Parthenon Diner (Branford, CT)

July 15, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: beets, connecticut, Diner, food, restaurant, review, salad

On the way home from Rhode Island last month, we decided to stop at the Parthenon Diner in Branford, CT. It was an easy stop less than half a mile from the highway, so it made sense. After eating out all weekend, we wanted something easy, simple, and light. I didn’t do much of any research and saw the Parthenon Diner was right off the highway.

Atmosphere: B
When we arrived, we saw it was reviewed as one of the top diners in CT. The atmosphere is big with plenty of space. There is nothing out of the ordinary, but it does have plenty of room, so you never feel as though you’re sitting on top of anyone.

Coffee: B
The coffee was good, and I have no complaints. It was definitely stereotypical diner coffee and slightly burnt.

Food: B
There are plenty of options at the Parthenon Diner. One thing, I appreciated was the number of specials. When you eat out for several days in a row, saving money at restaurants seems like a bigger deal. I ordered the beet and goat cheese salad with steak off of the specials menu. There were plenty of beets and goat cheese, but it could have used a few more greens. The steak was that of normal diners. It tasted as if it had been frozen and recooked. It wasn’t bad though, and I would order it again.

Service: C
Our waitress took a while to come to our table, and we quickly realized it was because she was on her smoke break. She was friendly but definitely smelled very strongly of cigarettes. From what I can gather based on timing, she went on a smoke break a couple of times.

Cost: $
For my salad and coffee, the coast was $15.

Overall Thoughts/Summary:
I liked the Parthenon Diner and would go back. It’s an easy stop right off of 95.

Atmosphere; B
Coffee: B
Food: B
Service: C
Cost: $10-20
Overall: B

You Can See All Diner Reviews Here.

Questions for you:
Do you ever order off of the specials menu?
Do you like beets?

Blue Plate Diner (Newport, RI)

July 8, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: Diner, food, review, rhode island, salad

Last month while in Newport, RI, we decided to go to the Blue Plate Diner. On the outside, it looked good. Plus it was close by the base. When we arrived on a Saturday for lunch, it wasn’t too busy. I was actually surprised with how empty it was.

Atmosphere; A

The Blue Plate Diner looks like a diner. On the outside, it’s big, shiny, and metallic. It’s exactly what you picture in a diner. The inside is similar and very picture perfect: diner. There is a full-length bar, plenty of tables, and plenty of booths. I enjoyed the phrases and sayings painted on top such as “tho should not worship Golden Arches.

Coffee: B

The coffee was usual diner coffee. There wasn’t anything unique or exciting about it.

Food: C

When we arrived, I wasn’t starving, so I ordered the Greek Salad. I was disappointed. Even though I wasn’t hungry, the salad itself was small, and it came with an odd dressing. Was it ranch? Was it mayo?

Although by the time I was able to switch a vingerette, the rest of my party had finished their meals. The salad itself was boring and not something I would order again. Was it edible? Yes. Was it great? No.

Service: C

Even though it wasn’t that busy, the service was extremely slow. We didn’t receive many refills, and by the time the waitress came back with a new dressing my family had finished their meal. I waited because I didn’t care to eat a dry salad.

Cost: $

For my salad and coffee, the cost was $15 which was more expensive than it was worth.

Overall Thoughts/Summary:

The Blue Plate Diner wasn’t the worst diner, I’ve been too but not the best either. It’s an ok stop.

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

You can see all diner reviews here.

Questions for you:
What is the funniest restaurant sign you’ve seen?
What is your favorite salad dressing?

Jackson Hole Diner (Englewood)

July 7, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: Diner, food, greek, new jersey, review, salad 3 Comments

Last month, I found myself in Englewood around lunchtime, so I decided to stop at the Jackson Hole Diner. The Jackson Hole actually has a few locations in NYC and one in NJ.

I heard it was a good stop. I wasn’t starving, but I didn’t want to get stuck in traffic over the George Washington Bridge and be starving.

Atmosphere: A
The Jackson Hole is a nostalgic diner. The outside is metallic and shiny, and the inside has multiple booths, tables, and a full-length bar. It’s actually much bigger than I thought. I ended up sitting in a back room that I didn’t realize even existed. To get to the backroom, you cut through the bar. In the back room, you can see there is actually a downstairs which I think is just a staff room but I’m not sure.

Coffee: C
The coffee took a long time to come out and I didn’t receive any refills. It was a decent coffee but nothing ordinary.

Something that did save the Jackson Hole was the orange juice actually had a lot of pulp and looked as if it was fresh squeezed.

Food: B
The Jackson Hole has plenty of options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I wasn’t starving and decided to default to a Greek Salad. It was cheap and filling. There was plenty of lettuce and toppings, and I have no complaints. It wasn’t massive but good for what I needed for the day. It could have used more toppings as well as pita bread, but other than that, it was good.

Service: D
Our waiter disappeared for long periods of times and we never received refills. I wondered if we were forgotten about because we were in the back corner.

Cost: $$
For the salad and coffee, it was $18 which was a bit pricey for the amount of food. It was one of the cheaper lunch and dinner options though.

Overall Thoughts/Summary:
I liked the Jackson Hole and I thought it was decent food. It was right in the middle of diners as they go. I do wonder how the New York Diners compare and I might try and go to one. If I come back, I’ll make sure it’s when I’m more hungry and want to try something new.

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

You Can See all 195 Diners I’ve Been Here.

Questions for you:

Do you like orange juice or juice with pulp?

What is the worst traffic you’ve ever sat in?

There was once a fire on the Delaware Memorial Bridge, and they forced everyone to exit the turnpike at exit 4. Every single person was single filed through the toll booth, and it took over 90 minutes to go 10 miles.

Dynasty Diner (Tuckerton)

May 19, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: diners, food, greek, new jersey, restaurants, review, salad

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.

NJ Diner 185 was a hot date at the Dynasty Diner with @runeatwinesleep before she runs for the NJ Marathon on Sunday. So much fun!

A post shared by Hollie (@fueledbylolz) on Apr 27, 2018 at 4:57pm PDT

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.

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.

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.

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?

Scotchwood Diner (Scotch Plains)

March 31, 2018 By Hollie in Uncategorized Tags: dessert, Diner, food, new jersey, restaurant, review, salad

Recently I went up to Scotch Plains and met NJ Isn’t Boring at another diner. I’ve heard the Scotchwood Diner is good so when she suggested it, I agreed!

Atmosphere: A
The outside of the Scotchwood Diner is exactly what you picture in a diner. It’s a giant metallic chrome building. The inside has plenty of booths, tables, a giant dessert case, and bar. If you’re looking for stereotypical diner then the Scotchwood Diner is ideal.

Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed hot and fresh each time. There was nothing special or extraordinary about the coffee but it was good.

Food: A
The Scotchwood Diner has everything you would want in a diner. Breakfast is all day and there are plenty of lunch and dinner options too. It has at least a dozen pages of food. I’ve been eating out a lot lately so wanted a healthy salad.

I ordered a Greek salad with chicken which was presented beautifully. Usually when I go to a diner with Cyd and get a salad, they have an awesome presentation.

Service: A
The waitress was extremely friendly and refilled our beverages often. She was one of the best waitresses I’ve had in a while.

Dessert: B
Cyd’s meal came with dessert and as the waitress was explaining the options, I thought the bread pudding sounded great. With the exception of cake, bread pudding is my favorite dessert!

So much for my decision of eating healthy. The bread pudding was good, and there was less bread than pudding. Personally, I prefer more bread. It was good and I would order it again.

Cost: $$
For my coffee, salad, and dessert the cost was $22 which was a bit pricer.

Overall Thoughts/Summary:
I liked the Scotchwood Diner and I would definitely go back. They have a lot of options I want to try.

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

Questions for you:
Do you like bread pudding?
What is a healthy food you enjoy?

Collingswood Diner

March 10, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: diners, food, new jersey, restaurant, review, salad

A few weeks ago, I decided to try the Collingswood Diner. It’s a local diner that gets in the mix of Camden County. It’s an easy drive from center city Philadelphia if you want to go to a stereotypical NJ diner.

Atmosphere: B

The Collingswood diner looks like a stereotypical diner. The outside is cobblestone with a giant Collingswood Diner sign. It’s located in a corner that includes a Jughandle but easy to spot.

The inside is large with multiple booths, tables, and a full-length bar. It could use a modern update, but it looks like a diner.

Coffee: A

I asked for coffee with whipped cream, and the waitress brought me a can of whipped cream and left it on the table.

The coffee was brewed hot and fresh. I have only had one experience that the waitress brings the can of whipped cream to the diner, which oddly also with my brother.

Food: A

The Collingswood Diner has everything you can imagine in a diner. Like 99.9% of the time, I wasn’t sure what I was in the mood for. We had eaten out for lunch as well, so I wasn’t starving or that hungry.

I opted for a Greek Salad with salmon. I was happy with my choice, and the salad was excellent. There was plenty of salmon, greens, and the dressing was tasty. It was one of the better diner salads I’ve had. It was a pleasant surprise. The Collingswood Diner is tucked on the outskirts of Collingswood, so I don’t think it gets the recognization for food deserves.

Service: B

The service at the Collingswood diner was decent. The waitress was extremely friendly, however, at the time we were the only ones in the restaurant, and it took a long time to come out. I was shocked.

Cost: $

For my salad and coffee, the cost was $16 which wasn’t bad for the amount of food I received.

Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back?

I liked the Collingswood Diner and found it to be an underrated diner in the area. I’m surprised more locals haven’t been, and I’ll be back.

Summary:

Atmosphere: B

Coffee: A

Food: A

Service: B

Cost: $8-15

Overall: B

Local diners I’ve been: Route 130 Diner, Crystal Lake, The Pop Shop,

See all 170 Diner Review here.

Questions for you:

Have you ever been the only person at a restaurant?

Medport Diner (Medford)

February 3, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: diners, food, medford, new jersey, restaurant, review, salad, soup, \\ 1 Comment

Recently, I went to the Medport Diner in Medford, NJ. Medford is an area I routinely frequent, however, I had never been. It’s one of the few 24-hour diners in the local area. For some reason, I hadn’t made it until a few weeks ago.

My good friend and fast runner met up after work. It 4pm and even for me, earlier than usual dinner time. There were still plenty of people.

Atmosphere: A
The Medport diner looks like many in New Jersey. It’s a big, shiny, building. The inside has a full-length bar, plenty of tables, and booths. We were lucky to sit in a booth which is my favorite.

Coffee: B
The Medport diner serves Lacas coffee, which is a local coffee. It was decent, but I could have used more. There wasn’t much to say.

Food: A
The Medport diner has everything a stereotypical diner would have from breakfast to dinner. Before going, I was in the mood for a gyro or wrap. When we arrived, they had a salad on display in the front as one of their specials. Even though I had no idea what was on it, it looked delicious. I asked the waitress if I could have the salad in the front. She chuckled and said sure why not. It ended up having a balsamic glaze, mozzarella, strawberries and blueberries, and salad greens. It wasn’t my usual favorite type of salad, but it was great and visual appeal was obviously good too.

Since it was a special, it also came with soup. None of the soups spoke to me, but I ordered the beef barely. It was good soup but not a favorite. It was a cold day anything that warms me up, puts me in a better mood.

Service: C
The waitress seemed to disappear for long periods of time. The diner wasn’t overly busy, so I was left wondering…where did she go. We both needed more drink refills on several occasions as well as wanting the check.

Cost: $
For my salad and coffee, the cost was $15.

Overall Thoughts/Summary:
I pleasantly enjoyed the Medport Diner. I wasn’t sure how I would feel, but it was definitely a good diner, and I will be back. One of my favorites in that general area.

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

Overall: B

Nearby Diners I’ve Been: Red Lion, Shamong, and Marlton

You can see all 167 diners here.

Questions for you:
Do you order by specials or usually know?
What is your favorite salad topping?

FueledByLOLZ

Running and Laughing through the Garden State

Tag Archives: salad

Parthenon Diner (Branford, CT)

Blue Plate Diner (Newport, RI)

You can see all diner reviews here.

Jackson Hole Diner (Englewood)

Dynasty Diner (Tuckerton)

Scotchwood Diner (Scotch Plains)

Collingswood Diner

Medport Diner (Medford)

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