Directory of Diners: New York

If you would like to add a comment, please feel free to mail me anytime, day or night. As always, I greatly appreciate any reviews that you may wish to write.

Back to the regional listing.


New York State

See also New York City

Avoca Diner
Off Rt. 17, West of Ithaca. At Bath get on 390N(going toward Rochester) and it's right around the first exit or so.

Great Tile floor and good stainless. Grilled Rasberry toast is great!(Though whether that last is a general statement or has specific applicability, I cannot say, ed.) There is a caboose attached to the diner at one end.

Big M TruckStop
Outside Albany, off exit 23 on the New York Thruway. Charming little spot, across the street from the Miss Glenmont Diner (yet to be reviewed), the matron let us take one of the pages from the Chicks In Bikinis And Trucks calendar hanging on the wall. This is a genuine truck stop, complete with a place to crash and a video game room. Good for irony. Not so good for food. Good as a high school senior. Under new management, thinks Josh.

Brocton Diner (aka Green Arch Restaurant)
41 W. Main St., Brocton.
1/11/98: The Brocton Diner is located on US20 in Brocton, NY; thats about 50 miles west of Buffalo. Locals have been frequenting this establishment since 1931. The Diner through the years has gone through some restoration, but the atmosphere is pure Diner, including the original dining car, still visable, the curved ceiling, and the front cooking area is still used to this day. The Name was changed to the Green Arch Restaurant from the Brocton Diner in the early 70's, most likely to improve business, but locals know it as the Brocton Diner. The Diner seems to be very busy, it may be the homemade food and desserts. In this part of NY Friday fish frys are served just about everywhere and the Brocton Diner is known to have one of the best, at dinner hour its standing room only, you get a huge peice of deep fried fish choice of potato, cole slaw and bread, the price $5.25. The owners today have been operating the diner for about 18 years, it truly is a family operation and the owners are a delight to talk to. Cole Slaw: A-. -- Review by Brumagin's.

Gran(d) Prix Diner
Round Lake, NY Exit 11 off on the Northway (that's I-87). About the name: everything inside (menus, waitress, etc.) says Gran Prix. The sign out front says Grand Prix. The waitress I asked about it said it was named for "some race", but when the new owners put up a new outside sign they changed Gran to Grand since they didn't understand French. Hmmm... The decor of this establishment of indeterminate name' is reminiscent of a 70's den - complete with faux wood panel walls and a smattering of bad horse racing memorabilia (it's only about 15 minutes from Saratoga Race Track). There's a gift shop overflowing with stuffed things and Christmas lights year-round in the parking lot. The grilled cheese is great, but be sure to ask for your burger done at least "medium-well" unless you want it to moo. The Gran(d) Prix has often been described (at least by my friends) as "cheap as shit", but if you're really pressed for cash, keep in mind that there is always a lovely selection of jelly on the table, right there for the taking. Stay away from the pickles ("those were ass") and plan to wait a while if you order the strawberry shortcake - this particular menu item tends to take about seven times as long to appear as anything else. It's really deserted around 4 am and a terrific place to stop after an evening of carousing in downtown Saratoga. If you stop in, be sure to ask Betsy the waitress about her aunt with the amputated leg (fascinating story) and keep in mind that, in the immortal words of My Friend Doug, "This particular establishment wears many hats."-Review by Jane Calvin to whom I send my most heartfelt apologies for not printing this sooner. My dog was deathly ill, and I had contracted gangrene, and so on. The point is that the gang in Albany has done a fine job here and all future submissions should only aspire to be 1/2 this good. Love from Dave.

Highland Park Diner
960 Clinton Ave. S, Rochester.
One of only two remaining Orleans diners. Roadsider explained this to me:"Orleans was a diner builder in upstate New York who only built 4 diners. Of that 4, only the HP exists in original condition, the other extant Orleans was severely remodeled. The other two cannot be accounted for." Apparently it is famous for its apple pie, though I can only assume it is for positive reasons.

Moriches Bay Diner & Restaurant
62 Montauk Highway. Moriches. (516) 878-6827. Well folks, all there is to say about the MBDR is that it made a believer out of this Yankee. The food is plentiful, well done, and CHEAP! I would recommend THE LUMBERJACK, if you are in the mood for breakfast: 2 eggs, 4 pancakes (the best anywhere), 3 pieces of bacon, a big piece of ham, and a sausage for about $6. (Plus open heart surgery at no extra cost., ed) Good deal. The service was very helpful, while not crossing that oh-so-fine line to annoying. I would highly recommend it. -- Review by Scott "coyote" Meninger , a damn fine human being, and one of the most voracious carnivores this side of the Rockies.

Pleasantville Colonial Diner
Pleasantville, 10 Memorial Plaza. (Next to the Post Office). Completely generic. Good for fries and gravy, or so I am told. However, like many a good diner, the bastards put a minimum on to discourage the youngins. Service is pretty good. Kind of Smokey (the diner, I imagine, not the service). Oh, and it is decorated in the non-cheesy motif.

Ramapo Forum Diner
Exit 14B of 287, Suffern on 210 Route 59. Pink and white are two colors which immediately jump to mind, though for Heitz, the more sensitive of the two of us, the description "soft pastels" seemed more appropriate. There is a bar, as well as a wide assortment of really yummy looking pastries and cakes. The corn muffins are good, though the cole slaw is excellent (A). There is extensive menu filled with truly unremarkable items. The food, overall, was pretty good, but a little on the pricy side for a diner, which prompted the question of what a diner is exactly. I'll endeavor to answer that at some point, but not now. It called itself a diner, and is open from 6-2 (24 hours on weekends), so that suffices. One final note: The pickles are terrible.

Round Tuit Restaurant
Rt 22., Amenia. Four weeks on the road had grown thistles on my tongue, but the Round Tuit plucked them out and rubbed the weariness and tire treads off of my back as well. The eggs were fluffy, the bacon greaseless, the milkshakes unimaginable and incommensurable. We asked the owner-waiter-cook, a relaxed, funny, and pleasant man, why the funny name. "I'd always wanted to own a restaurant," he said. Confused, we prodded. "I thought it was about time I got round to it," he said. Go in the late morning and sit in the back where the sun comes in. (Amenia is near Poughkeepsie.) (First person references refer to Josh Kamensky.)

Skyliner Diner
One Manhatten Square (Strong Museum), Rochester.
4/20/98: My family and I visited this diner (almost 2 hours from home) for two reasons. I love diners and, the main reason, because this diner was originally called the Mountain Top Diner and was located a few minutes north of Williamsport, Pennsylvania (where I currently live).

I must first say that I was impressed with the restoration of this 1956 Fodero Diner. You see, in 1992, due to the new construction of Route 15 in Pennsylvania, the owners auctioned this wonderful place off. In November of 1997, the Strong Museum of Rochester, NY opened the diner under the new name. However, with all my sentimentality aside, like trying to "go home again" I was let down. Don't get me wrong, the food was great. The service is what left a lot to be desired.

When we arrived, we were seated promptly, our orders taken and then sat for almost an hour before being served, with little if any explaination from our server. She told us that they were very busy. We sat and watched while three other groups came (after us), were served and left and our food still hadn't arrived. When she finally served our food, we never saw her again. At the end of our meal (finally) the manager explained that it was our server's first day alone and he apologized. I bit my tongue and moved onto the gift shop, where I was shot down again. Apparently, the museum was remodeling their gift shop and had moved some of the contents into the lobby area and the rest was put into storage until the remodeling was complete. So, other than a few t-shirts, none of the diner memorabilia was on display for sale. Not even a coffee mug! I must say that although I did get some great pictures of the diner, the trip itself wa s a big let down. In retrospect, I should have looked up the Highland Park Diner!

As a final note, I would like to say that I am planning (never say die!) yet another trip north to the Skyliner sometime later this year to give them a second c hance. I'll let you know...-- Review by Rosie

State Street Diner
West State Street. Ithaca. Pretty good food. Open 24-7, and all that, and according to Ryu, has extraordinary coffee. No jukebox, however, which in my mind, is a big minus. They do have perhaps the coolest seats that I have ever seen.

New York City

Blue Bird Diner
4914 Glenwood Road, Brooklyn
11/24/98: Back to the old neighborhood. This Diner has been here since 1950 an old stainless steel goodie. Still open 24 hours. Home made French Fries and home made Hambergers plus the full Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner menu. At the triangle of Utica Avenue, Kings Highway and Glenwood Road. A Great Survivor over the years. -- Review by Anthony and Shelly Psaris

Cafe Viand
86th and 2nd. Open 24 hours (of course). Many a drunken evening has ended here for young Upper East Side residents. The menu is large and complete. The service can be hurried during heavy hours, such as Sunday lunch, but is quite friendly and cordial at more reasonable hours such as 3:30 Saturday morning. All waitstaff appear in dapper black vests. Southerners should beware not to talk too slowly, because the waiters literally cannot understand slow speech. Every dish is good and plentiful, and the water is definitely cold (for drinkers out there). Coffee is standard fare, though specialty coffees, such as Cafe Ole, draw "yummy"'s from recipients. The onion rings are sure to please, but can cause bleeding from the palette if not eaten carefully (according to Tina). The Italian dishes are nice, if monumental in helping, with nice garlic bread on the side. The omelettes suffer an occasional switch from American cheese to Velveeta, so wary customers might inquire; although doing so would probably cause ejection. The grilled cheese is worth a try, also. Most sandwiches qualify as tasty, but the burger is a sure winner. The decor is plainish, but it works, because two whole walls are picture-windows, which open a view onto the colorful New York street corner. With some experience on the part of the customer, it's an A- place, but always B+. The most memorable feature may be the way-cool pink and green neon sign.- Review by Wesley Colley (with helpful comments from Tina, Greer and Stevie)

Cosmic Coffee Shop
58th and Broadway My friend Ashley and I were en route between a taping of Good Morning America and her hotel. She is Travis Tritt's publicist, and Travis had just played on the show, so we were hanging around, looking important. Anyway, despite having some of Julia Childs' 85th birthday cake, we were hungry, so we stopped at the Cosmic Coffee Shop, which is very visible at the corner of 58th and Broadway, just off Columbus Circle. The decor is pleasant and inviting, with red and yellow neon highlights inside, and your basic diner feel otherwise. There is a host of autographed pictures of film stars on the walls, and some plants. We were seated quickly by a huffing waiter, who was nice, but his huffing and general running around all the time made us feel rushed, even though he was very patient when standing still.

When I arrived at the table, I noted that my vinyl seat had a patch, with electrical tape, notable mainly because I was wearing shorts. When the panting man with the mustache returned, we both ordered the number three, but I got bacon, not sausage, like Ashley, and was I ever glad, because the bacon was exquisite, and bacon doesn't often become exquisite. It was lean, salty with just a hint of black pepper, very yummy. My scrambled eggs were not quite done, but became so within a couple of minutes. The eggs were unremarkable, but eggs is eggs, if ya know what I mean. The hash browns were the chunky kind, not the shredded kind, which I prefer, but were passable. They were probably the weakest part of the meal. The orange juice was very good, as was the tea (I elected tea over coffee). The tea was actually surprisingly good, but the bag had no brand, so I couldn't tell what kind it was. Ashley reported that the Coke was cold and refreshing, and went as far to say that the sausage links were pretty good (not exquisite, like my bacon). We both had plain white toast, which was perhaps lighter than normal, but that's the way I like it. I was unable to ascertain the diner's "Cosmic" nature, but had a nice diner experience, which could be improved most directly having the help run some conditioning drills. -- Review by Wes "Iron Man" Colley

Ashley responds: I don't recall the Coke being "cold and refreshing." And the sausage was less than satisfactory, it had cooked way too long.

Sage Diner
80-30 Queens Blvd, Queens.
1/3/98: I happened to swing by this place with Rebecca Bernstein (not to be confused with Rebecca Firestone, our fun-loving Thai correspondent) one late Sunday evening after hanging out at Vanessa's place in Queens and subsequently proceeding to get lost. Though we only sampled a few of the items, I think I can say with perfect honesty that we got a feel for the place.

Whether it was the intimidating fellow stroking his violin-case at the counter, the large, packed pastry case full of goodies, or the jukeboxes at the table, the Sage has a genuine diner feel. The menu was spacious (about 4 doubles sided pages written in diner font), and the prices, while not outstanding, were perfectly fine by New York standards. It was open 24 hours, and in the wee hours of the morning (well, not that wee, but I'm not as young as I used to be), the place is packed with the typical diner-going types.

Rebecca stuck with the fries, which she seemed to enjoy, but for some reason, she was somewhat nervous about her use of ketchup. I assured her that everyone did it, but that seemed to do little to assuage her fears. I got an iced tea (rank, but I wasn't charged for it), a grilled cheese sandwich (tasty, but with no tomato soup option on the menu, somehow lonely), and rice pudding -- grainlicious! The service was non-intrusive, if slow, and the atmosphere was relaxed. Not a must-visit, but a pleasant diner-rompage all around.

Tick Tock Diner
34th St and 8th Ave
1/23/98: Scott and I stopped by this place on one miserably rainy Friday, and it turned out to be the best decision that we made all day, if only by default. Basically, this place is not so much a diner as a diner-themed restaurant. Sure, there is chrome throughout, and it is open 24 hours, but there are no jukeboxes at the tables, the rotating pastry case is virtually barren, and the prices are far above what one would hope for in a true diner.

I ordered the Chicken Mexicana, which was good, but apparently, whoever is in charge of putting jalapeno peppers in things is a bit out of control. The fries were good, and the cole slaw was tasty, if a bit on the wet side, and moreover, was decidedly lacking in carrots (I gave it a B). Scott got the pork chops. He was disappointed in that they weren't breaded or anything, and was concerned that they actually had to ask him if he wanted applesauce.

All in all, not exactly a reason for heading into the big apple.

Tom's Diner
112th St and Broadway. This is the place which was immortalized first by the song by Suzanne Vega and later by its use on "Seinfeld" (just the outside, however). Maggie had eschewed going to Tom's for some time, citing ornery service, non 24 hour status (24 hours Thurs-Sat, open 'till 1:30 the rest of the week), preferring instead to go to the college inn, which was open 24 hours, and which, moreover, was far friendlier. It was less crowded, and had better coffee. It was closed down by Columbia because they're building a bank on that site.

The decor in Tom's is everything you could hope for in a diner. There are speckled tiles as far as the eye can see, a counter, a giant mirror on the opposing wall. Looking through the menu, the prices weren't bad, especially by New York standards. One might hope that the menu (which was fairly lengthy) would be loaded up with pastries and desserts of all stripe. Instead, there were a couple of pies, a cake or two, and that was about it. So, I opted for a corn muffin (good, if pre-packaged), and some iced tea (tasty, and not the least bit spoilt). The service was okay, though I think it was the owner who waited on us; they're Greek, by the way, for those of you who keep track of these things. I also ordered some cole slaw, and while the portions were enormous, it seems a waste of raw material, as I think I'm being generous in giving it a 'C'.

All in all, it's a beautiful piece of diner architecture, but it's not filled with the tasty sort of things that one might hope for. I would recommend going there exactly once, though perhaps I was unlucky.


Back to the regional listing.