| ▲ | The Classic American Diner(blogs.loc.gov) |
| 86 points by NaOH 3 hours ago | 38 comments |
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| ▲ | hackingonempty an hour ago | parent | next [-] |
| One of my hobbies is looking up old prices in the BLS CPI calculator to see what they would cost today (March 2026 is the latest data.) The June 1940 photograph along Hwy 1 in Maryland had $0.05 hotdogs ($1.17) and $0.10 burgers ($2.34). The Feb 1959 photograph from the NYC diner advertises a $0.45 burger ($5.14) and probably a $0.75 steak sandwich ($8.57) |
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| ▲ | dylan604 4 minutes ago | parent [-] | | These prices adjusted for today's value seem off though. I'm guessing you'd be hard pressed to find a diner burger for $5.14 anywhere. No, fast food joints are not the same here and not part of this discussion. Where is the discrepancy? I've never really trusted these "adjusted for inflation" type numbers. I'm not an economist so I have no idea how they are calculated, but they've always just felt off to me. Usually, the numbers are for something esoteric to me, but these are about something I have some familiarity. In my experience, the adjusted burger price is about half the actual cost of today. | | |
| ▲ | plemer 2 minutes ago | parent [-] | | That may be the point. Simple inflation adjustment gives us x but the real price is more or less than x. Why is that? |
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| ▲ | joecool1029 8 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| NJ got snubbed in this submission. We still have tons of independent diners (around 450 according to this article: https://www.npr.org/2024/04/01/1241959475/new-jersey-diners-... ) |
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| ▲ | chiph 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| I took a visitor from Finland to a Jim's location in Austin, and they were in awe. "It's just like from the movies!" (because it was - it has been used several times as a filming location). If you have a classic diner in your town, take your foreign guests there for the experience. |
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| ▲ | A_D_E_P_T an hour ago | parent | next [-] | | Looks like they have them in Helsinki: > https://maps.app.goo.gl/NCiZgiRjGckp6Jzn6 And if that doesn't appeal, there's another one: https://maps.app.goo.gl/e3ZWtXWEKPvDnded8 Something you've got to realize is that this form of culture is something that has gone far beyond America's borders. To the European, it is the very pinnacle of "American Food" -- and 50s/60s themed diners are all over the place. From Belgrade, Serbia: https://share.google/qGq9vC7tKgf0ISyLz To out-of-the-way towns in Austria: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bzHfTAobTRkHpvAN9 Germany's chock full of them. (The Germans are also more obsessed with "Cowboys and Indians" and Western US culture than any nation I've ever seen.) France has multiple "American Diner" chains e.g.: https://www.happydaysdiner.com/ I'd hazard that there are nearly as many of these restaurants outside the US as there are inside of it. Within the US it's "throwback/nostalgia." Outside the US it's "exotic/kitsch." Maybe your Finnish friend was remarking that the American version somehow felt more "real"? I don't know... I've been to all sorts, and the ones in Europe are truly very similar. | | |
| ▲ | MrDrMcCoy 36 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | Fun to see all that, but curious why I haven't seen any on any of my trips across the UK and Ireland. I even asked some locals and they did not know of any diners anywhere in the country. I would've thought they would've been all over it. | | |
| ▲ | ericgreveson 12 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | We have an independent one, Herbie's, just down the road from us outside Cambridge. It's pretty good! They have a wide range of imported US fizzy drinks cans too! | |
| ▲ | A_D_E_P_T 30 minutes ago | parent | prev [-] | | The UK has these "American Diner" chains too: https://okdiners.com/ I thought that the "Elvis Diner" was practically a meme in the UK, actually. Hah. |
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| ▲ | chrisco255 44 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | Your first link is a restaurant in a shopping mall. It has the interior facade of being a diner, and it serves...avocado bites, spicy chicken nachos, kimchi burgers, etc. Not really the same! Vegas has an eiffel tower too... | |
| ▲ | thaumasiotes an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | > Something you've got to realize is that this form of culture is something that has gone far beyond America's borders. To the European, it is the very pinnacle of "American Food" -- and 50s/60s themed diners are all over the place. What do they serve? | | |
| ▲ | A_D_E_P_T 43 minutes ago | parent [-] | | Burgers, shakes, pancakes, hot dogs, sometimes BLTs and tuna melts. That sort of thing. In Europe, the "American Diner" is usually the only place that'll serve a normal plate of pancakes. (Everywhere else it's crepes, which are completely different...) | | |
| ▲ | andrew_lettuce 28 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | Fried chicken, liver and onions, biscuits and gravy - the breakfast options are my jam, but not really the other entrees. You can order dessert regardless though! | |
| ▲ | thaumasiotes 23 minutes ago | parent | prev [-] | | Sounds pretty reasonable. Within the US, there are at least two major diner chains: https://www.dennys.com/ https://www.ihop.com/en At a diner in America, I'd be unsurprised to see some less "diner" offerings. When I go to my local non-chain diner, I order fettucine alfredo. And the article here has a good picture of a diner advertising "American and Korean food". I think part of the core diner concept is a somewhat athematic menu that is meant to cater to local tastes. With that in mind, Cheesecake Factory might also be thought of as a diner. https://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/menu So I'm a little surprised at the idea of a diner that only has classic burgers / shakes / pancakes, but I'd have to admit those are fairly core dishes. |
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| ▲ | bigyabai an hour ago | parent | prev [-] | | I think there's a difference between the "squeeze-in" style diners and simply American-style diners like the ones you've posted. A lot of the nostalgia comes from the tiny prefab buildings that barely manage to fit a bar and row of booth seats. Those are the ones from the movies that feel more authentic/classic in person, at least to me. |
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| ▲ | fellowniusmonk an hour ago | parent | prev [-] | | Jim's is legit amazing. I end up going very rarely but every time I do it's been a perfect diner experience. I tried their liver and onions (an aquired taste it turns out I don't really have) and a slice of some meregiune pie and idk, it really transported me, the food is always very real tasting, it's hard to isolate what it is that makes so much food taste manufactured now. It's like Donns Depot, places that connect us to some wholesome parts in our shared history. |
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| ▲ | sgtaylor5 20 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| https://franksdiners.com just looking at the video makes me hungry. |
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| ▲ | Lammy an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| > Not all diners look like train cars, but many do because they were fabricated to look that way, […] features a corrugated metal surface Article would do well to mention that this particular style comes from cars manufactured by Budd Company, who developed the necessary process of welding the stainless steel, first seen on Burlington's “Zephyr”: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_welding - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Zephyr |
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| ▲ | tuvix 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Visited Portland, Maine recently and ate at Becky’s Diner there. What a wonderful place, the food was just what you would expect when walking in (and I mean that in the best way). It made me lament the lack of old school diners where I live. Sometimes you just need a perfectly cooked breakfast and some solid coffee! |
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| ▲ | kshacker 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Don't know about "classic". But diners used to be my weekly jaunt here in South Bay for almost a decade. Not any more because with age you realize the quantity is too much and my drive to work changed (WFH). There's something special about going to your regular place, seeing the same servers, and them knowing your order before you say it. Probably the same in dinner restaurants but we don't repeat restaurants as often whereas the breakfast / lunch diner was weekly so very familiar (to both sides). Tried to switch places a couple of times just for experience but it never felt the same ... but you can make it work. |
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| ▲ | yumraj 2 hours ago | parent [-] | | which one(s) in South Bay? any recommendations? | | |
| ▲ | kshacker an hour ago | parent | next [-] | | My favorite is Holders Country Inn. I used to go to the one in Cupertino before it burnt down. They moved, this was on Deanza long time back, and the one on Wolfe does not have the same old diner feeling, it is for the next gen :) Now I go to the one on Saratoga. And while I do not go as often to other places, I have been to and liked Hobees, then there is one Joe's near Half Moon Bay. We go there as a family when we hike at Cowell Purisima trail nearby. And while I am rambling about places to eat, a recent non-diner discovery has been El Caminito on El Camino Real. | |
| ▲ | dinerdude an hour ago | parent | prev [-] | | Not OP but I'd recommend the Peninsula Fountain Grill in Palo Alto. Peter's Cafe isn't bad either if you've got time to kill near the Millbrae CalTrain station. |
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| ▲ | solomonb an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| I love diners but they aren't affordable anymore! I want a cheap simple meal and bad coffee. The diners that seem to survive in this market end up up-scaling their menus. : ( |
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| ▲ | cogman10 33 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | Tastes have changed and I think people have been highly exposed to tastier dishes. There's also the "Denny's" problem. Classic diners tend to be pretty much the same as a Denny's in terms of quality. | | |
| ▲ | kube-system 26 minutes ago | parent [-] | | Yeah, chain restaurants have dominated most of the market everywhere out through and including the exurbs. But if you go to somewhere deeply rural you can still find cheap crappy diner food. |
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| ▲ | SJC_Hacker 20 minutes ago | parent | prev [-] | | Waffle House is your jam. Only in the southern US unfortunately |
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| ▲ | acheron 40 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Worcester, MA has several classic old diners still. Some used to be manufactured there, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_Lunch_Car_Company |
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| ▲ | neves an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| The photos does not display what I hate the most: the fixed 2 double seats tables. It is completely antisocial. You can't arrive with your group of six friends and "join tables" so everybody can seat together. What Americans have against a big group of friends? |
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| ▲ | allthetime an hour ago | parent | next [-] | | You can fit at least 6 in one of those booths. Get closer with your friends! You can also play musical chairs and lean over the divider (or could before covid) | |
| ▲ | rconti 42 minutes ago | parent | prev [-] | | Doesn't fit in a rail car, at least not when paired with a walkway, and a counter/bar, and a kitchen? |
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| ▲ | thenipper an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Oh nice. I remember miss bellows falls from growing up! |
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| ▲ | contingencies 38 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| I did a lot of research in to the evolution of US fast food culture recently, from a technology angle. If anyone would be interested in a run-down I might put together a video starting ~19th century and moving to present. |
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| ▲ | ButlerianJihad an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| If you want to dine in an actual railcar, visit the Old Spaghetti Factory! https://www.osf.com/ |
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| ▲ | gowld 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| Why is this boosted to the front page? |
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