from crying as i sit alone in that diner with forties music playing. I have always felt that i didnt belong in this time and long for a different time, and the diner is a doorway to that time, but for someone who longs for a different era the diner is a timecapsule. I appreciate all this pictures of these diners and the information that has been put, i also saw the reference to the early wagon horse drawn lunchwagons such as the white owl lunch wagon they have at henry ford museum, that henry ford himself had lunch from on more that one occasion. Some dear friends opened up a diner restraunt in our downtown, in a old restraunt from the 1950s , they put in black and white tiles, and put in comfy booths, and filled it with memories , and now play fifites music and put on good food and you know for a place all the nay sayers told us couldnt fly, its straightened and flew right. Its the only place on the main drag , that isnt owned by greeks and its doing well and a lot of seniors eat there, no doubt reliving their teenage years . thank you for all the info. mikeh

 

[cookie]

Theme song from the film "The Fedora Lounge"

"but as a person that is so sentimental as to cry during movies such as the majestic, and the forever young. I have too keep my self from crying as i sit alone in that diner with forties music playing. I have always felt that i didnt belong in this time and long for a different time"