Diners #61-65

Nothing to report diner wise, but time has me wondering what is going to happen to Quintessence in Albany.  It was bought by the Albany Medical Center, which seemingly intend to raze the block and put their own development in the block of New Scotland, like they have been doing to the rest of the area.

 Speaking of diners needing a second life.  The Phoenicia got a third life!  The diner started in 1962 as the Carle Place Diner down on Long Island, and in the early 1980s, the owners bought a new diner, and this one headed up to Phoenicia.  The diner quietly did business on NY Rt 28 until a five foot snowfall collapsed the roof in the kitchen.  Mike Cioffi came along and gave the diner a new chance and has been met with what seems like only good words and good reviews.  He has updated the interior, but Glenn Wells says it was very tastefully done.

Here is the aforementioned Quintessence.  The diner started out as the third Morris Diner in Albany, NY and soon was bought by the Nedicks Company of NYC.  After becoming the UN Diner and regaining its popularity, the diner became known as Quintessence, a blend of diner food and more hip trendy food.  They became best known for their spinach noodles and chicken wrapped around a spear of scallion and carrot, served with a garlic sauce.  The Fodero sat vacant for many years due to the failure of a separate business owned by the owner until it was rechristened  quintessence again only a few years ago. The diner's interior got an update, but business never came back like it did in the past.  So many of the former customers had moved to the suburbs and did not care to come to Albany all that often to eat.

Another no photo for the third diner, and we'll stay in New York state.  The Naples Diner in Naples New York is no more, the building is now something else other than a restaurant, and when I ate there, only history and a photo on the wall told me this was an authentic diner at one time.  A Ward and Dickinson, most likely used, came to town in 1936(going strictly off memory).  Every few years, in the paper, the diner would receive a fresh coat of paint and some remodeling on the inside.  By the time I got to the diner around 2002ish, there was a horseshoe counter and absolutely nothing to tell you there was once a Ward & Dickinson on this location.

 The Miss Worcester Diner, in Worcester, Massachusetts sits right across the street from the factory where it was built.  The diner screams Worcester in nearly every way, and does so with really good food.  On a recent trip, I was finally able to eat at the Miss Woo after all these years and was not disappointed. The grilled banana bread was superb.  The current owner has done a great job satisfying the breakfast, lunch and weekend crowd.  The Miss woo is just another reason why any diner fan needs to spend a few days in the Worcester area sometime.

Another Fodero diner today, the Bowmanstown Diner.  This one has been covered over quite a bit on the outside and has been attached to a Silk City.  (Should this count as two diners on my list?)  Fortunately, on the inside, the Fodero is at its best, completely un-remodeled. The food is a mix of diner staples and Pennsylvania dutch choices.  Even more interesting is that the diner is open 24/7, with the diner being in the heart of the mountains north of Allentown.  I have not been inside of the Silk City, and I can not remember if it is used for storage or for extra seating.  I have only eaten here twice, and both times it has been busy, so no interior photos yet.


Disclaimer for all photos posted here: ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. These are copyrighted photos, and I own that copyright. My photos may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way, in any format, in any media without my written permission. Any other use will constitute an agreement to pay me (Michael Engle) $50.00 (US) per day/per image, plus a $200.00 (US) administrative fee per photo, plus any other money generated through the use of my images. I will bill you for this amount when I find my photos being used without my written permission. When you are billed, you will also be instructed to immediately return all physical image copies, delete all digital images, and delete all links to my photos. Even after you have returned and deleted the images, you must still pay me for the previous unauthorized use. Any bills unpaid after 60 days will be referred to a collection agency. (thank you to Bob Marville)

Diners #56-60

Well, the Kumm Esse Diner in Pennsylvania is safe after all!  Not much diner news at all otherwise so lets get to the diners.

It's a different angle for a diner photo, but this is the best side of Sharyn's Diner in Marcy, New York.  Supposedly this diner started out in Frankfort, and moved up to Wurz road in between North Utica and Utica before moving to NY Rt 49 just outside of Utica, on the way to Rome.  In recent years, this road was bypassed by the Utica Rome Expressway, but still does a decent business, just not the truck business like it used to do.  On the front side of this five digit Silk City Diner #51112 the bottom stainless had been covered over by stone.  Before the current incarnation, the diner did a good business at Betty''s Diner and before that the Jet Diner.  Confusion does reign as a stick built diner down the road did call itself the Jet Diner in the 1990s.

Supposedly I have eaten here, but it must have been so long ago, that I have forgotten about it ever happening.  This DeRaffele two piece diner sits a block down from the Worcester factory in Worcester, Massachusetts.  You can tell from this photo and also by looking at the left side of this diner that it is falling into a state of disrepair.  It must also have a good amount of rot, visible and hiding too.  In my latest trip with Glenn Wells, we were too late to get a bite at the Corner Lunch, but we did snap some photographs.

Geets Diner in Williamstown, New Jersey is located on US Rt 322 more affectionately known as the Black Horse Turnpike. The diner sits at an intersection, a highly popular location for a diner in a suburban area and has a sports bar addition where I ate with a group from the SCA on a tour of diners and other stuff in southern New Jersey not that long ago.  This diner makes me want to write run on sentences for some reason. I just don't know what to say about it.   The diner sports a lot of shiny chrome from a remodeling and in a way looks like a larger Starlite diner.  Inside it does look a lot more like a diner, albeit a brand new diner, but still.

 The Seaport Diner in Port Jefferson Station on the Nesconsett Hwy is just another diner on Long Island.  Each diner seems to have its own idiosyncratic style in appearance, but many share different pieces.  The Seaport has a fairly large entrance, but not as large as others. The windows are flat and above them are pieces of shiny glass.  I did not go inside as this was on my whirlwind trip, so I can't tell you how they affect the interior.  The diner even has a little stone on the right side, topped with glass block. True Long Island style!  Diners need to be over the top on Long Island, or they just get passed by, as two miles down the road is the next diner, in most cases.

 The only diner in Iowa I have not eaten in, that I know still exists.  Still not sure if the Clamshell Diner in Muscatine is back open or not.  The Valentine diner sits, fenced in, facing the Mississippi River with just a road in between it and the mighty river.  The diner was moved to this location in the semi recent past and also looks like it was sided over too.  Iowa is longer than I always think and this diner is a good 5-6 hours away from my usual home base of Lanesboro, Minnesota when I am out in the midwest, so unless i know for sure it is back open, I will probably not be in Muscatine any time soon.

Disclaimer for all photos posted here: ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. These are copyrighted photos, and I own that copyright. My photos may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way, in any format, in any media without my written permission. Any other use will constitute an agreement to pay me (Michael Engle) $50.00 (US) per day/per image, plus a $200.00 (US) administrative fee per photo, plus any other money generated through the use of my images. I will bill you for this amount when I find my photos being used without my written permission. When you are billed, you will also be instructed to immediately return all physical image copies, delete all digital images, and delete all links to my photos. Even after you have returned and deleted the images, you must still pay me for the previous unauthorized use. Any bills unpaid after 60 days will be referred to a collection agency. (thank you to Bob Marville)

Diners #51-55

Some news: Newark diner is in Cleveland by now, being restored. Will end up in Buffalo.  The Kumm Esse in Myerstown, Pennsylvania is making way for another chain gas station.  Mom's Diner in Avenel, NJ is gone. The mayor of the city/village etc and the owner seem entirely to blame.

On to the five diners.

This 2001 Paramount sits in the secluded village of Pine Bush, close enough to the Catskill Mountains but also close enough to the Hudson Valley.  The name is a play on the UFO sightings in the area.  The diner is a really nice Paramount.  Seeing how the few newer Paramounts that I have seen have come out, it is a true shame there was not a mad rush on more PMC diners.  The Cup & Saucer was highlighted by Mario Monti in our book, Diners of New York, and Mario was even invited to the "christening" of the diner the owner Dino Mavros had done for the diner!

The Athens Diner in Colchester, Vermont was known as Libby's Blueline Diner when I made my visit some years ago.  I can't find any exterior photos, so I included this one.  The diner is a late model Worcester that sits in between two add ons. You can see one at the end of the diner.  You'll also notice a lot more formica than is typical to a Worcester diner.  The diner started out in Turners Falls, Massachusetts before going to Auburn in the same state.  It came to Colchester in 1989 and has been there since.

The Elgin Diner in Camden, NJ is another diner style that I really thought would have been more marketable.  This one was built by Kullman, but still I find it the best of both worlds: generous seating and flashy and attractive!  In this picture you can see just how big this diner is.  I think I have been to this diner twice, once with Glenn Wells and once with the SCA tour.The diner sat empty for a few years but fortunately it is back open and doing strong business.

The Stop 20 Diner in Elmont, Long Island, New York is just another diner on Long Island that has been remodeled.  Someone from elsewhere might say it is over the top, but for anyone from Long Island, it is just typical of the diner from the Island.   I visited the diner on my whirlwind tour for my book, Diners of New York and there were just too many diners to eat at end half of the ones I photographed.  The diner is a mix of shiny stainless steel, a bluish mirror finished material below that, which is moderately popular on metropolitan New York diners and a marbleized stone below that.

 We will finish off with the Double T Diner in Frederick, MD.  The chain of eight diners has exclusively newer retro diners, but not all of the mare factory built diners.  This diner was built by Kullman and follows a style which they built a few of for various people.  Note the double loop on the roof.  Based on other diners, this is flimsy plastic which increases the visual height of the diner and hides various machinery typically placed on the roof of a restaurant.  The inside is a mix of diner and restaurant, which typically fits the ownership well.

Disclaimer for all photos posted here: ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. These are copyrighted photos, and I own that copyright. My photos may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way, in any format, in any media without my written permission. Any other use will constitute an agreement to pay me (Michael Engle) $50.00 (US) per day/per image, plus a $200.00 (US) administrative fee per photo, plus any other money generated through the use of my images. I will bill you for this amount when I find my photos being used without my written permission. When you are billed, you will also be instructed to immediately return all physical image copies, delete all digital images, and delete all links to my photos. Even after you have returned and deleted the images, you must still pay me for the previous unauthorized use. Any bills unpaid after 60 days will be referred to a collection agency. (thank you to Bob Marville)