Running and Laughing through the Garden State
The Broadway Diner in Summit is my 300th New Jersey diner! YAY! The diner trip itself was unplanned and uneventful. I didn’t throw a happy 300th diner celebration and it was honestly one of the more quiet diner trips I had. Which is fine. Had I known this would be my last diner trip for a long time, I would have made it more eventful!
The Summit Diner is one of the most iconic and well known diners in New Jersey. It’s been featured on several best diner lists and even ranked in many national lists. I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to get there. I was in Summit for the day and decided to stop at the Summit Diner.
Summit Diner Atmosphere: A
You can’t get a more perfect old school, retro diner. It sticks out on the main street of Summit. The entire town of Summit is a cute downtown and the Summit Diner looks like a blast from the past sitting on the main street. You can’t miss it.
The inside of the Summit Diner has about 8 booths and 15 bar stools. I chose a barstool right in front of the register.
Summit Diner Coffee: B
The Summit Diner coffee tasted good. Since it’s a low key, no-frills diner, the coffee was similar. It got the job done.
Summit Diner Food: A
The Summit Diner menu is written on the top of the diner. You can read it all while sitting. Since the Summit Diner is known for their great food, I had no idea what I wanted to order. I was between breakfast and ultimately decided to order their greek salad wrap lunch special.
The Summit Diner lunch specials came with soup and I chose Clam Chowder.
I like Manhatten Clam Chowder and it was better than most diner soups I’ve had. The Manhatten Clam Chowder had a nice kick to it.
My lunch special also came with french fries which I didn’t realize. The Greek Salad wrap tasted good and I have no complaints. There was plenty of actual salad and it was wrapped in a way I could eat it. Wraps are often hard to eat but the wrap at the Summit Diner was wrapped perfectly so it wasn’t messy.
The french fries tasted good and they were crispy but not overly crispy.
In all, my meal at the Summit Diner was great and I was happy with it.
Summit Diner Service: B
You have the choice to either sit in or to go and it appears the Summit Diner does about half of each. The man who took my order looked to be a manager. He was friendly and my food came out within 15 minutes.
Cost: $
For my Greek Salad Wrap Lunch Special and coffee it was $11.50, which was one of the most expensive items you could get.
Overall Thoughts/Would I Go Back?
I liked the Summit Diner and I can see why it’s considered one of the best diners in the state. It’s definitely one of my more favorite diners.
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: B
Food: A
Service: A
Cost: $5-12
Overall: A
Questions for you:
Have you ever ordered a lunch special?
What’s the last retro diner you’ve been too?
Oceanos Restaurant (West Berlin)
While in West Berlin, NJ, I decided to check out Oceanos Restaurant. While it’s in the grey area of diners, I decided to classify it as one. It serves diner food, looks and acts like a diner.
Oceanos Restaurant (West Berlin) Atmosphere: C
Oceanos Restaurant is in a large building with plenty of parking. The inside has a long but handicap friendly ramp to get in. Inside, Oceanos Restaurant needs a definite makeover. The inside is dirty and part of the wall was falling down.
Oceanos Restaurant (West Berlin) Coffee: A
Possibly the best part of Oceanos Restaurant was the coffee. It was brewed hot and fresh and the waitress added an absurd amount of whipped cream.
Oceanos Restaurant (West Berlin) Food: D
Oceanos Restaurant menu had plenty of options, including all-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There weren’t a lot of specials, but there were plenty of options. It looked like Oceanos Restaurant was more dinner based with a lot of chicken breast, roast beef, and pasta options.
I was hungry so I decided to order the Greek Sampler. The pita bread was dry and the olives looked like they had been sitting around for a long time. It was edible but it wasn’t great. It was pathetic.
I decided to order the stuffed salmon. It came with stuffed salmon with crab meat as well as two sides. I chose beets and mixed vegetables. It also came with soup or salad so opted for a starter salad.
The starter salad was decent, but nothing unusual.
Both sides tasted frozen and reheated. It was clear the mixed vegetables were frozen and then reheated.
The stuffed salmon tasted precisely as you would think frozen fish and reheated to taste. I was disappointed because I thought it would be good. It was edible, but I wouldn’t order it again.
Oceanos Restaurant (West Berlin) Dessert: C
Since my meal at Oceanos Restaurant came with dessert, (either pudding or ice cream), I ordered the rice pudding. I wanted bread pudding, but they didn’t have it. What kind of diner doesn’t have bread pudding?
Oceanos Restaurant (West Berlin) Service: C
The service at Oceanos Restaurant could use help. Our waitress was friendly, but the food took a while to come out. When we got there, the hostess was on his cell phone, so it took a while for us even to sit down.
Oceanos Restaurant (West Berlin) Cost: $$
For my coffee and meal, it was $20, which was too expensive for the quality of food.
Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back to Oceanos Restaurant (West Berlin)?
I wouldn’t go back to Oceanos Restaurant. It was edible diner food, but it was expensive for the quality of food. Plus, Oceanos Restaurant needs a considerable makeover.
Atmosphere: C
Coffee: A
Food: D
Dessert: C
Overall: C
Cost: $15-20
Oceanos Restaurant (West Berlin) Overall: C
Questions for you:
Have you been to any meh restaurants lately?
Do you like rice pudding?
Recently I was at the South Star Diner in Mount Holly. The South Star Diner has gone under new ownership and has a new name, new manager, and is entirely new. Which is great because when it was previously the “, “I can’t say my experience was all that great. I haven’t been to the diner in 6 years (and my time in New Jersey flies).
South Star Diner (Mount Holly) Atmosphere: B
The South Star Diner has been remodeled. Outside it has a large, shiny, sign that says “South Star Diner.” There is a reasonably open parking lot and it sticks out on Route 38.
Inside there are plenty of booths, tables, and a full-length bar. They’ve done remodeling, so it appears to sit more people than previously.
South Star Diner (Mount Holly) Coffee: A
The South Star Diner serves Lacas Coffee, which is brewed right in Pennsauken. It was great and the waitress refilled it often. In all, it was good coffee.
South Star Diner (Mount Holly) Food: B
The South Star Diner menu is massive and has everything you typically have in a diner menu. There is all-day breakfast, seafood, wraps, a full page of salads, and steaks. I was in a pork chop mood, so I decided to order the broiled pork chops.
The broiled pork chops came with soup or salad, two sides, and the pork chops.
I decided to order the Greek salad and it was a great starter salad. It was bigger than some diner salads I’ve had before. Plus, it even included anchovies, which most people know how much I like those.
The broiled pork chops were decent. They weren’t my favorite nor my least favorite, but they were plenty there.
For my sides, I chose the beets and baked potato. If beets are a side, chances are I’ll choose them. Both were fine, but nothing special about them.
In all, my meal was good and I was most impressed with a starter salad.
South Star Diner (Mount Holly) Service: A
Our waitress was friendly and slightly funny, plus our food came out fast. I couldn’t ask for better service.
South Star Diner (Mount Holly) Cost: $
For my pork chops and coffee, it was $16.
Overall Thoughts/Would I Come back to the South Star Diner (Mount Holly)?
I liked the South Star Diner and they’ve definitely made big improvements to it. It now stands out on Route 38 and is a spot I would want to stop.
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: A
Food: B
Cost: $12-20
Service: A
Overall: A
Questions for you:
Do you like pork chops?
Do you prefer soup or salad?
Recently I was in Roselle Park, so I decided to stop at the Sunrise Diner. I heard from friends the Sunrise Diner was good so I stopped.
Sunrise Diner Atmosphere: A
The Sunrise Diner is everything you expect in a diner. There was a fair amount of parking (which for the area) surprised me. The inside has plenty of booths, tables, and a bar. One thing I appreciated was the salad bar. Not many diners I have a salad bar these days.
Sunrise Diner Coffee: A
The Sunrise Diner coffee was delicious. The waitress refilled it often and put lots of whipped cream on it. It was brewed hot and fresh and I was pleased.
Sunrise Diner Food: B
The Sunrise Diner menu has everything a stereotypical diner typically has, plus more. I appreciated the full page of Sunrise Diner menu specials and the salad bar. I was between a few options and decided to order the mesclun salad with Swordfish. I don’t know if I’ve had swordfish before at a diner, so I gave it a shot.
The Sunrise Diner menu specials all come with soup, salad, a meal, and a dessert. So much food! Even the salad came with the salad bar.
I decided to order my favorite soup split pea. It was one of the better split pea soups I’ve had.
The salad bar was filled with greens, beets, beans, and all of the regular salad toppings. I decided to splurge on my salading and made a trip to the salad bar too.
My mesclun salad with Swordfish was a lot bigger than anticipated. While the swordfish was slightly dry, I have no complaints. The salad itself came with balsamic dressing, cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes. As far as diner salads go, it was good.
Sunrise Diner Dessert: A
I got my bread pudding to go and I was extremely pleased. The bread pudding was more bread than pudding, which is my favorite way to enjoy bread pudding. It was sweet but not overly sweet. In all, one of the better bread puddings I’ve had.
Sunrise Diner Service: A
The waitress at the Sunrise Diner was great. She refilled my drinks often, made sure I was set, and my food came out quickly. I could not have had a better experience.
Cost: $
For all my food, the cost was $16.95. I’ve paid more for just salads at diners before.
Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back to the Sunrise Diner?
If I’m in Roselle Park again, I’ll come to the Sunrise Diner. It’s an inexpensive but delicious stop.
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: A
Food: B
Dessert: A
Service: A
Cost: $10-17
Overall: A
Questions for you:
Have you ever had a salad that came with the salad bar?
Do you like ordering off of the specials menu?