West Essex Diner (Fairfield)

May 19, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: burger, Diner, dinner, food, new jersey, restaurant, review Leave a comment

Recently I was at the West Essex Diner in Fairfield, NJ. I was in the area and googled diners closeby, and it came up. I’ve been to Fairfield a few times, and I wondered why I hadn’t ever discovered the West Essex Diner. Once I got there, it was abruptly clear. The West Essex Diner takes the place of the Versaille Diner which I went to last year. I didn’t “love” the Versaille Diner, so truthfully I wasn’t surprised it closed. I did laugh, when I got there, and I was like “I’ve been to this location before” and realized it had closed and reopened.

Atmosphere: A
The West Essex Diner is clean and modern. The outside is welcoming. When I was there last, it was under construction, and I remember watching construction workers do work on the outside. The inside is clean, bright, and looks exactly like what you picture in a NJ diner.

Coffee: B
The coffee was brewed hot and fresh, but there wasn’t anything unique or unusual about it. It was terrible but not surprising either, somewhere in the middle as diner coffee goes.

Food: B
The West Essex Diner has everything you can imagine. There are pages of breakfast options, different lunch and dinner options and a full page of specials too.

I decided to order the “Heart Attack Burger.” It was two patties with American cheese, grilled onions, and mushrooms. It also came with fries. The burger itself was good. It was a lot of burger, and there was plenty of grease that dripped off. The fries were bland, but they weren’t terrible. I would order it again.

Service: B
When we arrived, the diner was about 1/3 filled. We were sat in an awkward location and waited for a long time for someone to come over. It became clear that none of the servers knew we were in their section. Our waiter was friendly, and our drinks were refilled often. I think I blinked and our food came out, in fact, it came out in less time than it took to take our orders.

Cost: $
For my burger and coffee, the cost was $17.

Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back?
I think the West Essex Diner is a much improvement of the Versaille Diner and I would go back if I’m in the area. They have a lot of fun breakfast options that I would like to try.

Atmosphere: A
Coffee: B
Food: B
Service: B
Cost: $12-17

You Can See All 243 Diner Reviews Here.

Questions for you:
What is your favorite kind of burger?
Have you ever been to a place that’s reopened under new management?

Paul’s Family Diner (Mountain Lakes)

May 18, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, brunch, Diner, food, new jersey, review 3 Comments

On our way to go hiking at High Point State Park, we stopped at Paul’s Family Diner in Mountain Lakes, NJ. The area is about 2 hours from me, so I don’t make it up here a lot. Northwest NJ, has a lot of hiking and elevation change. I enjoy how rural it is.

When we got to Pauls Family Diner around 7 am, there were only a couple of other parties in the diner.

Atmosphere: A
Paul’s Family Diner looks like a modern, NJ Diner. The outside is chrome and draws you in. The inside has plenty of seating including booths, tables, and a bar. There is a massive dessert case which captivated me every time I walked by.

Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed hot and fresh. The coffee was excellent and at 7 am on a Sunday, you hope it is!

Food: A
Paul’s Family Diner has all of the regular options from breakfast meals including pancakes, omelets, and french toast. There are many different lunch and dinner options as well as a page of specials. They even had a sheet of breakfast specials (which you don’t always see at a diner).

I knew we were going to be out hiking for a while, so I ordered the steak and eggs. Steak and eggs is one of my favorite diner breakfast meals. I’m more likely to order an egg meal versus pancakes. The steak itself was massive, and I ordered scrambled eggs which were cooked well. It came with buttered rye toast and hashbrowns, both were good.

The meal was exactly what I was looking for.

Service: A
We couldn’t ask for better service. The waiter was friendly, and the food came out within 5 minutes. I think I blinked and it was done.

Cost: $$
For my steak and eggs, it was $20. Most steak and egg breakfasts in North Jersey Diners are between $15-18 because of the steak, but still not cheap.

Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back?
I enjoyed my meal at Paul’s Family Diner, and I would go back. It was cooked well, the service was excellent, and I have no complaints.

Atmosphere: A
Coffee: A
Food: A
Service: A
Cost: $15-20
Overall: A

You Can See All 242 Diner Reviews Here.

Questions for you:
What is your favorite breakfast?
How do you like your steak cooked?

Reebok Floatride Run Fast

May 15, 2019 By Hollie in Gear Review, Running Tags: fitness, reebok, review, run, running, shoe, sports 6 Comments

Like I mentioned with the Reebok Floatride Run fast Pro, if you had asked me if I would be running in Reebok a year ago I would have laughed. Now I run in two shoes from Reebok. Plus, the Runfast Pro rivals the Nike 4% and in my opinion, a better shoe when it rains. Recently, Reebok stepped up their game and reentered the running industry.

Floatride Run Fast ( $140)
Weight: 6.05 oz
Stack Height:8mm drop.

Fit:

It fits more similar to a racing flat than a true trainer. It runs narrow, and the top is pointy. If you have a wider foot, it’s better to go up a half size. I found the 10.5 to be a good fit, but I think it was running longer I might go higher than that.

The upper uses a very thin engineered mesh. I can appreciate how the mesh is seamless. If you have a bunion or wider forefront, it won’t rub. The upper is one of the lightest and most breathable of any shoes I’ve run in. It’s worth noting that with the lack of seams, there isn’t a lot of structure to the shoe.

Ride:

The Reebok Floatride Run Fast is a shoe that is designed to run fast. It’s not a true racing flat and has more cushion than the Pro, but it’s a great option for speed work and tempos.

Since it has enough cushion, it could be used as a long run or an easy run shoe, but I don’t think I’ll keep it there myself. If you like running in something flatter or lighter (like the Saucony Kinvara, Hoka Cavu, or New Balance Beacon), you might prefer to train in it.

Reebok has the best traction of any road shoe on the market right now. When it’s raining or wet, I’ve gravitated towards Reebok just because of all of the rubber on the bottom. If I run another rainy race, I’ll probably race in the Run Fast Pro.

Conclusion:

Reebok is definitely back in the running game with their shoes. The Run Fast is a great option for speed work and faster runs. For me, it won’t be an easy run or recovery shoe because I need more cushion.

View this post on Instagram

My first formal speed workout in over a month. Getting out there again is tough but rewarding. . Ran 3×1 mile averaging 6:30 with 2 minutes rest in between.

A post shared by Hollie (@fueledbylolz) on May 8, 2019 at 7:54am PDT

Current Rotation:

Easy/Daily Runs: Hoka Mach 2, Brooks Glycerin 17

Speed Work: Reebok Float Ride Runfast Pro, Nike Streak Lt,

Long Runs: Hoka Cavu 2

Races: Nike Fly, Reebok Run fast Pro

You can see all current shoe reviews here.

Finally, have you subscribed to the LOLZletter? It’s a free newsletter that comes out each Monday. This week I talked about the differences between social media runners and running specialty. In the newsletter, I share running industry trends and things relevant to the sport. There are often giveaways as well as discount codes.

Questions for you:

What is your favorite shoe in the rain?

What shoe are you racing in right now?

Lancers Diner (Horsham, PA)

May 12, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, brunch, coffee, food, pennsylvannia, philadelphia, review 1 Comment

Recently I found myself just north of Philadelphia in Horsham. There were a few diners, and since it was around lunch, I thought I would check one out.

When I arrived at the Lancers Diner, it was packed! It’s one of the few diners I’ve waited for seating.

Atmosphere: B
The Lancer Diner is huge with a large parking lot as well. There is plenty of seating. After waiting for about 20 minutes, I sat in a nice booth by the window.

Waiting around, it felt very cramped in the diner, but once I sat down, there was plenty of space.

Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed hot, and the waitress brought plenty of refills. Plus bonus, it was locally brewed Lacas coffee.

Food: B
The menu at the Lancers Diner is actually on the smaller side! There is a salad bar and the regular diner options like omelets, sandwiches, and dinner options but there is nothing out of the ordinary.

There wasn’t anything that spoke to me, so I ordered the smoked salmon omelet. It came with hash browns and toast. The omelet itself was good and had plenty of salmon and onions. The hash browns were fine. Was it the best diner meal ever? No, but it was good.

Service: A
It took about 20 minutes to sit down, but the food came out in maybe 5. Our beverages were filled often. The waitress was friendly and funny which are both bonuses.

Cost: $
For my omelet and coffee, it was $12.

Overall Thoughts/Would I come back?
I liked the Lancers Diner, and I would go back. It’s a well-kept diner and great for a quick bite to eat.

Atmosphere: B
Coffee: A
Food: B
Service: A
Cost: $10-15
Overall: B

You can see all diner reviews here.

Questions for you:
How do you like hash browns?
What is the longest you have ever waited to sit down at a restaurant?

Tony’s Freehold Grill (Freehold)

May 11, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, Diner, food, freehold, lunch, new jersey, review, wraps Leave a comment

Recently I went to Tony’s Freehold Grill in Freehold, NJ. My good friend, Alexis and I wanted a diner stop before heading to Manasquan Reservoir. Tony’s Freehold Grill has been on my “to do” list for quite some time, and this worked out.

Atmosphere: A
The atmosphere of Tony’s Freehold Grill is as diner as you can get. It’s a small, shiny, metallic building in downtown Freehold. The inside has a small bar as well as plenty of booths. It’s a picturesque old school diner.

Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed hot and fresh. It didn’t taste of old burned diner coffee. Bonus, Tony’s Freehold Grill has personalized coffee mugs. I always appreciate a personalized mug.

Food: B
Tony’s Freehold Grill has everything an old school; the picturesc diner would have. There are dozens of breakfast options including an entire page dedicated to omelets. There are just as many lunch options. After quite some deliberation, we both opted for wraps. I don’t know the last time I had a wrap at a diner. The Mediterranean wrap sounded good, and it was stuffed with grilled chicken, feta, lettuce, tomato, and onion.

I chose a side salad instead of fries. The salad was good, but there was nothing too unique about it.

Service: B
The waitress was friendly, but we could have used more refills on drinks. She didn’t come around too much. Other than that, the experience was excellent.

Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back?
I liked Tony’s Freehold Grill, and it was a nice stop in Freehold. I would go back. There are plenty of options, and it’s a great diner in central Jersey.

You can see all 241 Diner Reviews here.

Questions for you:
What is the last old school restaurant you’ve been too?
What is the best wrap you’ve had?

FueledByLOLZ

Running and Laughing through the Garden State

Tag Archives: review

West Essex Diner (Fairfield)

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Paul’s Family Diner (Mountain Lakes)

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Reebok Floatride Run Fast