Golden Pigeon Diner (Bridgeton)

October 6, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: beets, bridgeton, coffee, Diner, food, new jersey, pork chops, review, salad 2 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I finally made it to the Golden Pigeon Diner in Bridgeton, NJ. Why finally? I’ve been excited to make the Golden Pigeon work because of the name. Except for the “Time to Eat” diner, The Golden Pigeon has one of the coolest names.

Atmosphere: B
The Golden Pigeon is typical of a New Jersey Diner. The outside is a mixture of both cobblestone and metallic in the front. There is a huge sign that says “diner” and fresh baking on premises. The promise of fresh baking is enough to lure anyone in.

Coffee: C
The coffee was good. However, they were out of whipped cream! A diner with fresh baking and no whipped cream? Oh well, it’s only happened a few times. I don’t always get coffee with whipped cream, and I do prefer it.

Food: A
The Golden Pigeon has everything you can imagine in a diner. There are plenty of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. I’ll warn you that the portions are huge. I decided to order the Pork Chop special, and it did not disappoint.

I’ve never had anything like it! It started off with the choice of salads, and I chose a Greek which came with anchovies (off to a good start).

I also got fresh cheese bread which was amazing. If you have never had cheese bread, it’s bread baked with cheese in the center.

My three pork chops came with sautéed onions and on top of hashbrowns as well as french fries. It was unique, ultra filling, and I have no complaints. I wasn’t expecting the french fries, so it was definitely a filling addition.

For my side, I chose beets.I’m happy I did because I knew it would be a lot of food and I like good beets.

Service: A
The server was nice. I think he might have also been the manager, but he was friendly, chatted often, and made sure I had plenty of refills and that my food came out quickly.

Cost: $

For my entire meal and coffee, it was $15.

Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back?
I enjoyed the Golden Pigeon a lot, and it’s one of my top diners in the area. I’ll be back if it works out.

Atmosphere: B
Coffee: C
Food: A
Service: A
Cost: $8-20
Overall: B

You Can See all 212 Diners Here.

Questions for you:
Do you like pork chops?
What is one of your favorite restaurant names?

Miss Portland Diner (Portland, ME)

September 16, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, coffee, Diner, food, French Toast, maine, restaurant, review 2 Comments

On the drive to Maine, we decided to stop in Portland for lunch. A google search yielded the Miss Portland Diner in Portland.

Atmosphere: A
When we arrived for lunch, it was packed! Packed means, good right? It was about a 15-minute wait which wasn’t a big deal.

The diner itself is everything you picture a neologistic diner to be. It’s in a shiny train car, with several booths, and tables. There is also outdoor seating which we were lucky enough to get.

Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed hot and fresh. I could have used a few more refills, but they were busy. The diner mug itself was cute. It was a bright yellow, logo mug. It was so cute, I ended up buying one.

Food: A
The Miss Portland Diner is open for breakfast and lunch, so they serve breakfast and lunch. There aren’t any dinner specialties but there are the typical breakfast options in a diner. I decided to order French toast and eggs. I guess I’ve been in a French toast mood lately.

The French toast was some of the best I’ve had. It was thick but still soft. Maybe it was the Northeast maple syrup adding bonus flavor. Anyway, it was great, and I have no complaints.

Service: B
The waitress was friendly and nice. She took our orders and came back when she could. It was obvious the place was packed, and she was moving from table to table. Something interesting that I’ve never seen is the servers telling people there was a 10 minute backup in the kitchen to take orders! Not that that is a big deal, I’ve just never seen it before.

Cost: $
For my French toast, coffee, and a coffee mug, the cost was $21. The coffee mug itself was only $10.

Overall Thoughts/Summary:
I liked Miss Portland Diner, and if I’m in the area again, I would definitely go back!

Summary:
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: A
Food: A
Service: B
Cost: $8-14
Overall: A

You Can See All Diner Reviews Here.

Questions for you:
Have you ever bought restaurant merchandise?
What is the longest you’ve waited for food?

Franklin Park Diner (Kendall Park)

April 28, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: coffee, Diner, food, greek, gyro, new jersey, review 3 Comments

Recently I went to the Franklin Park Diner in Kendall Park, NJ. I’ve wanted to go for a few months now, but it never works out. When I found myself in central Jersey a few weeks ago, it seemed like the perfect time.

Atmosphere: B
The Franklin Park Diner is small but cute. It has an exterior sign marked: diner. The inside is open, and you can see the entire kitchen from the booths and tables. There aren’t many diners like that anymore, so I appreciate it!

Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed hot and fresh each time, and I have no complaints.

Food: A
The Franklin Park Diner has most anything you could picture in a diner. There are plenty of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. There were several dinner specials, but nothing spoke to me. I decided to order a simple beef gyro. It came with french fries, and a small side greek salad. I liked the beef gyro, and I have no complaints.

Service: A
The waitress was very attentive, funny, and friendly. My food also came out in a blink of an eye. I couldn’t have asked for better dinner service.

Price:
For my gyro and coffee, the cost was $10 which is hard to beat.

Overall thoughts/Would I Come Back?
I liked the Franklin Park Diner and would definitely come back. I enjoyed how open the entire diner is and the ability to watch your food being made.

Atmosphere: B
Coffee: A
Food: A
Service: A
Price: $8-12
Overall: A

You can see all 182 Diner Reviews here.

Questions for you: Have you ever been to a restaurant you can watch the food being made?

Talk of the Towne Diner

April 14, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: coffee, Diner, food, new jersey, restaurant 1 Comment

After the Adrenaline 5k, I headed down to Virginia. I knew I needed to get food for the drive and took it as the perfect chance to further my dinering.

I found a diner in Salem County, the “Talk of the Towne Diner.” When I stopped around lunchtime on a Saturday, it wasn’t too crowded, and I was quickly seated. Since I had just raced, I was hungry.

Atmosphere: B
The Talk of the Towne looks like many South Jersey Diners with a cobblestone exterior and multiple rooms. Inside there are plenty of booths, tables, and a full-length bar.

There was also a full salad bar as well as a “hot foods breakfast bar” which looked like it might be for a catering event or party.

Coffee: A
The Talk of the Towne Diner served the local Lacas coffee which is one of my favorite coffees. The waitress brought plenty of refills, and I had no complaints. It was one of the better coffees I have had in a while.

Food: A
The Talke of the Town has everything a diner usually has. There are plenty of breakfast options, as well as a full salad bar, lunch, and dinner options. There aren’t too many unique options at the Talk of the Town Diner, but there also isn’t anything it’s missing either.

I opted for one of their skillets which came with eggs, potatoes, sausage, and vegetables. When the skillet came out, it was sizzling and hot, it actually reminded me of something I would get a Mexican restaurant.

I also decided to get a cinnamon bun which was great.

The Talk of the Towne was definitely one of the most surprising diners, food wise. It was much better than I anticipated and I was very pleased.

Service: A
The waitress was extremely friendly, and the food came out within 15 minutes. To be honest, I could not have asked for a more pleasant experience.

Cost:
For more meal, cinnamon bun, and coffee, the cost was $20.

Overall thoughts/would I come back:
I liked the Talk of the Towne Diner and would go back again. It’s a great stop if you are near the Delaware Memorial Bridge and need a quick bite to eat or break from the roads.

Atmosphere: A
Coffee: A
Food: A
Service: A
Cost: $8-12
Overall: A

See all diner reviews here.

Questions for you:
What is your favorite post-race food?
Do you like cinnamon buns? Where is your favorite?

Westampton Family Diner

February 10, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, coffee, diners, eggs, food, restaurant, review, steak 1 Comment

I was back in Burlington County and was able to cross another diner off my checklist. Longer time readers might know, but I used to live in Burlington. Then we decided to move east towards Philadelphia. The Westampton Family Diner was one of the last diners to cross off my Burlington Diner “list”…for now.

Atmosphere: A
I wasn’t the diner to be so big. It was a big restaurant building with plenty of booths, a full-length bar, and a dessert case. For some reason, I had pictured it to be much smaller.

Coffee: B
The waitress brewed hot coffee, and it was good. There was nothing unusual or unique about it, but it tasted good.

Food: A
The Westampton Diner has a lot of choices, and the menu is massive. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it to have that many choices, and I had no idea what I wanted. I’ve been back a couple of times since and my favorite was the steak and eggs. My brother had ordered it the first time we went, and it looked good, so I decided to give it a shot the second time, and I’m happy I did.

The portion size is huge. The steak itself is roughly a pound, and with the over-easy eggs, it’s definitely a lot. It also came with hashbrown and toast. I had run about 10 miles in the morning and was still full.

Service: A
Both times I’ve been, the service at the Westampton Diner was fast. The waitress refilled our drinks quickly, and the food came out quickly. On top of that, the waitress was extremely friendly always had a story to tell us when she returned to our table.

Cost: $
For the steak and eggs, and coffee, the cost was $15. The portion size was massive.

Overall Summary/Would I Come Back?
I liked the Westampton Diner, and I’ll be back again. It’s a fast, inexpensive diner. It’s one of my favorite in that area!

Atmosphere: B
Coffee: B
Food: A
Service: A
Cost: $7-13
Overall: B

Nearby Diners I’ve been: Vincentown, Route 38, and Pandora

You can see all 168 diners here.

Questions for you:
Have you moved recently?
How do you like your eggs cooked?

Park Wayne Diner (Wayne)

August 5, 2017 By Hollie in Diners Tags: coffee, Diner, food, grits, new jersey, omelet, restaurant, review 3 Comments

A few weeks ago, I was up north and decided to go to the Park Wayne Diner. This isn’t to be confused with the Wayne Hills Diner which I went to last year. Funny enough, this is the only diner in that area (including a personal favorite: Pompton Queen), that we didn’t fly too. It was weird to drive through because it felt like such a long flight.

Atmosphere: A
You couldn’t ask for a more stereotypical New Jersey Diner. It has a big, metallic, shiny exterior and the interior is filled with multiple red tables and booths. Out of the diners I’ve been too, this definitely has one of the most stereotypical diner atmospheres.

Service: B
For a weekend morning, it wasn’t as busy as I had anticipated. That was okay by me! The waitress didn’t bring us a lot of refills, and it felt as though they might be understaffed for the day. She was friendly and gave us several recommendations which I can always appreciate. It wasn’t bad service, but they needed more servers.

Coffee: B
The coffee was brewed hot every time, but it was nothing to write home about. The cups were also a bit smaller than I wanted. It wasn’t bad but it didn’t stand out either.

Food: B
The menu at the Park Wayne Diner is huge. They have a dozen pages. Since they are open 24-7, they serve anything anytime. Those are my favorite types of diners, but it’s not as common as it used to be. Believe it or not, 24-7 diners are becoming harder to find.

I decided to order the arugula, spinach, and cheese omelet with a side of grits. It was one of the biggest omelets I’ve ever had, plus it was stuffed filled to the brim.

The grits, however, were boring and bland. Since it’s rare to find grits in the Northeast, I was hoping they would be more interesting, but they tasted like they came from a box. Yes, I realize that I’m not in the South but there are plenty of restaurants that serve excellent foreign cuisine, and I don’t live there either.

Cost: $
For the omelet, grits, and coffee the cost was $12 which wasn’t expensive for the portion size.

Overall thoughts:
You won’t find a more stereotypical NJ Diner then the Park Wayne Diner. Overall, I enjoyed my experience there and will definitely be back next time we go hiking up that route.

Summary:
Atmosphere: A
Service: B
Coffee: B
Food: B
Cost: $8-15
Overall: B

Closeby Diners I’ve reviewed:

Pompton Queen (one of my top 5 favorite NJ diners!) and Wayne Hills
Also relevant: Flying to Pompton Plains

Questions for you:
What’s your favorite type of omelet?
Where can I find southern style grits in NJ or Philadelphia?

Ellen’s Stardust Diner

June 18, 2017 By Hollie in Diners Tags: broadway, coffee, Diner, food, new york city, restuarant, review 1 Comment

When asking around, I heard Ellen’s Stardust Diner was a must stop in New York City. It’s located on Broadway, and the waiters and waitresses take turns singing during the entire day.

So instead of background music, you have a show the whole time. It’s more of an experience versus high-quality diner food.

Atmosphere: B
Ellen’s Stardust Diner is everything you would want in a diner. The outside is a large, shiny metallic building while the inside has multiple booths and tables.

While New York is extremely crowded, the diner sits you very close to people. If you are claustrophobic, it’s probably not the diner for you. It’s so close, the waitress must physically pull the table out so you can sit down without putting your butt on someone else’s table.

Service: B
The service at Ellen’s Stardust Diner is interesting. All of the servers sing and perform throughout their shift.

You might have to wait a few minutes as a server is performing. All of the servers were extremely talented, and there was never a dull moment. Many leave and go on to sing at Broadway.

As far as service goes, it’s hard because you know the waiters are busy performing but that also leaves large gaps of time that you might want a refill or are waiting for your food. Our waiter was actually on break when we arrived, and he didn’t take our orders for at least 15 minutes.

Coffee: B

The coffee is good. There isn’t anything unique about it, but it’s not bad coffee either. I do wish we had more refills, but the staff was busy performing. There was plenty of whipped cream though.

Food: B
Ellen’s Stardust Diner has many breakfast options as well several dinner options. They don’t serve everything all day, so if you are looking for breakfast, it’s important you go at the appropriate time.

We went to lunch, and I decided to order a turkey wrap. The wrap itself was great and had a lot of turkey. It was definitely filled up.

The wrap also came with waffle fries which, to be honest were some of the best waffle fries I’ve had. It was a solid diner meal.

Cost: $$$
For the wrap and coffee, the cost was $22, and that’s one of the cheapest options there! It’s easy to spend upwards of $30 on a single meal. At Ellen’s Stardust Diner, you’re also paying for a show, so it’s important to keep that in mind.

Overall Thoughts/Summary:
I liked Ellen’s Stardust Diner, and it was a great and unique spot in NYC. I would recommend it. Just keep in mind it’s definitely more expensive, and you might wait over an hour to be seated.

Atmosphere: A
Service: B
Coffee: B
Food: B
Cost: $$$
Overall: B

Questions for you:
Have you ever seen a Broadway show? Have you ever been to a restaurant that includes a show?

FueledByLOLZ

Running and Laughing through the Garden State

Tag Archives: coffee

Golden Pigeon Diner (Bridgeton)

Miss Portland Diner (Portland, ME)

Franklin Park Diner (Kendall Park)

Talk of the Towne Diner

Westampton Family Diner

Park Wayne Diner (Wayne)

Ellen’s Stardust Diner

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