Diner – FueledByLOLZ

Fountainbleau Diner

Fountainbleau Diner
Last week, the owner of New Jersey Isn’t Boring, and I met up at the Fountainbleau Diner in Piscataway Township, NJ. It was one that neither of us had been too, so it made sense. She is also going to every diner in New Jersey, but been to quite a few more. We got to the FountainBleau Diner on a weekday for lunch and it was moderately busy but not overwhelming.

We got to the FountainBleau Diner on a weekday for lunch and it was moderately busy but not overwhelming.

Atmosphere: A
The diner itself has a cobblestone exterior and the interior is old school with plenty of mirrors. There were a lot of mirors and it made the space appear bigger. It felt like the “What Not to Wear 360 Mirror” but it was cool.

It was clean and nice.

Service: A
The waitress was friendly and funny. Any waitress that cracks a few jokes is a winner in my books. You can’t beat that and she brought plenty of refills. Our food came out quickly and I have no complaints.

Coffee: B
There was nothing unusual or unique about it but it wasn’t bad either. I haven’t had any amazing coffee lately but I haven’t had bad coffee either. I enjoyed the coffee and there was a good amount of whipped cream.

Food: A
The Fountainbleau diner has several options but it’s not overwhelming. The diner actually has a smaller menu with “only” 4 pages. I’ve been to some diners with 10-15 filled pages.

What is overwhelming is the amount of lunch specials they have for $8.51. It took me a few minutes to decide what I wanted. I decided to go for the Chicken Souvlaki. I had ordered it a few weeks Sage Diner and I liked it. It might be one of my new favorite lunch staples.

The special came with soup and I decided to order a salad instead of fries. Lentil soup is one of my favorite soups and it was thick and full of lentils. It had huge chunks of celery and I liked it.

The chicken Souvlaki was much different than the previous diner. It was stuffed with tzatziki sauce, lettuce, grilled chicken and onions. It wasn’t too greasy and I enjoyed it. While I forgot to

While I forgot to photo of the salad, it was a typical side salad. There was nothing unusual. Next time I think I’ll just order a greek salad too. Even ordering a full Greek salad, two meals would be cheaper than a single meal at several other diners.

Cost: $
This was one of my cheapest meals to date. For my entire meal including the coffee and side salad upgrade, it was $10.

Overall/Would I come back?
I really enjoyed the Fountainbleau diner. The food as very inexpensive as well as large portions. I would go back.

Summary:
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: B
Service: A
Food: A
Price: $7-10
Overall: B

Questions for you:
What’s the cheapest meal you’ve had?
What is your favorite soup?

Gotham City Diner

On the way back from hiking, we decided to stop at a North Jersey diner. I heard the Gotham City Diner was good, and I wanted to see for myself. Plus after long hikes, normally most things taste good.

Atmosphere: A
The atmosphere of the Gotham City Diner is unique. I always appreciate a diner that has a theme and concentrates on it. The Gotham City Diner does just that. Everything focuses on the Gotham City (I.E. New York City). They have several subway signs, street signs and memorabilia and paintings. It’s one of the best-themed diners I’ve been too!

Coffee: B
The coffee was good, but there was nothing unique or unusual about it. The waitress did add plenty of whipped cream.

Service: C
The waitress was friendly. However, she seemed to forget about our table. She only came back a couple of times and I could have used more drink refills as well as napkin (ribs are messy😉. She came back four times: to take our order, bring out our food and bring dessert and the check. I could have used a few more drink refills.

Food: A
The Gotham City Diner has plenty of options as well as several unique diner options. They have a custom salad menu where you can make your own salad as well as a gelato bar. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a diner with either.

After the hike, I was craving red meat. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered ribs at a diner before so I decided to go for it. The ribs were tender, and they fell off the bone. They tasted great. The shoestrings fries were good as well and rib juice soaked right into them.

Dessert: A
After my hike, I had to order dessert. Plus how many restaurants, especially diners, have a gelato bar?

I ordered the red velvet cake as well as the Cherry Garcia ice cream. The red velvet cake tasted good. It wasn’t the best but plus was plenty of frosting. If you know me, you know I love my cake frosting.

The Cherry Garcia gelato was homemade, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was my favorite diner ice cream to date, and I would highly recommend it. If you go to the Gotham City Diner, you have to save room for their gelato.

Cost: $
For my coffee, ribs, and dessert the cost was $30. That isn’t bad, considering most ribs at other restaurants are $20+.

Overall: B
I enjoyed the Gotham City Diner, but I do wish the service was a little better. Other than that, I enjoyed the food and the cake!

Summary:
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: B
Service: C
Food: A
Dessert: A
Price: $12-20
Overall: B

Questions for you:
Have you tried gelato before?
Do you like ribs?
I have to be craving them but I like ribs.

Time to Eat Diner

A few weeks ago, Caitlin and I met at the Time to Eat Diner. The Time to Eat Diner has been on my to-do list for a while. I’ve heard it’s good plus who can argue with that name? Out of all of the names, “Time to Eat” is in the top.

When in doubt, I will close my eyes. But don't worry, Chelsea looks great — When in doubt, I will close my eyes. But don’t worry, Caitlin looks great

Atmosphere: A
The Time to Eat Diner is located in Bridgewater, NJ after a semi-confusing roundabout. It’s modern, clean and has been plenty of parking.

The inside is spacious with plenty of seating. You walk in next to a large bakery case. It’s clean as well which surprisingly has been an issue lately. We were lucky to sit in a booth towards the front.

Coffee: A
The coffee was great and had plenty of whipped cream. The only thing missing was more coffee.

Service: B
The waitress was friendly, and the food was brought out quickly. It might have been the fastest I’ve ever received food.

Food: B
It was exceptionally hot that day, and I was craving something cold. I had only run half an hour but I sweat so much, and I didn’t want any hot food. I ordered a Mediterranean salad.

Originally I wanted salmon, but they informed me they couldn’t do that, and so I stuck with the chicken. When the salad came out, I was confused about whether it was chicken or salmon. Both Caitlin and I stared at the chicken trying to figure it out: was it chicken? Was it fish?

It was the fishiest looking chicken I’ve ever seen. That being said the salad was filling, and there was plenty of chicken. When I ate it, it tasted normal, and I have no complaints. I wish there were more mixed greens, but the salad was good.

Cost: $$
For my salad and coffee, the cost was $15. It was more expensive for the amount of food, but it was a good meal.

Summary/Would I come back?

I liked the Time to Eat Diner. The meal was good, and there were plenty options. It wasn’t the best diner, but it wasn’t the worst either. It as odd they couldn’t add salmon, but that’s how it goes.

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

Overall: A

Question for you: What’s the restaurant with the coolest name you’ve been too?

The Six Brothers Diner

About two months ago I drove by The Six Brothers Diner in Little Falls, NJ. When I drove by, I thought it was a fancy restaurant, but quickly realized it was a diner. I moved it to my to-do list, but since I have about 100 diners on the immediate list, that doesn’t mean a lot. Plus the Six Brothers Diner is about 90 minutes from my house. I don’t mind driving around the state, but I generally save those diners for when I’m already up North.

In this case, my husband and I were hiking at Hemlock Falls, and since we were close by, we opted to finally try the Six Brothers Diner.

Atmosphere: A
The Six Brothers Diner is huge. It looks like it could easily sit 500 people and host a banquet. It’s got large windows, and it’s open and spacious. The inside has multiple rooms, a bar, and a dessert case. The inside is one of my favorite modern diners because there is so much room. I don’t feel like I’m violating anyone’s personal space.

Service: C
Six Brothers Diner wasn’t crowded. However, our waitress was barely at our table. When we asked for drink refills, it felt as if we were bothering her. Maybe she was doing something in the back, but there were about 15 other people in the entire restaurant and she never appeared to be busy. Appearances are deceiving, though.

Coffee: C
The coffee wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t bad either. It was simply average. I wish the cup was larger, or I had more refills, but it wasn’t bad. I have nothing interesting to write about it. The table backdrop is unique.

Food: A
After a less than stellar, start to our meal the Six Brothers Diner shines at food. The menu is huge and has plenty of different options. They have all day breakfast, multiple burgers and an entire page dedicated to salads. Recently I’ve gone to a few diners that do have all day breakfast. Isn’t that a traditional diner staple?

After six miles of hiking, I was starving and ordered: “The Brooklyn Burger” with sweet potato fries. It was a cheeseburger with an entire layer of mozzarella cheese. The burger was cooked perfectly. I enjoyed the crunchiness of the sweet potato fries as well. I’ve never had a mozzarella cheeseburger before, but it was good. The sweet potato fries were good.

Cost: $
For the burger and coffee, the cost was $15 which wasn’t inexpensive, but it also wasn’t expensive either.

Summary/Would I come back?
The Six Brothers Diner was good. The quality of food was high too, and if I were in the area again, I would come back. Based on the service when it was empty, I would try and come on quiet days, or you might be there for hours.

Summary:
Atmosphere: A
Service: C
Coffee: C
Food: A
Cost: $12-20
Overall: B

Questions for you:
What is your favorite type of French fry?
Have you ever been to a restaurant with its own wine cellar?

Kane’s Diner (Queens, NY)

I love my NJ diners, but I’ve been traveling and tried a few diners along the way. So when on the road, it’s important to see what diners other states have to offer right?

Recently I went to Kane’s Diner in Queens. To be honest, we walked by and saw it had the word “diner” and “original pancakes” and decided we were hungry. I can’t be the only person that has done that right?

Atmosphere: A

Kane’s Diner is different from New Jersey Diners. New York is much more crowded and busy than down in southern New Jersey. The diner reflects that. Kane’s Diner tastefully fit as much in one building as possible. I didn’t feel as if I was sitting on top of other parties but it was jam packed. I’ve been to bigger restaurants where I felt as if I was sitting too close to other people. Even though it’s a small space, the layout of the restaurant allows for some breathing room.

Coffee: A
The coffee was extremely strong. It tasted like diesel fuel but a good diesel fuel. I guess that’s why people in NY live so fast paced. (kidding of course). I forgot to take a photo…

Service: A
The service was excellent. The waiter brought plenty of refills, and we never were empty of water or coffee. The food also came out quickly.

Food: A
The diner has all of the typical diner fare. You won’t find the healthy salads or grilled fish, but you will find several omelet options as well as pancakes and steak. If there is grease, you will find it here. Kane’s Diner is the stereotypical “greasy spoon” deal.

There was a large sign at the front that stated: “Orginal Pancake House”. That means the pancakes must be good.

I don’t like thin or small pancakes. I like massive pancakes that are filling. I ordered the apple cinnamon pancakes. I expected cinnamon apples to be baked into the actual pancake. The actual pancakes were silver dollar pancakes rolled up and stuffed with apple cinnamon jam. While the meal wasn’t what I was expecting it was still good. It put me on a sugar high to continue exploring the city. The best description I have is they were like a very thick crepe with sugary apple filling. Were they the world’s best? To be deterined, but they were good.

Cost: $9
For my coffee and pancakes, the cost was $9. I have no complaints, and it was good.

Overall thoughts:
I liked Kane’s Diner, and I would go back. The coffee, food and service were good. It’s a true greasy spoon!

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

Questions for you:
Do you have any NYC diner recommendations?
What is your favorite pancake flavor?

Tom Sawyer Diner

I’ve been extremely lucky with diners lately. For the most part, I’ve been happy with everything. Sadly, that streak came to an end when I went to the Tom Sawyer Diner.

Last weekend, My husband and I went hiking at Bear Mountain. We had gotten lost so by the time we got to the diner I was starving. Just like eating after a long run, everything should taste good. Should, being key.

Atmosphere: A
The Tom Sawyer Diner is clean. The outside is a modern building. The inside has a bar, multiple booths, and a small bakery case. We were sat in a booth. The diner itself is well kept and nice.

Coffee: F
The coffee that came out was luke warm at best. It had clearly sat for a long time and definitely tasted like it. The whipped cream stayed intact the entire time and didn’t melt at all. The waiter never brought out or asked if we wanted a refill, but it was so terrible I didn’t want anymore.

Service: F
The service at the Tom Sawyer Diner ranks as possibly the worst restaurant service of any restaurant (diner or not) that I have been too. The waiter never asked if we wanted refills, came over twice and every time we asked for anything, it felt as if we were bothering him. There were only a five other parties in the restaurant yet for some reason it took close to an hour to receive our food.

Food: C
Like the majority of diners, breakfast is served daily, and there were plenty of specials. I was starving and craving red meat.

We ordered the Mediterranean appetizer. It came with hummus, pita bread, Greek salad, olive, and vegetables. While it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great either. It tasted like something I could have prepared at home myself. I did like the hummus, though. The Tom Sawyer made a lot of use of their tortilla chips. They added them to everything. They were decent tortilla chips, but I’ve never been to a diner well known for their tortilla chips.

For my entree, I ordered the California Burger. It was a disappointment as well. It was topped with avocado, bacon and cheddar cheese. The patty itself was overcooked and dry, and the French fries were okay. It’s extremely hard not to love food after a long run or hike, so I was surprised.

Price: $$$
The Tom Sawyer Diner is expensive and not worth the price. For my burger, appetizer, and coffee the prize was $30. Was it worth it? Absolutely not.

Overall thoughts/would I come back?
The Tom Sawyer isn’t my least favorite diner, but it is very close. There wasn’t anything I enjoyed about the diner so I won’t be back. The food was edible, but there are plenty of less expensive and better quality diners close by such as the State Line Diner.

I had planned to get dessert, but nothing looked great either, so we left. When the manager asked how our meal was: I told him it wasn’t great, and the service wasn’t great either (something I almost never do). He responded with a shrug. He didn’t care in the slightest which is what upset me the most.

Summary:
Atmosphere: A
Service: F
Coffee: F
Food: C
Price: $15-30
Overall: F

Questions for you:
What was the last bad dining experience you’ve had?
What’s your favorite long run/workout meal?

Pompton Queen Diner

Last month, my husband and I decided to fly the Pompton Queen Diner. It’s about the 2-hour drive, but we hadn’t flown for a while, so we decided to do it. I wrote about the fight here.

The Pompton Queen Diner has been on my to do list for a while, ever since it was ranked as the one of the top diners in New Jersey. I’ve been enjoying my experiences lately at several North Jersey diners so I was excited to try this.

Atmosphere: A
The Pompton Queen Diner is modern and clean but also is the first diner I’ve seen with an outdoor patio. You don’t see that often!

Instead of having shiny, metallic booths, the Pompton Queen Diner had wooden booths centered around a bar.

Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed well. There was plenty of whipped cream, and I have no complaints. It tasted great.

Service: A
The waitress was friendly and refilled our drinks when necessary. The food was brought out quickly, and I have no complaints.

Food: A
The menu at the Pompton Queen Diner is huge. They have everything from breakfasts to burgers and fries. They do have a lot of healthy options including a page of salads. I didn’t know what I wanted from the Pompton Queen Diner but settled on a burger.

We saw an unusual appetizer: the roasted vegetable salad with chicken, quinoa, and pita bread. I’ve never seen that a diner and I’m glad we ordered it. The vegetables were roasted well and the balsamic dressing was one of the best I’ve had. I’ve been enjoying eggplant and squash lately, and there were plenty of those! Even though it was an appetizer, I would have been happy to order it for my meal too.

If you go to the Pompton Queen Diner, I highly recommend ordering it.

I ordered the Avocado Crunch Burger. I like medium rare burgers, and this was cooked as asked. It also had avocado and to add the “crunch,” they included chips on the actual burger. It was such an interesting combination, and I liked it. The bun was toasted perfectly and tasted homemade.

Cost: $$$
For my burger, the appetizer and coffee the cost was $26. The appetizer was $13, which is a little bit more expensive but worth it. The ingredients are all fresh.

Summary/Would I come back?
I liked the Pompton Queen Diner. Everything was cooked perfectly, and I enjoyed everything about the diner, it’s definitely in my top 10 as well.

Summary:
Atmosphere: A
Service: A
Coffee: A
Food: A
Overall: A

Questions for you:
What’s your favorite in-season produce?
Do you prefer to eat inside or outside?

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