This article is similar to one written
about the demise of the NYC
coffee shop … regardless it hit home
It was a different world I grew up in
I’m not sure if I’m feeling nostalgic or a little depressed
I need to remember to listen to the pod cast
Thanks I shall have a listen. I’ve always found diners interesting and they have a similar function to the caff in The UK. Indeed many caffs are being forced out of central London as diners are in NY.
I’ve been in Malaysia the last few months and the Kopitiam ( coffee shop) can be equated to the diner. These are all over Malaysia but there seems to be less traditional kopitiams in Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur than one might expect given their ubiquity in the rest of Malaysia. I suppose rising rents will force out these types of places anywhere in the world.
BTW I was reading this Guardian article today. It’s not specifically about diners but does reference their decline. There’s also a link to a NYT article.
1 Like
Manhattan is now a theme park with theme park restaurants. The only people who can afford to live there are millionaires, billionaires and oligarchs. Plus it is over run with thousands of tourists. Seriously, try to get mugged, or find one lousy hooker on the streets. You can’t. Times square at 2am is lit up like midday and packed with tourists. Deblasio now even wants to outlaw panhandlers and the naked cowboy needs a license.
As rents go sky high, as plain folks move out, as food quality suffers in an effort to hold prices low, and as the new New York is obsessed with micro this and organic that, is it any wonder that ordinary restaurants like Jewish delis and diners are disappearing like hadrosaurs after the comet?
And just like all the manufacturing jobs in New York City, once they are gone they will never come back.
If you want a good diner you have to go where regular people eat real food. Just follow the yellow brick road over the bridge or through the tunnel to a magical land called Jersey where diners abound with delicious pancakes, breakfast anytime, Greek treats, Italian specials, and menus as long as your arm featuring, hold on, MEATLOAF. Guy Fieri could be trapped in Jersey forever and never run out of material.
I will further bet that Adam Platt, Adam Moss, Pam Wasserstein, and the rest of the expense account bums at NY Magazine have not eaten in a NY diner in, like, forever. So I have a hard time imagining they are too choked up about this. It’s just copy to them as they post the story and then they head out to Bouley for the 7 course tasting menu.
And then of course you have WNYC reporting something published on the NY Mag site as “news”. We now have the media covering other media because they can’t think of anything original themselves. It’s ridiculous.
Rant over, I’m off to the diner for some corned beef hash.
1 Like
Fun fact: to prepare for that role, Al Pacino practiced his short order cook skills at the Chelsea Square Restaurant (a diner, despite its name). I lived two blocks away at the time and ate breakfast there every Sunday morning, so I like to think that Al Pacino made my eggs at least once.
1 Like
We would further note that the Rutgers fat sandwiches come in Halal versions, which should be perfect for the UK market.
