"Order Up!!"

Old Fashioned Diners Are a Man's Best Friend

Photo by Mike Beaumont on Unsplash

(NOTE: Now that we have reached 100 stories on this page since January 1, we will start reaching back into the archives and periodically share some early articles so the many newcomers to our “family” don’t miss some of the older posts. This was the very first post from January 1, 2025)

There is just something about a roadside diner.

The Unadilla Diner (Otsego County) was the quintessential American diner. Lots of chrome, a long line of swivel counter stools, comfortable red leather booths. They had it all. The flat grills behind the counter were always covered with something tasty, from heaps of scrambled eggs and hash browns to sizzling hamburgers and hot dogs.

And it was the diner of my youth!

And don’t forget the little “personal” jukeboxes in the booths. Oh, how many times I would slide across the smooth leather banquette, cozy up to the jukebox and start dumping quarters into it (or was it nickels?). My friends and I would flip those hard cardboard pages inside the glass and pick out our favorite songs. I always liked to play something by the Everly Brothers. I can’t remember if the music played all throughout the diner or just out of little speakers to the occupants of each booth or not, but we did feel in control of the music, and now that I think about it, maybe that is where the seed for my becoming a radio DJ was planted. It was a great old diner.

In fact, one of America’s premier realistic artists, Ralph Goings, found “my diner” and painted it. Take a look!

Some forego the chrome and leather, but let’s face it. If a place had the word “diner” after its name, it was going to be good. As a kid, the Unadilla Diner, (located in Otsego County, NY) was a place to go for breakfast or lunch after Sunday mass. Later, when I was in college in Albany, that city’s diners were a place to hang out after the bars closed. It was the perfect place to spend the end of an evening which had consisted of over-consuming. The grease, the French fries and brown gravy, the endless cup of much-needed coffee, the wise cracking gum-snapping waitress. Perfect.

(For more memories of Upstate New York diners follow along below! Remember, a paid subscription to this page is just $5 a month or a one-time payment of $50 for the year for all our stories with no paywalls. Thanks you for your support!)