I craved malts intensely when I was pregnant. I would ask for extra, extra, extra malt. They would be gritty. I convinced myself that malt must be good for babies.
When I was in junior high, I often visited the aforementioned Porky’s for a vanilla malt and a basket of their onion rings. That was living!
Sadly, I believe Porky’s no longer exists. Neither does the Bridgeman’s I frequented in high school and beyond. 
This thread reminds me of a time I met a friend (back when I had those) at The Pantry in Downtown L.A.
I sat at the counter in a spot he held for me for 20 seconds (that was about all you could get way with back then) at about 10:50 am. I ordered the Hotcakes. Guy says they are out. Okay, got something else.
About 3 minutes later a guy comes in and sits down on the other side of my friend and the waiter whips out a big plate of FlapJacks and serves them up. I give a Double-Take and say, Hotcakes?? “No Tip for you, Shithook!”
My friend laughed about that for about 20 years.
Bonus Points for getting the reference
I agree. But, sadly, so many these days are a let-down.
But, when they do it right, it is something really special and fantastic.
Personally, I will add corned beef hash to the plate (or a skillet).
I had a memorable meal at a diner in Chicago that I think was on the corner of Montrose and Kedzie in the early 1980s. I don’t remember what I had. I think the place was called The Marina Cafe.
Sorry, this is a slight hijack, as I’d like to know if anyone remembers the place.
I was in my early 20s and it was the first time I’d entered a diner on my own. I was apprehensive, but the food was good—pretty close to homemade—, and I realized that there were plenty of other places that would probably be similar. That was the start of an interest of mine that I took to other cities for the next 30 years.
Most of my diner experiences back then were breakfast: eggs, toast and coffee.
I have memories of a few diners in northern NJ, where the menu must have been 10 or 20 pages - they had EVERYTHING. I can’t imagine they did a great job on all of t hem, honestly; I only visited them 2 or 3 times.
To me though, the first things that come to mind a diner meal to get at a diner would be either meatloaf with mashed potatoes, or a hot open-face turkey sandwich, ditto.
And some kind of pie for dessert.
Chicken fried steak. I like a BLT and tomato soup, but those are easy and cheap to make at home. Chicken fried steak OTOH is a huge pain the ass to make at home. It’s so much work and mess I might not even feel like eating it after all the effort. I leave it to the professionals.
Yeah, I’ve seen the clip. Like I said, zeitgeist.
Here in the New York City area, including the suburbs, a “diner” may very well have a menu running to a dozen pages of fine print. They also tend to be identifiably Greek in small ways, such as the name, or bits of decor, but have only a handful of Greek dishes, all familiar to Americans.
So they’re not so “basic”.
Depending on the time of day, I might have a grilled cheese, a hamburger, or a prime rib.
Any moussaka?
We have similar “diners” here in the Chicago area, though they are usually called/referred to as “family restaurants.” Owned by Greek families, very large menus, and a handful of familiar Greek dishes (saganaki, spanakopita, gyros plates, etc.)
Unfortunately, a number of them in my area have gone out of business over the last decade, or changed hands, as the older family members who had founded/run them either retired or died, and the kids had no interest in operating a restaurant.
I usually stick to one of the following in skillet or omelet form:
Greek (usually feta, spinach, onion, tomato, maybe mushrooms);
Mexican (chorizo, jalapeno, often side of sour cream & salsa);
Corned beef hash.
If in the mood for more of a sandwich and fries, then a Reuben or patty melt.
And late hours. There are a lot of times I want an 11pm meal and the options really narrow for dine-in. Some bar-type places, taquerias, Denny’s/IHOP. Most of the family diners close at 2 or 3pm anymore. Golden Nugget is down to four locations, none convenient for this NW sider.
There’s one big 24 hour Greek place around and it’s up in Niles off the Tristate: Omega Restaurant. Housemade soups and bakery, menu for miles, Greek items, counter service, plenty of booths, tons of parking, I’ve never drank there but they have a bar.
There’s a couple of Omegas in the area; there’s on Ogden in Downers Grove which we went to often, pre-COVID. I’m not sure if they’re all affiliated in some way, or if it’s just a common Greek word.
tweets Whistle
I think we need a ruling here. A “Diner” may well be run by a family, but, to my way of thinking is a certain kind of restaurant. I guess the OP kind of alluded to that. It would have to include a long counter - with those round stool seating, and generally at least the grill portion right there. Booth seating is allowed, and ordinarily “breakfast served anytime”, blue plates, and 3 to 4 calendars on the wall.
Breakfast: Chicken fried steak, hashbrowns and english muffin.
Lunch: Patty melt and onion rings.
Dinner: Cobb salad.
Omega is a good name because it’s the “ultimate” letter of the Greek alphabet.
Breakfast- Corned beef hash or breakfast burrito (if they do a decent one with good salsa & bacon). Hash Browns. If I’m at home, I prefer those potatoes with onions/red peppers but I find that whenever I get them at a diner, the vegetables are raw and/or the potatoes are burnt. We do also pick our breakfast places based on how they do their hashbrowns because so many places burn them. Also, instead of toast, I like a good biscuit with butter & strawberry jam.
Lunch- which I normally will have instead of breakfast unless before 9 AM is the French Dip. Caveat- this is only if they don’t have a foo foo french dip. If it’s ciabatta bread, nope. French Dip should be good au jus, FRENCH bread and good roast beef. Casino diners do this best as they often use prime rib. I’m ok sometimes with cheese, mushrooms or horseradish sauce but they are really not necessary if bread, meat & au jus are of acceptable quality.
Chilli Size.
Yes, that’s the idea. It doesn’t necessarily need a long counter with round stools fixed to the floor, or a few calendars, but those don’t hurt.
I mean a place where you can get good wholesome North American food any time. Meatloaf, burgers, country-fried steak, fried chicken, BLTs, club sandwiches. Open-faced hot beef or chicken sandwiches, covered in gravy. Fish and chips, and other basics. Fries or hash browns always arrive alongside the meal (hash browns for breakfast items, fries for everything else). Coffee is automatically served, even if you didn’t want or order it. Nothing terribly fancy, but what is on the menu is filling. A bottle of ketchup sits with the salt, pepper, sugar, creamers, and individual jams and jellies that adorn every table. Breakfast any time, and ideally open 24 hours.
Right. A French dip should be French bread, sliced roast beef, and au jus. Maybe some horseradish sauce, or just plain horseradish. That’s a diner’s French dip. Note that it does not include ciabatta bread, sauteed onions, cheese, mushrooms, or anything else. Naturally, it always arrives with fries.
Does that help?
Seconded. I just thought of it now. Not sure why it wasn’t in my first post.
