What makes a great diner? Is it breakfast? Is it the service or favorite server? Is it the vast menu options? Is it the diner’s history? It could be all of the above.
When I lived on Long Island, I did the 7 to the midnight radio show at WBAB, and a few times a week after I got off the air, my friend Andrea and I would go to the Terrace Diner on Sunrise Highway in West Babylon. We loved that place. It had a great menu, the best French fries, and gravy on the Island, and they employed our favorite waitress whom we dubbed “Marge.” I’d rather not explain why we christened her “Marge” because it was kind of an inside joke. Her real name was Dottie, she was somewhere in her 60s, and she was an old-school broad who was as real as they come. Loud, brash, and unintentionally, side-splittingly funny.
Keep in mind that our visits to the diner were after midnight, a time that usually attracts a cast of late-night characters on parade, especially on Friday nights.
One guy who was a frequent visitor was dubbed, “Buckwheat.” Whenever he walked through the door, Andrea and I would burst into hysterics making complete fools of ourselves. He was a stoner with hair sticking straight up like Buckwheat, or more fittingly, Henry Spencer from “Eraserhead,” dressed in an army green jacket, and parachute pants. He would literally order the whole left or right side of the menu.
Then there was a crew who came in from the local gentlemen’s club. They were loud, foul-mouthed 20-something dudes who smelled like what one would imagine a gentlemen’s club smells like. We also loved Achilles, the owner, who loved us in return.
All the reasons listed above are why we loved that diner. Now that I’m a tad older and wiser, I choose my diners for the quality of the food and the service, not the entertaining clientele. My favorite diner will start the list of 8 Diners loved by Ocean County folks.
Sand Castle Diner - 634 Atlantic City Blvd, Beachwood, NJ 08722
I’ve only been here a few times for breakfast, and it was pretty solid. I usually get an omelette and the hubby is a pancake- French toast guy. No complaints from either of us. They’ve been around since 1988, and people who frequent the place rave about their burgers.They are a huge part of the Beachwood Community and consider so many of their customers part of their family.
New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for NYCWFF)
Corner Post Diner & Restaurant - 2791 Hooper Ave, Brick Township, NJ 08723
Here’s Alex’s 5 star Google review: Strangely comfortable. Loved the menus. Quite extensive and reasonably priced while still having something for everybody. I ordered an omelet from their entirely separate omelet menu that was so good I took it home. Also offered potato pancakes as a side option instead which was very exciting. (It’s the little things)
owl of apples.
Lacey Diner - 530 Lacey Rd, Forked River, NJ 08731
Mike from Forked River told me that he loves Ethel, one of the servers here at the Lacey Diner. Plus they serve the greasy fat breakfast sausage that I love so much. Consistently good food and friendly staff.
FORT WORTH, TX – NOVEMBER 03: Heath Miles, Speedway Club Executive Chef, prepares a two-pound “No Limits Barbeque Sandwich” at Texas Motor Speedway on November 3, 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas. The new menu item contains chopped brisket, smoked sausage, pulled pork and barbeque chicken served on an 8-inch bun. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
