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Tag Archives: greek

Dynasty Diner (Tuckerton)

May 19, 2018 By in Diners Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment
Dynasty Diner (Tuckerton)

Recently, I got dinner with Ariana at the Dynasty Diner.  One of my many goals is to go to more shore diners this summer, and when Ariana was in town for the New Jersey Marathon, it worked out.  I’ve followed Ariana on the internet for a long time, so it was great to finally connect.

We arrived around 4:30 for dinner and it wasn’t crowded.  The Dynasty Diner was a lot bigger than I anticipated.  I hadn’t been to Tuckerton before, but it’s a cute small shore town.

Dynasty Diner tuckerton nj

Atmosphere: A
The Dynasty Diner looks like a typical, chrome, shiny diner.  The outside was big, shiny, and metallic.  If you are looking for a stereotypical NJ diner, the Dynasty Diner meets that.

The inside had a full-length bar, with retro booths, and tables.  The Dynasty Diner meets all stereotypes of a NJ Diner.

Coffee: B
The coffee at the Dynasty Diner was good.  It was brewed hot and fresh, and I didn’t have any complaints about the coffee.  I could have used more refills but other than it was good.  The Dynasty Diner serves Lacas coffee, and you are even able to buy it up front if you choose.

Dynasty Diner tuckerton nj

Food: B
The Dynasty Diner serves everything a stereotypical diner would serve.  It follows the unwritten “diner guidelines.”  There are plenty of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options.  It also has a page dedicated to Greek specialties.  Originally I had planned to get a gyro, but when that wasn’t an option, I ordered the Greek salad on the fly.

Dynasty Diner tuckerton nj

When the Greek salad came out, it was massive.  The waitress said it was enough to feed four people and she wasn’t joking.  Enough to feed four people ended up being me.  I liked the Greek salad, however, there were a few things it was missing including anchovies and onions.  It had plenty of lettuce but could have used more toppings.  The dressing was good, and in all, I enjoyed it.

Service: A
The waitress was friendly, and our food came out extremely fast.

Cost: $
For my salad and coffee, the cost was $13.

Overall Thoughts/Summary:
I had a great time at the Dynasty Diner, and it is definitely one of my favorite shore diners.  I would love to go back sometime!

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

You Can See all 185 Diners Here.

Questions for you:
What are your plans this summer?
What is your favorite salad topping?

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Franklin Park Diner (Kendall Park)

April 28, 2018 By in Diners Tags: , , , , , , 3 Comments
Franklin Park Diner (Kendall Park)

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.

Franklin park diner kendall park nj

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!

Franklin park diner kendall park nj

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

Franklin park diner kendall park nj

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.

Franklin park diner kendall park nj

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?

Hightstown Diner

February 24, 2018 By in Diners Tags: , , , , , , 2 Comments

A few weeks ago, Christine and I met for lunch at the Hightstown Diner in Hightstown.  Even though it’s not that far, it’s one of the last I haven’t been too in Mercer County.  Christine has remained one of my closest friends throughout the last four years of living in NJ.  I cannot believe the time has flown!

We arrived for lunch, and the Hightstown Diner wasn’t crowded.  It’s a small diner located in downtown Hightstown.  It was actually featured on Diners, Drive In’s and Dives several years ago!

Atmosphere: A
The Hightstown Diner is what you expect in a diner.  Old school tables, booths, and full-length bar.  The outside is all cobblestone.  I liked the menus because they showed the diner when it first opened and a scenic photo.

Coffee: B
The coffee was hot. However, we had to ask a few times for refills.  While good, I could have used a few more,

Hightstown diner Food network coffee

Food: A
The menu at the Hightstown Diner is medium sized.  They don’t have a lot of unique items, but they have everything a New Jersey diner should have: eggs and pancakes, sandwiches and a few seafood entrees if you want.

Hightstown diner Food network

I was craving a Gyro.  I like gyros, but they are definitely one of the messiest sandwiches you can order.  The Gyro platter came with a lot of food: soup, salad as well as French fries.  I knew that would probably be a lot so I opted to sub the fries with the “vegetable of the day” which was carrots.

Hightstown diner Food network

The Gyro itself was great.  I haven’t had one in a while, and it was stuffed to the brim with meat, tzatziki sauce, lettuce, tomato.  The salad was rather big for a side.  The romaine lettuce could have been chopped more and easier to eat but other than that good.

Hightstown diner Food network

With the winter, I’ve been ordering a lot of soups.  Nothing spoke to me, so I decided to try something new: The Greek chicken.  I had no idea what to expect, and it was a cream based soup with chicken and race.  I couldn’t locate much chicken, but in all, it wasn’t bad.

Hightstown diner Food network

Service: C
The waitress was extremely friendly, but we could have used far more refills.  For not being overly crowded, it took a while for the food to come out.  Typically, that would haven’t been an issue. However, we hadn’t planned on staying for over an hour, and it caused us to somewhat rush eating.

Cost: $

For my entire platter and coffee, the cost was $12.

Summary/Would I Come Back?
I liked the Hightstown Diner, and I’ll definitely be back again.  While it was slower than hoped, the food and quality were excellent.

Atmosphere: A
Coffee: B
Food: A
Service: C
Price: $
Overall: B

Closeby Diners I’ve Been: Gus Diner, 

You Can See All Diners Here.

Questions for you:
Have you ever been to a restaurant on the food network?
What is your favorite cooked vegetable?

Key City Diner (Phillipsburg)

October 28, 2017 By in Diners Tags: , , , , ,
Key City Diner (Phillipsburg)

Recently I went to the Key City Diner in Phillipsburg.  It came highly recommended so when the opportunity presented itself, I drove a bit out of my way to go.

I arrived around 5 pm.  It wasn’t too crowded, and there was plenty of seating.

Atmosphere: A
You can’t miss the Key City Diner.  When driving by, there is a giant Key Sign, and it looks like a stereotypical diner.  It’s a big metallic, shiny, diner and is definitely everything you picture in a diner.  If you’re looking to bring friends to a picture perfect NJ diner, this is your spot.

Key City diner phillipsburg

The inside feels as if you stepped into a time machine when diners were created.  Interestingly enough, there was also a decently sized salad bar too which is something many now lack.

Service: B
The waitress was a bit awkward and either new or not comfortable.  She did refill our beverages, and the food came out quickly, but every interaction was awkward.

For instance, I ordered a beef gyro, and she miscorrected me of how to pronounce gyro.  Then later, she pronounced it a different way.  Not a big deal, just many small awkward interactions.

Coffee: B
There was nothing unusual or unique about the coffee but it wasn’t bad either.  The waitress brewed it hot and kept it refilled.

Key City diner phillipsburg

Food: B
The Key City Diner has everything you could picture in a diner.  There is breakfast all day, multiple dinner meals, salads, and seafood.  As I mentioned, it also has a salad bar too.

Key City diner phillipsburg

I opted for a beef Gyro with a Caesar salad. The gyro itself was good and had plenty of beef.  It came with fries which they gave me an entire plate.  The Caesar salad was filled, and I appreciated they already added the dressing.

Cost: $
For my gyro, salad, and coffee, the cost was $12.

Overall Summary/Would I come back?
I enjoyed the Key City Diner, and if I’m back in the area, I would come back.  It’s above average, and in the middle of diners, I’ve been too

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

Nearby Diners I’ve Been: Red Rose Diner (Review to come)

PA Local Diners: Diner 248, Trivet, Jumbars

Questions for you:
What’s your favorite type of salad?
What is the coolest restaurant sign you’ve seen?

Point 40 Diner (Monroeville, NJ)

May 6, 2017 By in Diners Tags: , , , , , , 3 Comments
Point 40 Diner (Monroeville, NJ)

Last month, Angela was back in town after running the Boston Marathon.  As many people know, Angela moved out to Colorado a few months ago.  It’s always tough when one of your good friends moves but I was excited we could catch up after she ran a great Boston in not so ideal weather.

Last year, Angela and I ran a 20 miler together when she was training for the Philadelphia full marathon, and I was contemplating doing another full.  While I ultimately decided that marathoning still wasn’t for me, it was still a fun time.

We decided to go to the Point 40 Diner in Monroeville, NJ.  It has been on my diner to do list for a while, and it was the perfect opportunity.  Plus, the famous Pete G said the Point 40 has “the best Greek salads in the state, ” and you can’t argue with him.  Like the Huck Finn Diner, I was trying to eat healthier before the Atlantic City Half Marathon.

Atmosphere: B
There isn’t anything unique about the environment of the Point 40 diner, but it is clean.  When you walk in, there is a rotating dessert case as well as a giant colorful board with menu specials.  There are several rooms and a full-length bar.  It’s a nice, uncomplicated diner.

Point 40 Diner Monroeville NJ

Coffee: A

The coffee was brewed hot and the waitress brought plenty of refills.  The mug itself was customized with the Point 40 in writing and an ad to a local business.  Custom coffee mugs are always fun and I have to give credit that a coffee mug is good ad space.

Point 40 Diner Monroeville NJ

Service: A
At 7 pm, the diner was actually busy.  The waitress was great and refilled everything as needed.  Plus our food was brought out quickly.  How quickly the food was brought out was definitely a pleasant surprise and I have no complaints.

Food: B
The Point 40 has everything of a traditional diner.  The famous food critique Pete said the Point 40 diner has the best Greek salad he has ever had tried so naturally, I had to try it.

Personally, while it wasn’t a bad salad, it wasn’t my ultimate favorite.  There were plenty of toppings including an overwhelming amount of feta cheese, hard boiled eggs, onions, anchovies, and tomatoes.  The salad itself was drenched in dressing.  It was great but it wasn’t my all time favorite.  Maybe I’m a salad snob though.

Point 40 Diner Monroeville NJ

Cost: $
For my coffee and salad, the cost was $14.  It wasn’t expensive, and I have no complaints.

Summary/Would I Come Back?
The Point 40 Diner is a good stop and I don’t have any issues.  If I’m in the area again, I would stop!

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

Closeby Diners I’ve reviewed: Harrison House Diner, Swedesboro Diner, Elmer Diner, Blue Plate

Questions for you:
Where is the best Greek Salad you’ve had?
What time do you typically eat dinner?

Fountainbleau Diner

September 24, 2016 By in Diners Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

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.

Fountainbleau diner

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.

Fountainbleau diner

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.

Fountainbleau diner

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.

Fountainbleau diner

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

July 9, 2016 By in Diners Tags: , , , , , , 5 Comments

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.

Old Photo of Angela and I

Old Photo of Angela and I

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

peters 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.

Peters Diner Coffee

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.

Peters Diner 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.

Peters Diner Gryo

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? 

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