greek – 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?

Peters Diner

Last month, Angela and I met at the Peters Diner in Williamstown, NJ. (This is not to be confused with “Two Peters Diner” up north ha), Angela and I have been friends for a long time and hadn’t been able to grab lunch for a while, so it was nice to catch up before she left for the summer.

Atmosphere: A
The outside of the diner is a picture perfect metallic diner. It’s everything you imagine from a stereotypical diner.

Image via here

The inside is just a stereotypical diner. It’s one of the biggest diners I’ve been too, and there were dozens of tables.

Service: B
The service at Peter’s Diner was decent. It wasn’t terribly busy, and the food came out quickly, but we could have used more water and beverages.

Coffee: A
Peters diner serves Lacas brewed coffee. For those not in the northeast region, Lacas is brewed Pennsauken, NJ. It’s a great local brew and the coffee at Peters was perfect. The waitress also added lots of whipped cream too. Diners with Lacas coffee typically can’t go wrong.

Food: B
Peters Diner has one of the biggest menus of any diners I’ve been too. There weren’t a lot of healthy options, but there were plenty of different options.

I ordered the Greek Gyro. It came with soup too. I ordered chicken and orzo which was good. There was definitely more orzo than chicken, but it was good soup.

When the Gyro came out, it was oozing tzatziki sauce, and it might have been the messiest meal I’ve ever had. I think half of my gyro ended up on Angela’s plate as I attempted to eat it. I don’t mind, though. To be honest, I like a lot of dressing on my foods. Even though it was difficult to eat, my gyro was good, and I was glad I ordered it.

I enjoyed the meal, but I wish it were a little easier to eat. I guess there is no easy way to eat a gyro.

Price: $
For the coffee and gyro, the price was $11 which was a pretty good price.

Overall thoughts/Would I come back?
Out of the few diners in the area, Peters Diner is my favorite and I would come back. It was a good gyro for a diner. There are hundreds of different menu items so you would never get bored eating.

Summary:
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: A
Service: B
Food: B
Price: $5-15
Overall: B

Questions for you:
What’s the messiest meal you’ve ever eaten?
What’s your favorite lunch item?

George’s Place

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I flew down to Cape May. While walking around in Cape May, we realized we were hungry. George’s Place has been on my to-do list for a while. Guy from Food Network recently and loved it. Spoiler: it’s worth going too.

Atmosphere: B
Georges Place is located on the corner. To be honest, there is not a lot to indicate the restaurant is there. In fact, we walked right by twice before realizing it was there.

georges place cape may — *Image via Cape May Times*

The inside is clean, and there are about ten seats. I like it because despite being small, you aren’t sitting on top of anyone. In some diners and restaurants, you feel as though you are dining with ten strangers.

Service: A
The waitress was extremely friendly. After ordering, I decided I wanted extra pita bread, and she was more than accommodating.

Food: A
Georges Place serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, they close from 3-5. Their menu is strictly Greek Specialties. Greek food is one if my favorite choices at a diner so I was excited to try it out.

We chose the “hummos sampler” It came with four types of hummus. I’m not typically a hummus fan, but each flavor was delicious. Since the pita bread was so good, I decided to order more with my meal.

Georges place specializes in Greek Food, and that’s all they have. I ordered the lamb chops which came with orzo and a side Greek salad. The lamb chops were cooked to perfection. The Orzo was cooked in a thick Greek flavored sauce which was tasty. The side salad was bigger than the size of many entree salads I’ve ordered. Very few meals have left me as full as this one.

Price: $$
For the appetizer and lamb chops, the price was $30. The meal was well worth it, and the quality of food is the best I’ve had for a while. It’s important to note, Georges Place is a cash only restaurant. There are several ATMS located nearby.

Would I come back/Summary:
Georges Place is one of my top five diners, and I’ll be back next time in Cape May.

Overall:
Atmosphere: B
Service: A
Coffee: N/A (I know shocking I did not get any)
Food: A
Price: $15-25
Overall: A

Questions for you:
Have you ever been to a restaurant on the food network?
Do you like lamb chops?

Red Lion Diner

I had heard nothing but good things about the Red Lion Diner in Medford, NJ. It has been around for a while and is always right on my way to Atlantic City. A few of my neighbors told me it was good so I had to see for myself. When the opportunity presented itself, I met one of my friends out there.

I had passed it a few times driving and my initial thought was “what a cute diner, I’ll add it to my to do list”.

Atmosphere: A

It’s a typical old school diner. It has been there for years and you can tell. It’s got the old school diner booth flair as well as just overall diner atmosphere. It was the old school diner outdoor atmosphere that drew me in to begin with. I should have taken a picture but there is a giant lion stationed right outside. I guess it lives up to it’s name the Red Lion Diner.

Coffee: A

Since we went at night I ordered a decaf coffee. I was actually pleasently surprised they had it on tap and she refilled it very quickly. I never had an end to my coffee and it was actually some of the best decaf I have had. It’s very rare you find a diner that has brewed decaf coffee on hand and refilled it as quickly as I drink it. Great coffee but boring to take a photo of.

Food: A

The menu itself at the Red Lion Diner is pretty big. There are roughly 10 pages of food. There is everything and anything from steak to breakfast to Greek delites. I ordered the Special house Greek salad with chicken.

It consisted of large block feta, lettuce, tomatoes, olives and a few roasted peppers. The dressing was essentally oil. I liked the dressing a lot. The salad came with giant pieces of garlic bread (versus pita bread). I enjoyed the raw peppers a lot in the salad. It was moderately sized as well.

If it were up to me I would have subbed the garlic bread for pita and this salad would have been perfect.

Dessert: F

This has never been a point I have not eaten or finished a dessert. I love cake. Everyone knows I survive partially off of coffee and partially off of cake. For me to order a piece of cake then pass after a few bites…that has happened once (This was that time). I was pretty bummed. I ordered the German Chocolate cake. It tasted as if it had sat out for several days. It was somewhat hard and crusty (even the frosting was hard and crusty!). I can normally find a reason for a D rating but solid F for this one. I’m sad because it does look pretty nice in the photos but as they say…looks are deceiving.

My friend ordered the tiramasu. He said it was good cake but not tiramasu as it was lacking the coffee taste. It looked good to me so maybe if I go back, I’ll order that instead. The middle was stuffed with a whipped cream type of frosting so that is up my alley.

Price: $$

For two meals, two drinks and two pieces of cake it was 55. Overall not the worst value (except for the cake).

Overall Impression/Would I go back?

The salad was good and the Red Lion Diner seems to have a lot of options. There are a lot closer (better) options so I would probably go back there instead. It was a decent salad and they had good options. It was just overly average with a terrible crusty cake.

Questions for you:

Have you ever passed on dessert?

What is your favorite dessert?

Princetonian Diner Review

I have been to a lot of new diners lately. It’s nice to update my Diner page with some more reviews. Last weekend I was able to meet a fellow Oiselle teammate, Greta, for dinner at the Princetonian diner. I had heard that the diner was “life changing” so we had to go. I had driven by a few times to and it looked pretty nice.

When we met there, it was nearly empty. It was Mothers day at dinner time and the diner was empty. My guess is that it was crowded for lunch. Then again, I’m not sure too many would be as excited to take their moms to a diner for Mothers Day.

Atmosphere: A

The outside is really nice and inviting. It’s a big white building (which reminds me of a Greek palace). The inside was a large room. You walked into their bakery where they had giant “elephant ears” or sugar cookies. I was already hungry. I love (but also hate) walking into the bakery because I want to go straight to dessert.

Coffee: C

The lady was able to bring me coffee and whipped cream. The issue was for 1.69, you received a cup of coffee and no more. A cup of coffee with no free refills. So while I enjoyed having my coffee with whipped cream, I enjoyed it for about 1 minute since it was over before I knew it. I’m sorry Princetonian diner but not having free refills for coffee is weird.

All o this coffee for 1.69..such a deal...no. — All o this coffee for 1.69..such a deal…no.

Food: A

The menu was really big. They had all the typical diner options: breakfast, salads, seafood, steak…lots of specials. There were so many different choices. I ended up having the Greek salad (with Salmon) which came with a side of pita bread and Baklava.

The salad was excellent. It was really big and had all of the following things I like. The feta cheese was actually perfect because it wasn’t big lumpy pieces of cheese but lots of cheese that mixed in. It had grape leaves, pita bread, feta, lettuce (oh yummy) and of course the salmon.

What made this diner and salad unique was that the salad also came with baklava. It was like “hey you are eating (somewhat) healthy with a salad, have some dessert! (Diner salads are not that healthy haha). I couldn’t decide if I liked the baklava but after trying a few bites, I decided yes and it was delicious. (The leafy looking item on the right is a grape leaf…they are my favorite parts of greek salad).

Price: $$

The meal itself was 8.99 for the salad and 6.99 for the extra salmon. Not the cheapest and not the most expensive meal I’ve had. The coffee was 1.69 but no free refills that is expensive. For about 6 ounce (maybe) of coffee, that is a terrible deal.

Would I come back?

The food was really good and the service was great at the Princetonian Diner. I can let the coffee price slide but I will say that this is a huge knock off for me. I will probably be back (especially if Greta, Jen or Meghan want to go) but I probably won’t get coffee (insert shocked emoji here). For me to go to the Princetonian diner without getting coffee is unusual but I can’t justify spending 1.69 for 6 ounces of coffee that last me a minute.

Questions for you:

Am I being too ridiculous about the coffee? Is it normal to not have free refills for coffee?

Have you ever tried Baklava?

Three Brothers Diner Review

The Three Brother’s Diner in Browns Mills, NJ is in my top three favorite diners in NJ. Since moving to NJ, I’ve been to this diner a total of 11 times. (I only know because I checked foursquare). I know most of the friendly waitresses and hostesses. So essentially if you ever come visit me we are going to go. Since it’s not far from my house it’s a restaurant that Tim and I are known as regulars.

Atmosphere: B

It’s honestly one big restaurant room. It’s not a train car diner, it’s not a fancy diner and there is no special lighting. It doesn’t receive any high marks for that. In the back there is a mini bar but it reminds me of a small local diner. It’s probably one of those places you would drive right by if you were doing through town. That’s fine though, you can all drive by because then there is more food for me.

Coffee: B

The coffee is good. It’s a typical off burnt taste of diner coffee. The smaller cups are fine as long as they bring you refills. In the 11 times I’ve been here so far, I’ve only had a refill problem once (but it was busy too). The coffee is good though.

Food: A

This is where the diner makes up for anything and everything. First, since it’s in a small town it’s almost never crowded and the food is generally brought to you within 15 minutes of ordering. It lives up to the diner greasy spoon mentality.

I normally get the Greek salad that with standard Greek toppings (feta cheese, peppers, tomatoes, chicken, cucumbers, sundried tomatoes) as well as homemade Greek dressing. Also included are grape leaves, pita bread, hard boiled eggs in the salad and soup on the side. Not to mention it’s massive. If I were to guess I would say this “salad” has probably over 1000 calories. I don’t even care because it’s worth it.

Price: $

Tim and I both get full and filling meals for around 22-25 dollars (FOR BOTH OF US!). For both of us to eat meals that are completely filling for that low of a price is rare. In fact I think it only happens at a handful of restaurants (mainly diners). So if you are looking for an inexpensive, filling diner meal…come visit me. I think this food actually cost less then sometimes when we cook at home…and it’s better. Why am I even cooking at home anymore?

Overall Impression:

This is one of my favorite diners. It’s a “hole in the wall” type of small town diner which are truly my favorite. If you are looking for an adorable, inexpensive, quick, inexpensive diner here is your place. It could be because I’m an ultimate regular but this place gets two thumbs up.

On a side note, I think I have narrowed down who the “three brother” owners are but I have yet to ask…yet.

Questions for you:

Are you a regular at a restaurant?

Favorite hole in the wall type of restaurant?

Azurs and Shannon

Last Saturday night I decided to have plans. (that once a month time Shannon comes into town and therefore I have plans). Shannon and I couldn’t decide where we wanted to go in Norfolk but eventually decided on a Greek Restaurant called Azurs. I had been once before and it was good so thought why not go a second time and write a review on it.

When getting there around six, I promptly ordered a decaf coffee. I was just craving one so that was the start of my meal. The waiter was probably the best (maybe even too good) at refilling it because I had quite a few cups and decided after a few that I should slow it down. I was essentially inhaling it LOL.

We got an appetizer to split: Grape Leaves. These guys are probably my favorite part of Greek cuisine (sans Gyro Meat). I think I could order a platter of just Grape leaves, actually that is what I do when I go to Harris Teeter and get on their Mediterranean Bar.

For my meal, I got the Greek salad with a skewer of salmon. I was a bit disappointed with the size of the skewer of salmon. The salmon skewer was 5 dollars but less than 4 ounces of salmon. It was good but it wasn’t a huge skewer. The salad and dressing was good though. The pita bread was a bit more thin and I prefer mine thicker but other than that, everything was good.

For me personally the restaurant was a little bit pricey and I was left a little bit hungry afterwords (I spent around 20 dollars overall) but everything was good. It is a nice “foodie” restaurant too as they have a lot of salads, glueten free options and if you like Greek Cuisine (it’s my personal favorite) you would certainly enjoy this restaurant in downtown Norfolk. Of course, hanging out with Shannon is always enjoyable too and I felt like we caught up on the world in the short two hours we chatted.

So would I recommend it?

Yes, they have a lot of great options and I haven’t found any more Greek restaurants yet that have peaked my interest.

Questions for you:

Do you like Greek Food? If so, what is your favorite food choice?

Are you good with picking restaurants?

For me, I hate chosing but I can pretty much find something anywhere I go (as long as it’s not thai).

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