Elmwood Park Diner

March 2, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: diners, food, new jersey, review, seafood, steak 4 Comments

While on the way to Upstate, NY my husband and I stopped at the Elmwood Park Diner in Elmwood Park. Road trips can be nice because we can hit some of the most northern diners in NJ.

It was around dinner time, and the diner itself wasn’t crowded.

Atmosphere: A
The Elmwood Park Diner looks like it was bought off a diner website. It’s a big, shiny, metallic diner and looks like something you might see in the movies. If you are in the area and just looking for a diner that meets the stereotype: diner, the Elmwood Park Diner is for you.

The inside has plenty of booths, tables, and a full-length bar. There is a good looking dessert case too.

Coffee: B
The coffee at Elmwood Park Diner was good, but I wanted more. I finished my coffee and could have used more refills.

Food: B
The menu is at the Elmwood Park Diner is overwhelming. I’ve been to over 300 diners and the Elmwood Park Diner had one of the biggest menus of any diner I’ve been too. There is a page dedicated to salads, pancakes, waffles, seafood, and steak…there is an option for everyone.

I decided to order the land and sea option which came with both steak and scallops. I started with a salad and soup. The salad was very dry and bland. I was worried my meal wouldn’t be great based on the salad.

The land and sea entree was great. I appreciated the large portion of steak as well as the seasoned scallops (which I believe was just extra salt). I also enjoyed the side of cabbage. In all, it was a good meal.

Service: B
The waitress was friendly, and our food came out relatively fast. It wasn’t especially good, nor bad.

Cost: $
For my entree and coffee, the cost was $18.

Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back?
I liked the Elmwood Park Diner, and I would come back. It wasn’t the best diner ever, but not a bad stop either. It falls somewhere in the middle.

Atmosphere: A
Coffee: B
Food: B
Service: B
Cost: $12-25

Overall: B

You Can See All 232 Diner Reviews Here.

Questions for you:
What is the biggest restaurant menu you’ve ever seen?
Do you like Scallops?

The Pit Stop Diner (Oceanside, CA)

January 27, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, california, coffee, diners, food, menu, steak

While in California, I knew I wanted to get to a new diner. I’ve already been to both the Studio Diner as well as my very first diner ever: The Corvette Diner (I was born in San Diego, and my dad would always take us there). Anyway!

We weren’t going as south as San Diego, so it made it fairly easy to find a new diner. I found the Pit Stop Diner in Oceanside.

Atmosphere: A
On the outside, the Pit Stop Diner appears to be a “regular” nice restaurant. It’s clean, modern, and fits the look of the plaza.

On the inside, however, it’s more diner than you know how to get ahold of? (After over 300 diner visits, I guess I can use diner as a verb?). The Pit Stop Diner has every license plate, car part, and even a full car inside. Of any inside, it’s definitely one of my favorite atmospheres.

Service: A
Instead of being seated and picking from a menu at your seat, you stand at the front, order, and go sit down. I’ve actually never been to a diner like this, and it was a great experience. The hostess/cashier was friendly and funny, and the food came out quickly.

Coffee: B
Since you ordered at the front, the Pit Stop Diner gave you your own refillable cup to the coffee. They actually didn’t have whipped cream, but the fact I could refill my coffee at my choosing and with a large to go cup), was a huge perk for me.

Food:
The Pit Stop Diner has every type of food you can imagine. One thing I appreciated was breakfast and lunch all day. If you want a huge burger at 8 is, go for it! Omelet for dinner, go for it!

I decided to order the Steak and Eggs. It came with toast, steak, and eggs. I ordered over medium eggs. My meal was huge, and everything was cooked well. It’s one of the better steak and eggs I’ve had in a while. I would order it again.

Cost: $
For my meal and coffee, the cost was $18.

Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back?
I liked the Pit Stop Diner, and it’s one of the better diners I’ve been too overall. I would go back.

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

You Can See All Diner Reviews Here.

Questions for you:
What is the best atmosphere of a restaurant you’ve been too?
Favorite state license plate?

After staring at 10,000 during my meal, I’ve come to terms I like the simplicity of Texas, Hawaii, and NYS (Yes, I know most people hate New York…most people hate my fashion too 😉

Country House Restaurant (West Deptford)

December 1, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, brunch, eggs, food, new jersey, restaurant, steak 1 Comment

Recently I went to the Country House Diner in West Deptford. It’s one of the few in the South Jersey area I haven’t been too.

Atmosphere: B
The outside is a cute little building resembling a house. It’s not a big shiny, metallic diner, but it resembles a country diner.

The inside has mostly booths, small bar, and a few tables. I arrived around 10 am, and it was clearly packed with regulars.

Coffee: A
The Country House Diner brews Lacas Coffee. It was brewed hot and fresh, and we received plenty of refills.

Food: B
Since it was still early, I was given a breakfast menu. I decided to order the number 3. It was steak and eggs, grits or hashbrowns, and toast.

I ordered my steak medium rare, over easy eggs, rye toast, and grits.

The steak was good. It wasn’t rubbery, which is often an issue. The eggs and toast tasted good.

The grits were kind of bland. They weren’t terrible, but they lacked flavor and probably came from a box.

In all, I liked my meal.

Service: A
The waitress was friendly, refilled my beverages, and the food came out quickly. It was great.

Cost: $
The number 3 was $15.95 which included coffee.

Overall Thoughts/Would I go back?
I liked the Country House, and it’s a cute stop right off 295. I would go back, I have no complaints.

Atmosphere: B
Coffee: A
Food: B
Service: A
Cost: $8-16
Overall: B

You Can See All 220 Diners here.

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

Times Square Diner and Grill (NYC)

November 25, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: beets, Diner, food, new york city, restaurant, review, salad, steak 1 Comment

Recently I stopped at the Times Square Diner in NYC. Initially, I had anticipated it was in Times Square and would be busy, but it’s a couple of blocks over on 807 8th Avenue (Between W 48th & 49th St.).

Atmosphere: B
The Times Square Diner has a small sign out front, but it doesn’t stand out on the street.

For a diner in NYC, the inside has plenty of space. You aren’t sitting on top of anyone. There are several booths, a few tables, and a full-length bar.

Coffee: B
The coffee was good but nothing unusual or unique. I could have used more refills, but it was decent coffee.

Food: B
The Times Square Diner has a lot more healthy options than a typical diner. There are many different salads as well as wraps, and sandwiches. They have the usual breakfast, lunch, and dinner options but if you are looking for a healthy option, they have that too.

I decided to order the Greek appetizer which came with pita bread and tzatziki sauce. The pita bread and tzatziki sauce were both excellent. I dare say the pita bread was some of the best I’ve had.

Since the Times Square Diner had so many healthy options, I decided to order the beet salad. There were plenty of beets as well as goat cheese, but I could have definitely used more salad. The beets and the steak were good, but it needed more salad.

I like salad greens, and the trend of salads without the greens (maybe it’s an East Coast thing?) is not my favorite. In short, the salad was good, but I needed more.

Service: C
The server was friendly and the food came out quickly. After our meal, it took a long time for the check to come. We needed to go but waited entirely too long despite asking several times. I think I waited longer for the check than the meal.

Cost: $$
For the coffee, appetizer, and salad it was $24.

Overall Thoughts/Would I Come Back?
I liked my meal, and it was a good stop. I am disappointed in the service though.

Atmosphere: B
Coffee: B
Food: B
Service: C
Cost: $15-25
Overall: B

You can see all diner reviews here.

Questions for you:
How do you prefer your steak?
Do you like beets?

Ridge Diner (Park Ridge)

July 28, 2018 By Hollie in Diners Tags: Diner, eggs, food, menu, new jersey, restaurant, steak 2 Comments

Diner Number 200…

I’ve been waiting to reach this point for a couple of months now. Once I reached about 175, I became increasingly excited to go with my 200^th. Why like anything it’s just a number. For 100, I ended up at the Silver Coin Diner in Hammonton.

We were traveling back from Connecticut and the Ridge Diner in Park Ridge, NJ was right on the way. A few people had mentioned it was a good diner so I decided to stop. Maybe it was just an off day, but nothing about my experience there was pleasant.

Atmosphere: F
I arrived during the lunch hour, and almost every table, booth, and seat was taken. Being busy is fine, and I have no issues waiting. There was one table in the far back, and I was immediately sat there. The problem was, the tables were far too close to each other, and upon sitting down, a waiter said I would need to “scoot in” for the meal because he couldn’t pass. I don’t sit exceptionally far from tables, in fact, I sit rather close to things. In order to be close enough, my body was sitting against the table. During the entire meal, I felt as though as I was sharing a conversation, a meal, and time, with 3 other parties.

Coffee: B

The coffee was decent. It wasn’t good or bad, but the waitress didn’t bring until the meal when I asked.

Food: F
The menu for the Ridge Diner is impressive. They have everything from breakfast to lunch, and dinner. They have plenty of healthy options including salads and sandwiches. I decided to order the steak and eggs. I had a good experience at the previous diner, so had high hopes.

The steak was one of the most rubbery pieces I’ve had. The meal was small, and it when it came out, it didn’t even look appetizing. When I went to eat the steak, it tasted as if it had burned residue from other meals and was cooked dirty grill. It didn’t taste good. I tried to find the positive, but it just wasn’t a good meal. The food took so long to come out, I didn’t have a lot of extra time to wait for a new meal.

Service: D
The waitress was friendly which saved the entire service. She was so busy, and the food took far too long to come out.

Cost: $
For my steak and eggs as well as coffee, it was $18 which was not worth it at all. It was the worst restaurant steak I’ve had, and the portion didn’t merit the price either.

Overall thoughts/Would I Come back:
No. It stinks to have a bad experience, but that is all about the journey.

Atmosphere: F
Coffee: B
Food: F
Service: D
Cost: $10-20
Overall: F

You can see all 200 Diner reviews here.

Questions for you:

Tell me about one of your worst dining experiences!

How do you like your steak cooked?

FueledByLOLZ

Running and Laughing through the Garden State

Tag Archives: steak

Elmwood Park Diner

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Ridge Diner (Park Ridge)

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