FueledByLOLZ

Fast Break Diner (Toms River)

Recently I went to the Fast Break Diner in Toms River with Cyd of New Jersey Isn’t Boring. We have been to around 20 diners together, and it’s becoming increasingly more challenging to find diners neither of us has been too.

As many long-time followers know, in a distant life I used to live much closer to Toms River. My regret is not going to more shore diners. Now it’s about 75 minutes to get out there.

We met at the Fast Break Diner around 11 am on a weekday, and it was crowded. When we asked the host about it, they said it actually wasn’t as crowded as usual.

Atmosphere: A
The atmosphere of the Fast Break Diner is more intriguing than anything. The outside is one large open window, and you can see everything inside. The inside is a bright seashore blue. It reminds me a lot of the Papermoon Diner in Baltimore. There are a lot of odds and ends trinkets around, but it fits the atmosphere.

Service: A
Our waiter was great. He refilled our beverages, and our food was out within minutes. Definitely one of the better services I’ve had at a diner.

Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed hot every time, and the waiter gave me a giant cup of whipped cream, so it’s hard to argue with that.

Food: B
The menu at the Fast Break Diner is more limited than most diners. They have a few pancakes, omelets, sandwiches, and a few salads. There wasn’t a lot of unique or exciting options minus the fried cheddar cheese balls. Cyd and I opted to split them which we quickly realized we ordered a lot of food.

At the time, I’m not exactly sure what I was craving. We went at off time, so they were also out of a lot more food items including pumpkin pancakes. Nothing on the menu spoke to me, so I decided to order a roasted red pepper and artichoke omelet and an Indian summer salad.

I ended up taking most of the omelet home. It was great and had a lot of artichokes, roasted red pepper, as well as melted cheese. It wasn’t greasy and one of the better diner omelets I’ve had.

I’ve never had an “Indian Summer Salad,” but it had lettuce, dried cranberries, pears, walnuts, and feta cheese. It was a good diner salad, and I’ve had much worse. Despite ordering a bit of everything, I was happy with my choice.

In all, my food was good, but I do wish they had a few more options.

Cost: $
For my salad, omelet, coffee and the fried cheese balls, the cost was $20 which isn’t bad considering I had almost an entire second meal.

Overall Summary/Would I come back?

I liked the Fast Break Diner and would go back. I do wish the menu was bigger or had more of the specials in stock but other than that, I have no complaints.

Overall:
Atmosphere: A
Service: A
Coffee: A
Food: B
Price: $6-12
Overall: A

Closeby Diners I’ve Been: New Crystal Diner, Four Seasons Diner

Questions for you:
What’s your favorite type of omelet?

The Diner (Jamesburg)

With a name like “The Diner,” it must be good right?

A few weeks ago, my good friend Christine and I met at “The Diner” in Jamesburg. It just so happened to be Christine’s birthday too!

Atmosphere: A
The Diner is very different than any other NJ diner I’ve been too. It’s located on the main street of Jamesburg, and you feel as though you’re entering grandmas kitchen. It even has a front door resembling a house. The inside is all hardwood floors with wooden chairs and tables. While it’s not a stereotypical, diner, it’s nice, and I appreciated it.

Service: B
Our waitress was friendly. However, it took her a while to come back to our table for refills and a couple of requests.

Coffee: B
The coffee was good. There was nothing unique about it, but it was decent diner coffee.

Food: A
The diner has most everything you want in a diner. They have plenty of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They even have fajitas. I did, notice, they were missing a large selection of seafood (which is usually common in diners).

There was also a handwritten page specials. When I saw a Greek Salad with soup and a dessert for $11.50, I knew I couldn’t beat that price. Originally I wanted something else that would have cost $20+.

When the waitress mentioned split pea soup, I knew it was the soup for me. Split pea soup is one of my favorite soups (next to lentil), and when it’s offered, I take advantage. The soup was good, and I have no complaints.

Both Christine and I ordered the same Greek Salad and were pleasantly surprised by the size. Normally on the specials menu, meals are smaller, but the salad was one of the bigger ones I’ve had. Plus it had both chicken and sardines. The salad was one of the better Greek diner salads I’ve had. Special or not, the salad was good and one of the cheapest diner salads I’ve had to date. It is definitely hard to beat. Plus the garlic bread was delicious. Typically greek salads come with pita, and while I missed I like pita bread, the garlic bread was a great substitute.

Dessert: A
For dessert, I opted for bread pudding and I must say it’s in the top diner bread puddings I’ve had too.

It wasn’t extremely mushy or soggy and still had the texture of bread. I was surprised by that too, especially, for it on the specials menu.

Cost: $
For my meals and coffee, it was $13. That was extremely cheap for the amount of food I got.

Overall Thoughts/Would I come back?
I really enjoyed The Diner, the food, price, and atmosphere is great. I would go back.

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

Questions for you:
Do you like sardines?
What is your favorite soup?

Cap City Fine Diner (Columbus, OH)

After running the Air Force Half Marathon, my husband and I stopped at the Cap City Fine Diner in Columbus, Ohio. I had seen they had the best dessert, and that’s all I wanted after my longest race and run. Plus, traveling means a new diner in a different state right?

Atmosphere: A

The Cap City Fine Diner has three locations, and we stopped at the newest in Dublin. It’s attached at the bottom of high-rises, so it’s not the stereotypical, big metallic diner. However, the inside is shiny, metallic and everything you could want in a diner.

Service: A

The waitress was one of the best we’ve had in a while. She came to our table, refilled beverages, and was just extremely friendly. She was in the top 5% of waitresses I’ve ever had the pleasure of having.

Coffee: C

The coffee, however, wasn’t the greatest. It wasn’t as hot as I hoped (lukewarm coffee isn’t good) and there were grounds in a couple of the refills. It wasn’t the worst but having grounds in the coffee is a turnoff. (Sorry, no photo)

Food: B

There are plenty of menu options at the Cap City Fine Diner. The menu isn’t overwhelming, but they have the standard, breakfast, lunch and dinner options plus a few unique ones.

We ordered the smoked salmon spread to split. It came with salmon spread (almost like a cream cheese), hard bagel chips, a deviled egg, and pickles. The salmon spread had huge chunks of salmon which I appreciated.

I decided to order the fish and chips, and it was one of the better fish and chips I’ve had lately. It wasn’t the best, but it was good. The fish itself was cooked well with a crispy outside. Personally, I like a lot of crunch without being burnt. The French fries tasted good, they weren’t overcooked or soggy.

Dessert: A

I went a crazy and ordered both a milkshake at the beginning of the meal and my husband and I split the carrot cake.

The milkshake was good. It was thick, and she brought the extra in a mug to continue to refill. It had a banana, caramel and vanilla ice cream.

My husband wanted to try the carrot cake. Since he ran a marathon, he got to choose. While carrot cake is not my first pick, I do like it. This was one of the best carrot cakes I’ve ever had.

The frosting was tangy, and the cake had plenty of real carrots and raisins cooked in. The cake made me recent carrot cake convert!

Price: $

For the appetizer, coffee, milkshake, entree, and cake the cost was $34. Considering the amount of food as well as the quality, of what I ordered, it wasn’t pricey at all.

Overall summary/Would I come Back:

I enjoyed the Cap City Fine Diner. Next time, I probably wouldn’t order the coffee but other than that I enjoyed it and will probably go back every year I run the Air Force Half.

I haven’t been to any diners closeby, but it does remind me a lot of the Tenafly Diner in Tenafly, NJ.

Questions for you:

What is your favorite type of cake?

What do you crave after a hard workout or race?

Eagle Diner (Clementon)

While browsing through my local paper, I noticed coupons for the Eagle Diner. It’s a south jersey local diner I hadn’t been or heard of before which is actually shocking!

Since going with Amelia and Danielle, I have actually been a second time since I keep getting coupons in the mail and it’s close to my chiropractor. Both times have been great and it’s one I’ll keep going back too.

Atmosphere: A
The atmosphere of the Eagle Diner is a big metallic, shiny diner. You can’t get more picture perfect NJ diner if you tried. The inside has all of the booths, tables, and full-length bars. I believe this diner is relatively new, so it’s also quiet (something I can’t say I mind).

Coffee: A
The Eagle Diner serves local Lacas diner which I’m a fan of. The waitress brought multiple refills and even plenty of whipped cream.

Service: A
The waitress as the Eagle Diner was friendly and gave plenty of recommendations. She was one of best waitresses I’ve had in my diner quest.

Food: B
After seeing the omelets the first time, I decided to order an omelet the second time. I settled upon the Mexican Omelet since it sounded good. It had cheddar cheese, X. I ordered rye toast, and it came with home fries.

The Omelet was good, it wasn’t the best Omelet I’ve had, but it wasn’t bad either. It was a typical diner Omelet and could have used a couple more fillings.

The home fries were good, and I preferred the crunchy and slightly burnt ones over the soggy. It’s hard to mess up toast, and the rye was good too. Although marbled rye is always the best.

Price: $
For my coffee and omelet, the cost was $10 which is cheaper than most diner meals I get.

Summary/Overall Thoughts:
I like the Eagle Diner and think it’s a hidden gem in South Jersey. I’ll definitely be back a third and fourth time…maybe even fifth. 😉

Atmosphere: A
Service: A
Coffee: A
Food: B
Price: $
Overall: A
Nearby Diners I’ve been: Lamp Post Diner, Meadows Diner, Stratford Diner, Starview Diner

Questions for you:
What is your favorite omelet?
What is your favorite toast?

Galloway Diner

On August 21st, Cyd of New Jersey Isn’t Boring, and myself went to the Galloway Diner. How do I know that precise date? We also went and watched the Eclipse. I took a photo that I’m proud of, which you can see here. Around lunch time at the Galloway Diner, it wasn’t crowded at all. Out of all of the diners I’ve been too, this is one of the biggest.

Atmosphere: A
It’s a stereotypical NJ diner. The outside is chrome, and the inside has multiple booths, tables, and a full sized bar. It’s beautiful and open, so you don’t feel like you’re sitting on top of anyone. As I mentioned, it’s one of the biggest diners I’ve ever been too or even seen!

Coffee: A
The coffee was hot and brewed fresh. The waitress also refilled out beverages often. It came from my favorite coffee roaster: Lacas. I have no complaints.

Service: B
It was the hosts first day, and she did a great job. She was friendly, and I never would have guessed it was her first day on the job. The waitress was friendly and gave us several recommendations. However, the food was much slower to come out than anticipated.

Food: A
The Galloway diner has several pages including a specials page. I had eaten a few hours earlier and wasn’t running much at the time, so I opted for something lighter. I decided to order the Greek salad with salmon which was a great size, and the presentation was excellent. I will say it’s one of the largest pieces of salad salmon I’ve received. Definitely one of the better diner salads I’ve had. It had everything I liked and nothing I didn’t. The waitress even asked if I wanted anchovies which rarely happens.

I will say it’s one of the largest pieces of salad salmon I’ve received. Definitely one of the better diner salads I’ve had. It had everything I liked and nothing I didn’t. The waitress even asked if I wanted anchovies which rarely happens. I’m a huge anchovy fan!

Dessert: A
I decided to take a black and white cookie to go, and it was great. The cookie was soft with plenty of frosting. It was one of the best cookies I’ve had! Of course, I forgot to take a photo of the actual cookie.

Cost: $$
For my coffee, salad with salmon and cookie, the cost was $22. It was a bit more pricey than I anticipated but it wasn’t bad.

Overall Summary/Would I Come Back?
I enjoyed the Galloway Diner, and I would go back. The waitress was friendly, and there was plenty of space. While it’s a bit more pricey for a diner, I don’t have any complaints.

Summary:
Atmosphere: A
Service: B
Coffee: A
Food: A
Service: B
Food: A
Cost: $10-20
Overall: B

Closeby Diners I’ve Been: Shore Diner , Northfield Diner

Questions for you:
What’s the biggest restaurant you’ve been too?
Do you like anchovies?

Urban Griddle (Newark)

Recently I went to the Urban Griddle in Newark. Spoiler, I enjoyed it so much the first time, I’ve been back again. My good friend Devon and I met up at the Urban Griddle since it’s right off the highway and a good meeting spot between North and South Jersey.

When we arrived around 11 am, it wasn’t too busy. There were several tables and booths available. We were sat quickly!

Atmosphere: B
The outside is a typical restaurant building. It’s not the old, metallic retro style but has a more modern vibe (similar to the Harley Dawn in Hammonton). I enjoyed how open and well lit the restaurant is too. It reminds me more of a bistro vibe than diner vibe.

The restaurant sign could use an update, as it looks like it’s been through a few storms, and faded.

Service: A
Between the two of us, we had a lot of questions about menu options and choices, and our waitress was extremely friendly and helpful. She gave us plenty of menu advice and always refilled our beverages.

Coffee: A
The Urban Griddle has a full coffee bar as well as a standard bar with the ability to make alcoholic drinks as well.

Each cup of coffee was brewed perfectly. It was hot and fresh. Definitely some of the better coffee I’ve had recently.

Food: A
The Urban Griddle serves local and fresh ingredients. The menu has several unique diner options including “matcha pancakes” and avocado toast. It reminds me more of a bistro style menu. There is a large selection of vegetarian and vegan options too.

As many people know, I am a big grits fan. Since living in Alabama, I’ve been trying to find good northern grits. The second time I went, I ordered breakfast which came with a side of grits. So far in New Jersey, they have been the best I’ve had. The rest of the breakfast: toast, eggs, and bacon was equally as good. One of my favorite diner breakfasts to date (but that was mostly because of the grits!).

Cost: $
I was actually quite surprised with how inexpensive the food is. For my entire breakfast, the cost was $10.

Overall thoughts/Summary:
I enjoyed the Urban Griddle, and it’s definitely one of my more favorite diners in the area. I’ve already been back, so it clearly is one of my favorites!

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

Nearby diners:
Tops Diner
Tropicana Diner
Mark Twain Diner

Questions for you:
Do you like grits?
What is your favorite breakfast? (no dad, coffee doesn’t count)

Americana Diner (West Orange)

There are a lot of Americana Diners in the State of New Jersey. There are also a lot of towns with the name “Orange”, but that is neither here nor there.

Last week my good friend, and New Jersey Isn’t Boring website owner and I, and I met up to go the Thomas Edison Historical Park and a diner. She shares the same love of diners as I do, and we’ve been to about a dozen together.

Atmosphere: A

The Americana Diner is located on a cute main street but sticks right out with its retro silver and chrome exterior. The inside is just as stereotypical diner. It seats about 25 and has a full-length diner bar, multiple booths, and tables.

Coffee: B

The coffee wasn’t anything unique or unusual, but it was good. I had plenty of refills.

Like the diner itself, it was stereotypical (but good) diner coffee.

Service: B

The waitress was friendly and gave us plenty of time to order. Since the diner was relatively empty, I expected the food to come out quicker than it did.

Food: C

There are plenty of options at the Americana Diner, but it’s also not a 20-page menu like many others. I wasn’t terribly hungry, so I ordered one of my diner classics (which I actually can remember the last time I did?), a Greek salad with salmon.

The salad itself was a bit watery and could have used a few more greens but had olives, anchovies, and a lot of onions. They added a lot of dressing so it was one of the better diner salads I’ve had but it wasn’t amazing.

Price: $$

For my coffee, and salad with salmon, the cost was $17.

Overall Thoughts/Summary:

I liked the Americana Diner, and it wasn’t a bad stop. It wasn’t my favorite diner but it wasn’t a bad stop. I can always appreciate a metallic, chrome, diner.

Atmosphere: A

Service: B

Coffee: B

Food: C

Price: $8-15

Overall: B

Closeby Diners I’ve Been: Tops, Nutley (one of my favorites) and Six Brothers

Questions for you:

What’s one of your favorite restaurant meals?

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