I just wanted to thank everyone who read my blog all semester for their support and interest. However, I am choosing not to continue this blog for the moment. I might come back to it at a future point, but not right now. I enjoyed this assignment, and learning about the different applications that you can use on the web. I think in the future and when time permits, I might start a different blog with something that pertains a little bit more to other interests of mine, like politics. I will keep you all updated, but for right now I am signing off. Thank-you, once again, for your continued support.

I just thought that I would give a preview entry for the slide show that I am going to put up. It’s a few photos of my friends and I just having a good time at diners, from the old times. I don’t get to see them that much anymore, so it was a trip down memory lane for me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

This is my second interview, then I will prepare the slideshow for presentation. Anyways, I interviewed my friend, Nicole, about her diner experiences and hanging out with us,  the crazy few of South Jersey.

Q: What was your favorite diner we ever went to and why?

A: The only reason that I am giving the same answer as Dennis is because this was connected to my favorite diner moment. There was that time when we all went to see Brandy’s new apartment on Valentine’s Day, and then we all went out afterwards. We must have been in the Phily Diner for over three hours, just filling up on appetizers and soda, just talking. It was an awesome night.

Q: What was our favorite diner moment and why?

A: (Answer was given in last question.)

Q: What was our worst diner moment and why?

A: I think that our worst diner moment was when we all went out bowling that night last summer, when we closed out the place, and then argued about where we were going to eat. It took us three stops before we decided where we were going to eat at, and I don’t even remember where we wound up because we were all so mad at each other by the time we sat down to eat.

Q: What was the latest we were ever out diner hopping that you can remember?

A: I think the latest that I was ever out at a diner with you guys was that one night when we went to Brandy’s apartment. (Refer back to question 1)

Q: What was the best waitress we ever had?

A: The best waitress we ever had by far, in a diner, was that girl you guys went to high school with, I think her name was Patty. She gave us discounts on our appetizers. I don’t want to say what diner it was at though, because I don’t want her to get in trouble if anyone sees this.

I just wanted to start off with my first interview of two, and then try and put together a slide show for everyone. My first interview was with a guy I diner hop with quite freqently, my friend Dennis. I asked him five questions about our diner experiences, and as always, he weighs in with his honest opinion.

Q: What was your favorite diner in the course of all of our trips out?

A: I think my favorite one would have to be the Phily Diner. I think it’s because I remember all of those times in high school we went there after dances, or when you had down time from college. It’s nice to go to the Sports Bar once in a while to socialize with friends. I can remember that one night at Adelphia’s, even though we were really tired, we weren’t too tired to stop in there for some munchies on the way home.

Q: What was our favorite diner moment and why?

A:  I think my favorite diner moment would have to be when we pulled up in that huge limo to the Starview Diner. Everyone was looking at us outside trying to see who was getting out of the car! We were celebrities for the night. I forget what we were talking about at our table when we were inside, but I remember that we had the whole cast of a stage production of Mercy Me sitting next to us giving us a glare, probably because we were loud and obnoxious.

Q: What was our worst diner moment and why?

A: I think our worst diner moment was when we all went to the Blackhorse Diner on Christmas day, years ago. There was nothing else open, and the food was horrible. Joe got Spaghetti and Meatballs that one time, and I remember us all referring to them as dog food!

Q: What was the latest we were ever out diner hopping that you can remember?

A: I can remember us being out diner hopping as late as four in the morning. In fact, I think it was the night that you came home from college. We had gone out to see a show in Cherry Hill, and then we got hungry on the way home. The only thing is I can’t remember which diner we stopped at.

Q: What was the best waitress that we ever had?

A: I think the best waitress that we ever had was when we went to Starview Diner. There is this older lady that works there that has short blond hair, and she always has good suggestions for what you should order. I remember that is how we came to like their Chicken Quesadillas so much. It is one of the cook’s specialties.

I know it’s been a while, but I am putting together a new couple of entries today for my Final Project, and I wanted everyone to know. I am going to do a couple of interviews (which will be labeled), and I am going to try and fit in another slide show. I hope you guys all enjoy. Thanks for reading my site!

I just went to the Sage Diner (located in Mount Laurel) yesterday, and there was a lot to be desired. The people in this place just exude attitude like you wouldn’t believe, and it absolutely made me want to leave…

Food?

Here starts the problems with this place. While my mom had a pretty good opinion of the food at this diner, I beg to differ with her. We had Chicken Orzo soup and salads to start, but I really didn’t care for the salad at all. The soup was ok, but not spectacular by any means. My mom had Lamb Chops for dinner, which she said were good, but I didn’t think they looked that great or impressive.She also had clams on the half-shell, which mom said she liked. I had Chicken Parm again at this place just to compare, and it was really bad. The chicken still had the bones in it.  

Friendliness of Staff?

I would classify this diner as being a bit more upscale. I thought the waitresses were snooty, extremely impolite, and I really didn’t enjoy my dining experience at all here.

Look/Authenticity?

The outside of the diner was set up with nice landscaping and bricks, and the inside was a little confusing. It seemed as if they had mismatched dining areas. The whole inside of the building reminded me of some kind of gerbil tunnel. They had partitions everywhere, had a counter on one side with seating, but everything in the building ultimately went out in thise swirly-type spindle patterns. It was dreadful.

Speed of Order?

Like I said before, everything at this diner left a little bit to be desired, not excluding this either. We had to wait too long for everything to be brought out to the table, the waitress didn’t check on us, and didn’t come back to refill our drinks as she should have. I guess I am sorry we were not one of their rich groups of people that came in, who by the way (and I saw this), got attended to as soon as they sat down.

Location?

The diner is in a pretty central location. It is near a lot of business complexes and other restaurants, as well as being right near the Cracker Barrel. We took the NJ Turnpike to get there, but my mom said that you can also take I-295 to get to the area as well. The only reason we took the way we did is because Mr. Garmin told us to. (It’s all his fault.)

Price for Portion?

This diner was also a bit pricey, to the point where it was not even worth coming here in my opinion. We have certainly got more than that and paid less money in other places. The White Horse Diner would be an example of that.

Well, thanks for reading everyone, and now on to Diner Charms!

Taste of Food: 4

Friendliness of Staff: 2

Look/Authenticity: 5

Speed of Order: 4

Location: 6

Price for Portion: 3

I just had an all-around good time at this next place, and I hope you all check it out. The White Horse Diner, located in Berlin, NJ, is the most unassuming place from the outside, but the food is amazing, the portions are huge, and the price is more than reasonable.

Food?

Ok, well, no one is ever going to have complaints about the taste of this diner’s food, because it was just excellent. They put bread on the table for us, and we also each had soup and a salad. My mom had some kind of homemade soup with beans in it, and I had cream of chicken. Both soups were fantastic, fresh, and home made. You couldn’t have asked for anything better. My mom had some kind of eggplant dish that I couldn’t pronounce. It was served with pasta, which came with mine too. She said her meal was very good. I had Chicken Parm, and it by far was the biggest portion that I have ever seen. It was very tasty too. Dessert also came with the meal, which by the time we got through all the food that came with dinner, we were stuffed, but we found room.

Friendliness of Staff?

Not that this was a bad thing or anything, but there were a lot of male waiters in this place. It was just an observation that I made. Also, just because I am a heavier set person and I know that I have a pet peeve about diners (when the booths are not big enough), I noticed that the booths in this place are huge and I can actually fit in them! So if anybody also has this problem, be rest assured. Otherwise, the waiter we had was attentive, polite, and brought us our order in due time.

Look/Authenticity?

Like I said before, the place from the outside was very unassuming. You might describe it as a hole in the wall if you just looked at it and didn’t go inside. It’s actually very nice and neat in the interior. Big booths and nice arrangements in aisles for walking space complement the decor.

Speed of Order?

You will have no problem with this aspect of the service in the diner either. They come over to the table right away to take care of you, and will continue to check on you throughout the meal. They bring out appetizers and snacks first, and do not make the mistake of bringing your dinner right out on top of it, which I have experienced in many places, but not here.

Location?

This diner might be a little hard to find because it is set back from the road, and it is a little far, but it is so worth the trip. You would drive like you were going to the Berlin Diner, but the turn is way before that, and like I said, you have to be careful because the turn will sneak up on you.

Price for Portion?

The price for the food we got was more than reasonable. If you flip back to the previous section and see all of the food, we got all of that for about twenty-five dollars. It was absolutely amazing!

Well, thanks for reading guys, and now on to Diner Charms!

Taste of Food: 10

Friendliness of Staff: 9

Look/Authenticity: 7

Speed of Order: 10

Location: 6

Price for Portion: 10

Also, like I said in a couple of entries before, I would love to hear about readers’ experiences on the message board!

I would just like to thank all the viewers for reading my blog all semester, first of all. I have been getting a lot of hits lately, and I just wanted to send kudos out to anyone who has been a follower. Again, I have been to another diner this week, The Stratford Diner. I hope you guys all enjoy my comments. Have fun!

Taste of Food?

Well, to start off with, I had some chicken noodle soup, which was obviously homemade and very good. My mom had some form of a Greek salad, and she ate the whole thing. I had steak quesadillas, which were out of this world amazing. I loved the melted cheese on top. It was a quickie dinner Thursday night, but all of the food that we had was good. This was a diner that I have been to many times before, and pictures of the place are featured in my Picture Slideshow entry.

Friendliness of Staff?

We had a pretty cool waitress the other night. She was very friendly, and came back to the table a lot to fill our drinks and check on us. I felt bad, because I remember that I had to answer a phone call at the table once, and she was worried about disturbing me on the phone. I apologized to her later for the rudeness. She was very polite, and did stay for a little bit to chat it up. I like it when waitresses are more conversational. It just makes them more personable to the customer.

Look/Authenticity?

The Stratford definitely has the classic diner feel, what with the chrome, the small booths, and the tile floors. It is really spacious inside, more so than a lot of the diners that I have already seen. I liked the posters inside too. It is a unique attribute to this diner, because they have  famous photos from the past and photos of famous people, like Marilyn Monroe (see Slideshow). They also have a wall of autographs when you first walk in. I think one of the first ones I glanced at was from Dean Martin.

Speed of Order?

We got our appetizers fairly quick, but we had to wait a little bit for our food. The steak quesadillas took a little longer to cook, but they were definitely worth waiting for. Like I said, we were eating and running, so there wasn’t much said for comment on a lot of stuff with this place, at least from mom.

Location?

The Stratford Diner is in a very good location. It is a straight drive down the Blackhorse Pike, but you have to go a few miles beyond where you would find places like the Starview and the Magnolia Diner all clustered together. It’s by itself in a parking lot next to a Burger King. Beware of the parking lot. It’s in a U-shape that you can only drive halfway around looking for a spot before you are forced to go back out onto the street and go in the other side of the lot again.

Price for Portion?

I would say the price for this diner was in the medium range. I have had cheaper tabs, but it wasn’t terrible either, and the food was definitely good. I think the steak quesadillas were about the best that I ever had.

Well, thanks for reading, and now on to Diner Charms!

Taste of Food: 8

Friendliness of Staff: 7

Look/Authenticity: 8

Speed of Order: 5

Location: 8

Price for Portion: 6

Food?

My mom and I had some of our usual favorites. I had the clams casino (note that I was half-asleep last night when we visited), and mom had these really gross looking mussels, which she said were good. My mom had something that I believe that she has also had before in the past, called Spinach Pie, which she ate most of. She told me she thought that was quite tasty as well. I had a steak that came with three sides: soup or salad (I had the soup, which was Chicken Orzo last night), and two veggies. I had their apple sauce and mashed potatoes and gravy. It was really good, for the time that I was awake, and before I got full…lol 

Friendliness of Staff?

It has been a rare instance lately where we have had a waitress that is friendly and likes to chat it up. We had just that kind of lady last night. I thought her and my mom were going to be like best friends or something! There is one thing that I noticed that I particularly liked. Most places don’t offer to box up your food after you are done eating. They just bring you the box and the bag, and tell you that you take what you want off the plate. The lady took everything that we didn’t eat (as we were being served new courses) and boxed and bagged everything for us. I thought that she was so sweet! I forgot to mention this in the last section, but we did have rolls on the table, and she brought them out hot from the oven, which never happens! I wish that I wasn’t so exhausted when we went out last night. She gave us plenty of space between every course, gave us time to eat our appetizers, was friendly and polite, and was just all around a good waitress. I would definitely go back here again. This was my first trip here, and I would definitely say the service here is at a very high standard. 

The Look

Everyone will be able to tell that the diner is a little bit older and is in need of some repair, but the food is the most important thing, and that was quite excellent. The diner wasn’t set up like a classic fifties place. It had wallpaper and nice booths, had a traditional counter, and was quite pleasant inside, but it could use some sprucing up. 

Speed of Order?

Like I said before, this place was excellent as far as service, and this went hand in hand with that. The waitress was kind and friendly, asked us how we liked everything cooked (especially since I was having a steak, which some don’t do), and gave us enough space in between courses without making us feel like we were neglected customers. Mom and I had an all-around good experience at this diner, and we both hope that all of my readers will go out and give this place a try.

Location?

The Palace Diner is in a pretty decent location, as it is right on a main road (Route 73). You drive the same way as if you were going to the New Berlin Diner, but it’s a little closer and you make one left turn.

Price for Portion?

The price for what we ate at this diner was extremely reasonable, and we got a ton of food. Quality and Quantity are both in the forefront at this place. The diner is not only worth the trip for the taste of the food, but you certainly can’t beat the prices either! (especially if you eat out as much as my family does, because none of us cook)

Well, that about concludes this entry, and now on to Diner Charms!

Taste of Food: 10

Friendliness of Staff: 10

Look/Authenticity: 7

Speed of Order: 9

Location: 8

Price for Portion: 10