Running and Laughing through the Golden State
Running and Laughing through the Golden State
While in Branchville in Sussex County, I decided to stop at the Jumboland Diner. I wasn’t terribly hungry and in fact was eating a couple of hours later, but I had wanted to go to the Jumboland for a while so I decided to get a light snack. Like all of New Jersey, the Jumboland is open for outdoor seating and takeout. They had a nice picnic table set up so I decided to eat outdoors.
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!
Recently my good friend and I took a road trip to Freehold, NJ to go to the All Seasons Diner II. We wanted to go to a new diner and this seemed like a good one. I haven’t been to Freehold in a while. Many years ago (almost 6 OMG), I went to the All Seasons Diner in Eatontown after the NJ Half Marathon. Rereading one of my first diner reviews makes me realize how far in dinering I have come. Anyway.
All Seasons Diner II Atmosphere: A
The All Seasons Diner II is a large building located after a bridge on the highway. It stands out. The All Seasons Diner II isn’t a shiny, metallic building, but it’s a modern building with a large parking lot.
Inside the All Seasons Diner II, there is plenty of seating, including booths, tables, and a full-length bar. There is a dessert case as well as a salad bar. The salad bar looked massive, so I knew whatever I ordered, I wanted that.
All Seasons Diner II Coffee: A
The All Seasons Diner II serves the locally brewed Lacas coffee. It was brewed hot, fresh, and the waitress brought plenty of refills. It was one of the better coffees I’ve had recently.
All Seasons Diner II Food: B
The All Seasons Diner II menu has everything you can imagine in a diner. In fact, the All Seasons Diner II menu is one of the largest menus of any diner I’ve ever been too. I wasn’t sure what I was in the mood for but the salad bar looked appetizer, so I knew I wanted to order from that.
The All Seasons Diner II menu had so many specials, so I decided to order the pork chops from the early bird special. The meal came with soup, salad bar, the pork chops, 2 sides, and bread pudding. It was a lot of food. A lot!
For my soup at the All Seasons Diner II I decided to order Manhatten clam chowder. It wasn’t as hot as I like soup, but it tasted good.
The All Seasons Diner II salad bar had most everything a salad bar has. There were several different types of pasta salads, green bean salads, and most salad bar toppings. I was surprised the salad bar didn’t have olives though, but I’m a big olive fan. In all, it was a good salad bar and one of the better diner salad bars.
My pork chops tasted good. They weren’t rubbery or overcooked and I liked them—one of the better diner pork chops I’ve had recently.
For my sides at the All Seasons Diner II, I ordered a baked potato and carrots. Something got lost in translation and my waitress brought out green beans. I wasn’t that upset because the green beans interested me more. They were in a marinara sauce (which I’ve never seen them cooked that way.). It was exactly what it looked like: beans and onions in a marinara sauce. It tasted fine; it was just different.
All Seasons Diner II Dessert: C
Since my meal came with dessert, I ordered the bread pudding. The bread pudding came doused in cinnamon. It was good bread pudding; it just tasted like someone dropped a bottle of cinnamon on it.
All Seasons Diner II Service: A
The waitress was friendly and our food came out fast. I have no complaints.
All Seasons Diner II Cost: $
For the entire meal, it was $20.
Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back to the All Seasons Diner II (Freehold)?
I liked the All Seasons Diner II and I had a good experience. It’s a lot of food and a stereotypical diner. I would go back.
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: A
Food: B
Dessert: C
Service: A
Cost: $10-20
Overall: A
Questions for you:
What is your favorite salad bar choice?
Do you like cinnamon?
Recently I was in the Hackensack, Kearny, and Jersey City area. Since it was around lunchtime, I decided to stop. I was hungry but not starving. The Truck Stop Diner is unique because, as the name indicates, it’s located at a real Truck Stop. When we arrived, there were dozens of trucks parked in the massive parking lot.
The Truck Stop Diner Atmosphere: B
The Truck Stop Diner has a stereotypical diner atmosphere. The outside is relatively boring and just has the name “The Truck Stop Diner.”
The inside of The Truck Stop Diner is everything you imagine in a diner. It’s all metallic with chrome seating. There are old schools, booths, tables, and a full-length bar. At the front of The Truck Stop Diner, they sell lottery tickets and candy-like an old school gas station.
The Truck Stop Diner Coffee: C
The coffee at The Truck Stop Diner was ok but not great. It was nothing to write home about.
The Truck Stop Diner Food: C
The Truck Stop Diner menu has everything you picture in a diner and more. There are plenty of breakfast and dinner options. There is a smaller menu at the top of the diner, which at first I thought we were limited too, but then the waitress brought over a full menu. The Truck Stop Diner is known for their “great food”.
When I went to order something, the waitress laughed and said: “oh, we don’t serve that anymore. They try new things and they don’t usually work’. I laughed and tried to order something else which they didn’t sell anymore either. Finally, I just asked the waitress what they did sell and ended up with a vegetable wrap with sweet potato fries.
The wrap was better than I anticipated and the sweet potato fries were nice and crispy. In all it was good food, but I do wonder how many options on The Truck Stop Diner menu they have.
The Truck Stop Diner Service: B
The waitress at The Truck Stop Diner was interesting. I’m sure she’s been working there for a long time. She was quirky but nice and our food came out quickly.
The Truck Stop Diner Cost: $
For my wrap and coffee, it was $12.
Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back to The Truck Stop Diner?
The Truck Stop Diner was a decent stop. I probably wouldn’t be back because there are other, much better places in the general area. Is it a fun spot to check out? Yes. Was the food decent? Yes. Was it a 5-star restaurant? No.
Atmosphere: B
Coffee: C
Food: C
Service: B
Cost: $6-12
Overall: C
Questions for you:
Have you ever ate at a truck stop restaurant?
What is your favorite wrap?
While in Hackensack, I drove by the “Coach House Diner.” I swear I’ve been to the Coach House Diner before, but after spending too much time looking into it, I realized I went to the Coach House Diner in North Bergen. Even when I was sitting inside, The Coach House Diner in Hackensack looked almost identical to the Coach House Diner in North Bergen.
Ironically, I went in to wait out the traffic, but while I was eating, there was an accident on Route 4, which caused about a 30-minute delay. I could have been home much faster if I hadn’t eaten at the Coach House. No regrets.
The Coach House Diner (Hackensack) Atmosphere: A
The Coach House Diner in Hackensack looks like an old coach house. Inside is mid-evil with plenty of booths, tables, and a full-length bar. There is also a salad bar.
You won’t find a bright shiny diner, but I always appreciate a diner that stays with it’s theme.
The Coach House Diner (Hackensack) Coffee: A
The coffee tasted good. The waitress brought plenty of refills. I guess I forgot to take a photo, which is unfornate because the coffee was great.
The Coach House Diner (Hackensack) Food: C
The Coach House Diner menu has everything you expect in a diner. There is an all-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I was surprised that there weren’t any specials at all. I was between a salad with grilled chicken and the greek but decided for the greek.
I wasn’t too hungry, so I decided to order their greek salad with salmon. It’s a staple meal for when I’m not hungry but don’t want to wait (2 hours) to drive home. The salad itself was on the smaller side and there wasn’t a lot of lettuce. I was disappointed with it. The salmon was ok and I was happy it came with anchovies, but no bread like it stated on the menu.
In all, it was ok. It was edible, but by no means great.
The Coach House Diner (Hackensack) Service: A
The waitress at the Coach House Diner was friendly and the food came out fast. I couldn’t have asked for better staff.
The Coach House Diner (Hackensack) Cost: $$
For my coffee and salad, it was $22, which was pricy for what I got.
Overall Thoughts/Would I go back to The Coach House Diner (Hackensack)?
The Coach House Diner (Hackensack) was a decent stop. It wasn’t the best or the worst diner I’ve been too. I do appreciate the atmosphere of the Coach House, though.
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: A
Food: C
Service: A
Cost: $15-20
Overall: B
You can see all 288 Diner Reviews here.
Questions for you:
Have you been in a Coach House?
What is your favorite type of salad?