
Fried rice is a must, and most folks will tell you to order the loco moco, though the dinnertime barbecued short ribs should not be missed. The place has a devoted following thanks to its Hawaiian Japanese menu banana pecan pancakes, Spam omelets, teriyaki beef, and egg plates are always flying around the room. Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop stands alone at the top of a dwindling pile of such places, with its sunny disposition, low-touch service, and delightfully small footprint. There was a time when the city was littered with Formica-wrapped local breakfast spots (called, usually, “coffee shops,” instead of the more East Coast-familiar “diners”) tucked into bowling alleys, hotels, and small residential developments, before redevelopment and growth began to reshape the city’s busiest corridors. The clatter of falling pins and the low rumble of rolling balls is a suitable backdrop for Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop, located - you guessed it - inside one of Los Angeles’s quickly fading bowling complexes. The loco moco at Gardena Bowl in Los Angeles. food destination, the Cameo has steadfastly stuck to its old-school ways, making it a true original. In the decades since Portland transformed from a sleepy town to a U.S. At the Cameo, diners may start the day with “acre” pancakes or with bindaetteok, a savory Korean counterpart made from a batter of ground mung beans with vegetables throughout. But it’s the way the restaurant runs contrary to Portland’s often too-self-serious brunch culture while exemplifying the melting pot of American cuisine that truly sets it apart. Amid it all, owner Sue Gee Lehn welcomes die-hard regulars and wide-eyed first-timers with the same jovial warmth. West Cameo CafeĨ111 NE Sandy Boulevard, Portland, OR | 7703 NE 72nd Avenue, Vancouver, WAĬameo Cafe exudes pure diner energy: Waitresses constantly refill coffee mugs, the menu offers a laundry list of griddle standards, and a bustling energy hums between a cook churning out orders at the behind-the-counter flattop and the cottagecore dining room.

Note: This list is organized alphabetically by region. Slide into a booth the coffee and hash browns are waiting. Through deep research and the collective, highly opinionated knowledge of Eater staffers and experts across the country, we’ve compiled a list of not only what we believe to be the best modern American diners, but also those that demonstrate the broadly democratic beauty of a restaurant made for everyone. New Jersey alone is home to more than 500, while Southern California is a veritable coffee shop paradise, filled with beloved truck stops and Googie architecture marvels. There are a lot of diners we could talk about. They cater to LGBTQ+ communities and also to the blue-collar worker in need of a chili dog, the Route 66 road-tripper, and the underaged kid scooping up forkfuls of banana cream pie purchased with their last $5 after a concert. They serve Korean food, Hawaiian food, Greek food, Mexican food, Lebanese food, Thai food, and Filipino food. Diners in 2023 are both old-fashioned and upscale, omnivore and vegan-friendly, 24-hour and breakfast-only. Diners - whether you’re speaking about them in the strict Northeasterner sense of the word, or call them a coffee shop, a family-style restaurant, a meat and three, a Waffle House - can’t be boxed into one type of customer, cuisine, or food tradition.
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But true diner lovers know this isn’t the full story.

Of course, that ethos can sometimes get hijacked by politicians and media pundits in search of “real” Americans (often white, cis, and conservative). Perhaps that’s why they’re so often the setting chosen for film and television - a place that feels universally familiar yet original, and brimming with character. A dying breed by some accounts and a resurgent one by others, they’re shorthand for a vision of the United States as a place for all, regarded with seemingly endless fascination. America’s diners account for some of the oldest and most iconic restaurants in the nation.
