Small, independent eateries are thin on the ground in my town, but there are a few.
My favorite place for breakfast is Bradley’s Corner Cafe. It’s run by a guy who was in my high school class.
There’s another couple small cafes, and then there’s a larger, independent restaurant that’s on it’s third generation of family, named McFarland’s.
And one new place opened a year and a half ago, it’s a dedicated hotdog stand, called Top Dog. I love that place and eat there at least once a week. I love the story the owner tells of one of the dogs on their menu, called the Elvis Dog. It has peanut butter, bananas, cornflakes, and he made it up as a joke, thinking nobody would order it. But now he has to always make sure he has bananas on hand, because it became popular.
The places I’m thinking of in my neighborhood open at 10 a.m. for the most part. I swear there were places that opened much earlier to catch the third shift workers getting off their jobs (bars can open at 7 a.m. here in Chicago), but I guess not, or not anymore.
It’s probably, in part, just a semantic difference – the restaurants I’m talking about in this area never have “diner” in their name, nearly always going by “family restaurant.”
There is a little bit of a difference in feel. It’s minor, and might not be important, but when I think of a classic American diner, I have the image of a bar-type area where you can eat your food sitting on a stool, instead of at a table or booth. So you don’t have to look like the sad sack who is eating at a table alone (although that’s never bothered me. )
I still call them “diners,” but the family restaurant types of places are not typically set up like that. I’m racking my brain, but I don’t think any of the four or five “diners” we had in the neighborhood growing up had a bar-type area you could sit at. It was all table seating/booths. I mean, there certainly are restaurants set up that way in Chicago, but it doesn’t seem to be as common as elsewhere.
I actually thought of this distinction when I replied earlier, about the stereotypical diner counter for single diners. But, then, I realized that several (though not all) of the local family restaurants that I go to / have gone to do have that counter.
Just gotta mention Mickie’s Dairy Bar across from the stadium in Madison, WI.
It’s our usual “You Gotta See This Place” for out-of-town guests. The casual servers try to talk you out of ordering more than one pancake (too big), the scrambler is three pounds of heart attack, and the french toast is made by butterflying two attached cinnamon rolls.
There’s usually a line out the door, but not if you get there before the college students wake up.
The decor and prices are retro; I had a hearty breakfast for $6 just yesterday. And, yep, I ate at the bar…
heres the most popular local diner http://www.crazyottosdiners.com/ ……they’ve lost a step over the last year (new owners) or so but still good its like dig’s place but ca prices upped it a bit ….
One daughter just moved to Connecticut, and there are a few diners near her.
We went to a place that called itself a diner in Manhattan. The menu was a diner menu, but it was a piss poor diner, compared to the many others I’ve been to.
I’d heard that Golden Coffee was closing, but looks like it’s still going strong. Anyhow, cheap basic diner in SF (Sutter St., Lower Nob Hill). Get there early – seating is only at the counter, and is limited to a dozen or so. Seriously, this might be the smallest breakfast joint I’ve eaten at. Vintage linoleum-and-vinyl decor, and the prices and menu are minimal.
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