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Lou-Roc Award: Dolts deep-six Deepwater Diner
- Category: Lou-Roc Award
- Published on Friday, 03 February 2012 21:14
In what reality is a plain white stucco box more attractive than finely-crafted, streamlined stainless steel?
Roadside first published more than twenty years ago. The Lou-Roc award debuted about two years later. The grapevine revealed to me a few years after that the term transformed into a verb — as in, "I won't lou-roc my diner."
The Deepwater Diner as it appeared in 1997.
All along the way, this publication and many others have spread the good word that diners offer both good food and a dynamic restaurant concept for entrepreneurs. People like diners. Actually, they love them. They feel good just to see them around.
Skee's Diner slow destruction
- Category: Roadside Photo Galleries
- Published on Friday, 03 February 2012 18:29
Closed since 2001, Skee's Diner has fallen victim to time, weather, greed, and now idiocy. Slated to be "restored" and moved to a parking lot nearby, the 90-year-old diner has gone from a minor to a seriously major restoration project thanks to stupid neglect.
It would take four guys and a six-wheeler flatbed and about six hours to lift and cart away this rare antique structure, but instead its owner Joanne Ryan goes about seeking to raise a half-million dollars to realize her ill-conceived idea to plant this diner in a remote parking lot to serve as a visitor information dispensary.
Ms. Ryan, move this diner NOW! There is no excuse for this travesty.
New photos: Broad Street Diner, Philadelphia
- Category: Roadside Photo Galleries
- Published on Sunday, 29 January 2012 17:00
My first exploration of Philadelphia occurred well over twenty years ago, and the Broad Street Diner was one of the first diners I personally documented. However, for whatever reason, it became just last week the last one I finally visited. Sadly, I got in there after Michael Petrogiannis completed his renovations to the diner.
Mainstream America might appreciate all the modern touches, but I know from peering inside during the three years it remained shuttered that this mid-1960s Fodero still had most of its original features. "Could be worse, I suppose" is the new mantra of those such as myself who fully appreciate diners as perfect food service structures. A good cleaning would have been enough, in my estimation, but so be it.
Petrogiannis also owns the Mayfair, Melrose, Country Club, Tiffany, and Warminster West diners in and around the city making him the undisputed diner king of the Delaware Valley. I can fault him for his aethetic sensibilities and his needless changes to iconic diners, but can't find much fault in the food or service, not for diners of this scale in this region.
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Riding Shotgun
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Here are two views of another of Virginia's "Waysides," which once served motorists the way "rest areas" do now on the interstates. Ho...
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“The Artist” is a charming movie, deserving of all the Golden Globes awards it received, and then some. (Watching that otherwise uninspired awar...
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This is a memorial plaque to Joyce Kilmer, famous for the poem "Trees." The name is a pseudonym, and in fact Joyce Kilmer was a man. He died in action...
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Diner Finder Updates
Miss Washington Diner Name: Miss Washington Diner State: CT |
Jigger's Diner Name: Jigger's Diner State: RI |
Garfield Diner Name: Garfield Diner State: PA |
Saratoga Diner and... Name: Saratoga Diner and Restaurant State: NY |
Talk of the Town Diner Name: Talk of the Town Diner State: NJ |
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Roadside Wire
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Miss Albany closes -- Diner in danger
02-03-2012
Fans of the now former Miss Albany Diner or of diners in general will not be happy about this news.... Read more
Chagrin Falls shows soft heart for its hardware store
01-29-2012
Who says that the internet hasn't helped the local business? It's all in how you use it. In the Era of... Read more
Hollywood to theaters: Upgrade or die
01-26-2012
As if small, independent and historic theaters have enough to worry about. Soon they won't even have any films to... Read more
Classic downtown theater preserved and repurposed
01-24-2012
When one thinks of Los Angeles, the notion of a traditional downtown isn't the first image to come to mind.... Read more
Pittsfield diner stays in the family
01-17-2012
Good to see this diner stalwart still going strong. 55 years later, Pittsfield diner is still all in the family By Dick... Read more
Libby's goes Greek
01-17-2012
Would it be too much to ask that the new owners simply preserve this rare Worcester diner and keep it... Read more
New hardware for Amtrak
01-13-2012
For all the money that Congress and the President tossed around since 2009, you'd think Amtrak would have all-new-everything by... Read more
Single screens reviving in traditional neighborhoods
01-13-2012
It's worth mentioning that The Cinema on Clinton Avenue sits right across the street from the fantastic Highland Park Diner... Read more
Washington Post ten years late to our Pittsburgh party
01-06-2012
The Washington Post declares Pittsburgh hip. Welcome to the party, Post. We called this one over ten years ago. We've... Read more
Experts discuss Amtrak's prospects for profit
01-06-2012
The folks over at Freakonomics (which has a podcast I listen to almost religiously) have weighed in on the prospects... Read more
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The Diner Finder 2012 edition is now available at Lulu.com. Full color listing of nearly 2000 diners from around the world. Order yours today!
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Another site upgrade
Visitors will notice some subtle changes to the site since Monday night. Because the upgrade and redesign that I implemented last November didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, I opted to start from scratch instead. Two months later, the site looks pretty solid so far, and had the added bonus of a new, easier-to-use system for our Riding Shotgun bloggers.
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Feature Stories
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Video portrait of the Liberty Elm Diner
Scott Kingley was kind enough to allow this embedding of his wonderful video vignette of the Liberty Elm Diner on... Read more
"She takes care of me."
Many long years ago, Roadside Magazine ran an a photo essay cleverly entitled “Boy Meets Grill,” celebrating the guy at... Read more
Gotta Get Goetta
Rough Draft Roadtrip, Seventh Day Try as I may, I could not seem to tune in WKRP. No matter, after another... Read more
A1 Diner: Real Food, Recipes, & Recollections
by Sarah Rolph Tilbury House Publishers, Gardiner, MaineSoft cover, 120 pages, $20.00 In A1 Diner, Sarah Rolph compiles the best recipes from... Read more
Atlantic City Gamble: Rolling dice on the rails
I don't gamble. I have too much respect for money and work too hard to earn it to derive any... Read more
Sundae Driving
Despite consolidation, a 1930's-era regional dairy makes transition into 21st century intact "Gosh, they just like 'em all, you know?" That's how... Read more
Harvey House Returns to Kansas City
Photos and Story by Dirk Burhans When trains made a station stop, hungry travelers were... Read more
Red Arrow Hits Target
Sometimes you don’t know what happened to you until after it’s over. My recent breakfast visit to the Red... Read more
Hot Roast Beef with Mashed
Nostalgia can take you back, but it can’t take you all the way back. Not in Salem, Illinois. They tore... Read more
Spare Time in the Diamond Junction
UPDATE: We received the following response from the alley's owners: Thanks Randy! When we bought the building two years ago the... Read more
Rick Sebak visits the Hot Metal Diner
Hot Metal Diner with Wendy & Her Waitresses from Rick Sebak on Vimeo.A quick visit to the Hot Metal Diner... Read more
Miss Mendon Diner: Empirical confidence
I came prepared for disappointment. Twenty years following the diner industry has honed a healthy skepticism. I cringe more than... Read more
Worcester Deluxe 101
Update, July 2011: This story actually has a happy ending. In 2007, Chris Blanchard purchased the Worcester Deluxe 101 from... Read more
Atlantic City Gamble: Seeking charm and a ride bac…
Finally recharged, we had a few more items on the agenda: More beach, amusement park for Roadside Girl, dinner at... Read more
Tom Shanahan on the Owl Diner renovation
Roadside Video exclusive Four Sisters Owl Diner owner Tom Shanahan talks to Roadside correspondent Tory Germann about the new vestibule he... Read more
Sweeter by the Dozens
Paula Huber says she’s “a dying breed,” but don’t call the coroner yet. She’s much too busy -- teasing her customers,... Read more