# Your Favourite Diner Meals **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 19, 2023, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241 "2023-07-19T07:32:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/41 "2023-07-19T20:42:12Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Is that shared with the “gang?” Tribute to Elwood (Blues Brothers). ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/42 "2023-07-19T20:44:24Z")
Ah, one of those “classics” I’ve never bothered to watch. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/43 "2023-07-19T21:57:35Z")
You are dead to me. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/44 "2023-07-19T22:01:25Z")
if they serve breakfast, and I’m in the mood for breakfast, then either an omelet (ham or sausage, and cheese) with hashbrowns (the crispier the better) and wheat toast or an English muffin. Otherwise, an open-faced turkey or breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, with gravy and mashed potatoes. And, cream of chicken soup. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/45 "2023-07-19T22:09:44Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Chicken-fried steak breakfast with eggs and hashbrowns. I prefer Chicken-fried steak lunch or dinner, with gravy and mashed potatoes. > [@Cervaise](#): > > Hashbrowns. Nobody makes a salty, greasy, crispy circle of potato goodness like a classic diner. True. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Club sandwich all the way. I had a place that gad great bacon, and they made me a double bacon no fowl Club. Heaven. > [@dorvann](#): > > Two eggs over easy with steak cooked medium rare. Home fries with ketchup. Two piece white toast. Cut the ketchup and make is sourdough toasty and I am a happy camper. > [@Skywatcher](#): > > offers a Monte Cristo sandwich that is absolutely huge. Disneyland has two places than make huge and tasty Monte Criscos. Now, I usually share one. > [@carrps](#): > > Smothered hash browns don’t appeal to me, because I like mine crispy. Yep- unless served with chicken fried steak. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/46 "2023-07-19T22:19:08Z")
All these remind me of another breakfast favorite, but not really a standard diner meal outside of the Southwest. A scramble (_not_ an omelet dammit, a scramble!) of chorizo, jalapeños, and cheese, with sides of salsa fresca, rice, beans and warm corn tortillas ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/47 "2023-07-19T22:42:37Z")
So basically a Tex-Mex _migas_. One of my favorite ways to break fast, but there are only a couple of places around here that make it, and none are open early enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/48 "2023-07-19T23:20:46Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You are dead to me. It’s not like I actively avoided it. I just didn’t see it, and then it seemed like there was enough in the zeitgeist (eg. Illinois Nazis) that I didn’t really need to see it. I guess I could track it down… > [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@carrps](#): > > > > Smothered hash browns don’t appeal to me, because I like mine crispy. > > Yep- unless served with chicken fried steak. Yeah, but then I’d prefer the contrast of the crispy hash browns because the chicken fried steak is already covered in gravy. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Disneyland has two places than make huge and tasty Monte Criscos. Now, I usually share one. Where’s the other place besides the Blue Bayou? ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/49 "2023-07-19T23:26:03Z")
Kind of depends on time of day. Breakfast, I favor ham & cheese omelet, hashbrowns, buttermilk biscuit. Lunch/dinner could be fish & chips, a burger, pot roast, or whatever happens to look good on the menu to fit my mood. I got GREAT carnitas at Jack’s Family Diner in Chico, CA, recently. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/50 "2023-07-19T23:30:20Z")
Yeah, there’s a long gone diner that used to be near me that had the _best_ albondigas soup. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/51 "2023-07-19T23:51:18Z")
Hot roast beef sandwich with gravy, mashed potatoes, and buttered peas or green beans. Meat loaf or roast pork can be substituted for the roast beef. If it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas, I’ll have roast turkey and dressing instead. With cranberry sauce, of course. Chicken pot pie or creamy chicken and dumplings. Homemade beef stew. Cottage pie. Chili, if it’s not canned. Any kind, from Texas to Cincinnati. With lots of grated cheddar cheese. Only in the UK have I seen diners offer roast lamb or shepherd’s pie. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/52 "2023-07-20T00:13:39Z")
Anything with corned beef or pastrami. Chicken and waffles if they have them…and that last slice of lemon meringue pie. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/53 "2023-07-20T00:14:20Z")
Real homestyle stuff: Chicken a la king, tuna casserole, and hamburger hot dish. If I could find such a place in North America, bangers and mash with onion gravy and mushy peas. Fish and chips, koftas and kofta kebabs, shawarmas. Who remembers having deep-fried breaded clams at Howard Johnson’s? God, I loved those! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/54 "2023-07-20T00:32:29Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Where’s the other place besides the Blue Bayou? Cafe Orleans ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/55 "2023-07-20T00:35:59Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Who remembers having deep-fried breaded clams at Howard Johnson’s? God, I loved those! I remember them! God I hated those! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/56 "2023-07-20T00:40:25Z")
I ate at HoJo’s often when I was traveling with my dad. Aside from the breaded clams, my favorite dish was their Welsh Rarebit with bacon. Mmmmmmmmm! 🥰 ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/57 "2023-07-20T00:45:32Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > All these remind me of another breakfast favorite, but not really a standard diner meal outside of the Southwest. A scramble (_not_ an omelet dammit, a scramble!) of chorizo, jalapeños, and cheese, with sides of salsa fresca, rice, beans and warm corn tortillas Something I’ve enjoyed (or one of the many variants) growing up in Southern NM. Since a few posters have mentioned dishes they have at _specific_ diners, I’ll add one more, although my earlier comments stand that breakfast-food at 99% of diners is my default. If you are ever in Albuquerque NM, and happen to swing by the [Owl Cafe](https://www.facebook.com/owlcafealbuquerque/) you must have one of their justifiably famous green chili cheeseburgers. Since it’s arguably the unofficial state dish anyway, and it’s freaking delicious. In my teens I went through town with my father (and weren’t going by the original location in San Antonio) we’d each get a GCC plus one more to share. An old school malt would also be my choice of beverage, a diner fare not mentioned to date! Although it’s kind of hard to match with breakfast meals… ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/58 "2023-07-20T00:58:03Z")
I don’t go there often, but if I happen to be in Sacramento at breakfast time I go to Pancake Circus and get the Circus Special with bacon, eggs over easy, and, of course, pancakes. Or maybe I’ll order that at lunch time – they serve breakfast all day. > **[Pancake Circus](https://www.pancakecircus.net/)** > > Pancake Circus has been feeding Sacramento Breakfast and Lunch since 1960. The place really hasn’t changed since the early 1960s, and has thus stumbled into a cool, retro vibe. Their former longtime waitress, who sadly passed away several years ago, was the sort of old-school diner waitress who would keep your coffee cup filled, joke around with the regulars, and take your order by asking “What’ll ya have, hon?” The place really doesn’t feel the same without her. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/59 "2023-07-20T02:49:51Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > An old school malt would also be my choice of beverage, a diner fare not mentioned to date! A diner that serves malted milks? That would be my idea of Heaven! 😇 Gotta have a malt with a 1/3 lb bacon cheeseburger, heavy on the pickles and fried onions. And fries cooked in lard, with lots of salt and ketchup! 💔 Onion rings cooked in lard too. Mmmmmmmmmm! The best onion rings _ever_ came from Porky’s in MPS/StP. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241/60 "2023-07-20T03:10:30Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > it seemed like there was enough in the zeitgeist (eg. Illinois Nazis) that I didn’t really need to see it. But the Illinois Nazis – two of them anyway – get one of the biggest… shall we say, sendoffs? in cinematic history. > [@carrps](#): > > Smothered hash browns don’t appeal to me, because I like mine crispy. ‘Smothered’ in [Waffle House parlance](https://order.wafflehouse.com/menu/waffle-house-131/products/52944222) means with diced, grilled onions. If you want it with gravy – I don’t either – that’s ‘Country’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-diner-meals/987241.md?page=4)