Prestige Diner (New Providence)

April 27, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, brunch, coffee, Diner, food, new jersey, salad 2 Comments

Recently, I met with my friend Christine at the Prestige Diner in New Providence. The Prestige Diner has been on my “to do list” for a while. I’ve heard nothing but positive things!

Atmosphere: A
When we arrived almost every parking spot in the lot was taken. It was busy, but it was also a Sunday around lunch. We both managed to get a spot and waited at the front for about 15 minutes for a table.

The Prestige Diner is cute. It’s got a large cobblestone exterior. The interior has plenty of seating with booths, tables, and a bar. We sat at a table in the back.

Coffee: A
The coffee was hot and fresh. There wasn’t anything especially good or bad about the coffee. The waitress did add plenty of whipped cream.

Food: B
The Prestige Diner has everything you expect in a diner. From multiple breakfast options to lunch, and dinner you’ll find everything.

We were hungry, so we decided to order the Mediterranean appetizer. It came with a bowl full of olives, pita bread, feta cheese, and tomatoes. The number of olives alone made it worth it.

For my entree, the entire page of salads intrigued me, so I decided to order the “mama besides salad.” It came with Grilled Chicken, Baby Spinach, Diced Tomatoes, Red Onions, Walnuts and Creamy Goat Cheese with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing.

It was a good salad. I could have used bread with it, but it was filling.

Service: C
While the Prestige Diner was busy, it felt as though the waitress had no interest in being there and was having a bad day. We asked for a few things, like drink refills that took a long time and our food came out fairly slowly.

Cost: $
For my salad, coffee, and appetizer, it was $25.

Overall Thoughts/Summary:
I liked the Prestige Diner, and there is a lot I want to try on the menu. I would go back if I were in the area.

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

You Can See All Diner Reviews Here.

Questions for you:
What are your favorite salad toppings?
What is the longest you’ve waited in a restaurant?

Hiking Watchung Reservation

April 26, 2019 By Hollie in hiking Tags: hikes, hiking, history, nature, new jersey 2 Comments

Recently I was in Watchung Reservation. The weather wasn’t ideal for hiking, but I was in the area and have wanted to go. Because patience is not a virtue I have, I decided to hike anyway (instead of driving back up the following day).

There are plenty of trails in Watchung Reservation. The most famous is the History Trail. It’s about 6-miles and visits sights of historical significance. The Watchung Reservation, itself is about 2,000 acres.

On the site, there are several posts, benches, and historical markers. It starts and stops at the Trailside Nature Center. It’s not a strenuous hike and was rather enjoyable when we went. Parts were flooded out to rain but no big deal.

It starts on a smooth dirt trail.

There were a ton of trees down, as you can see!

When we went to cross the reservoir, it was completely flooded out. I had to hop across branches, and stones, which to be honest not falling was one of my biggest accomplishments of the day.

On the other side, there were plenty of historic sites and small huts and houses that were almost completely gone.

In all, it’s a beautiful and peaceful hike. It’s perfect if you just want to relax with something not too rigorous.

You can see all hikes here.

Questions for you:

Do you like hiking in the rain?

Are there any historic hikes near you?

Manalapan Diner

April 20, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: coffee, Diner, food, menu, new jersey, pork chops, review 2 Comments

Recently I went to the Manalapan Diner. I had just taken a nice walk around the Manasquan Reservoir and decided to stop on the way home. It was around dinner time, and it was already crowded. That’s a good sign.

Atmosphere: A
The Manalapan Diner is a nice large, building with plenty of parking. It looks like a regular restaurant, and it isn’t the old school chrome you might see. The inside has plenty of booths, tables, and a bar. It looks like a stereotypical diner.

Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed hot and fresh, and the waitress brought many refills. I appreciated the cute little saucer. I have no complaints, and it was some of the better coffee I’ve had.

Food: B
The menu at the Manalapan Diner is massive, and it is hard not to find something that you were interested in.

There are all of the diner favorites like breakfast, sandwiches, and dinners. There are also unique items like steak tacos.

I decided to order off of the specials menu and got the pork chops. The entire meal was massive.

First, it came with soup and a salad. I appreciated I was able to choose a greek salad and the greek salad came with anchovies.

For my soup, I chose the seafood bisque. It was creamy, but I was disappointed in the lack of seafood. There was barely any in there, and if I had blindly guessed, I would have thought it was tomato bisque.

The pork chop was massive, but it was kind of bland. It wasn’t especially bad but lacked any flavor. It was huge though and came with mixed vegetables.

Dessert: B
My meal came with dessert, and I chose the bread pudding. The bread pudding tasted more like flan but wasn’t bad. I liked it but there wasn’t much bread, and it was more “custardy.”

Service: A
The waitress was friendly and refilled our beverages often. She was funny too which is always a plus. I have no complaints.

Cost: $
For my meal and coffee, it was $20 which was a great deal for the amount of food.

Overall Thoughts/Summary:
I liked the Manalapan Diner, and it’s a stereotypical NJ diner. I would go back if I’m in the area.

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

You can See all 238 Diner Reviews Here.

Questions for you:
Do you like pork chops?
What is your favorite type of soup?

Rt 70 Diner (Lakewood)

April 13, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, brunch, Diner, eggs, food, menu, new jersey, new jersey shore, review, steak

Recently I went to the Rt. 70 Diner in Lakewood, NJ. As the name indicates, it’s located right off of route 70. It’s actually a fairly new diner and opened earlier in January.

We needed a new diner and it’s becoming harder and harder to find a diner both NJ Isn’t Boring and I haven’t been too. She’s actually been to about 20-30 more than I have! We’ve been to somewhere around 50 diners together.

Atmosphere: B
The Rt 70 Diner is located in a small shopping center next to a few other restaurants. The outside blends in with the shopping center, while the inside is decorated like a stereotypical diner. There are a few booths, tables, and a bar up front. There isn’t more than about 20 seats in the diner, so it’s not huge.

Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed hot and fresh. The waitress brought plenty of refills.

Food: A
The Rt 70 Diner is open until 3 pm and has plenty of breakfast and lunch options. They have plenty of specials as well. I was in the mood for breakfast, so I ordered the ribeye and eggs. It also came with home fries and toast.

I asked for the steak medium. It was cooked as requested. The eggs were excellent and the toast had plenty of butter. In all, the meal was good, and I would order it again.

Service: A
The waitress was friendly, and our food came out quickly. I have no complaints. I enjoyed her humor as well.

Cost: $
For my meal and coffee; the cost was $14.

Overall Thoughts/Would I come back?
I liked the Rt 70 Diner, and it was a good stop. I would go back. Its a cute, easy, quick stop to the shore.

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

You can see all diner reviews here.

Questions for you:

How do you like your steak cooked?

What is your favorite breakfast food?

Monarch Diner (Glassboro)

April 6, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, coffee, Diner, food, healthy, new jersey, review, vegan, vegetarian

Recently I was at the newly opened Monarch Diner. The Monarch Diner was updated from PB’s Diner and Taproom. New ownership and brand new look. Typically I’m confused about whether an updated or new ownership diner should be considered, “new,” but I’ve come to terms with if it has a new name and new owner, it’s new.

Atmosphere: A
I arrived on a Friday for dinner, and it was busy. There was already a wait. The outside is a cobblestone building with a touch of modern flair, while the inside has plenty of booths, tables, and a full-length bar. It’s much brighter than PB’s Diner and Taproom, and it’s much more “diner.”

Coffee: B
The Monarch Diner serve local Lacas coffee which was excellent. I could have used more refills, but other than that, it was good.

Food: B
The menu at the Monarch Diner is vast. It’s also one of the most unique diner menus I’ve ever seen. If you are vegan or vegetarian, there is an entire page of options. The Monarch Diner also has the ability to sub regular bread for cauliflower bread. I’ve never seen that a restaurant, let alone diner, so I had to try it.

For my appetizer, I decided to order the grilled Meditteranean platter. It came with grilled squash, eggplant, cauliflower pita points, hummus, and tzatziki sauce. It was good. The vegetables were cooked perfectly. I didn’t know what to expect from the cauliflower pita but it was delicious, and I have no complaints.

For my entree, I ordered the BLT on cauliflower bread. It was a $3 upcharge, but I was so fascinated by it, that I decided I had too. The BLT was stuffed with plenty of bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and even avocado. The cauliflower bread was good, and truthfully I couldn’t taste much of a difference.

I asked to substitute the fries for a side salad, but they said that wasn’t an option, so I just chose one of the side vegetables. I was surprised I couldn’t but not the end of the world.

Dessert: A
I chose a chocolate pie to go. The chocolate pie was delicious. It had plenty of whipped cream and pudding, and I have no complaints. While not cake, and not usually something I would order, the whipped cream called my name. We all know if it has whipped cream, I will probably like it.

Service: A
The waitress was nice, and our food came out quickly. In all, it was a great diner. I always appreciate it when the manager (or maybe owner) walks around to see how the meal was.

Cost: $$
For the appetizer, meal, coffee, and dessert, it was $40. This isn’t an inexpensive diner, but the food is good.

Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back?
I liked the Monarch Diner, dare I say it, better than PB’s? I would go back, and it’s one of my favorite in the area.

Atmosphere: A
Coffee: B
Food: B
Service: A
Dessert: A
Cost: $15-30
Overall: A

You Can See All 237 Diner Reviews Here.

Questions for you:
What is your favorite dessert?

Have you tried cauliflower crust? I don’t love or hate cauliflower crust. To me, it’s not a substitution for bread (and I don’t need it), but I do like the flavor and having it once in a while.

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