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The Classic American Diner

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Re: The Classic American Diner

#41

Post by ericgreveson »

MrDrMcCoy wrote: post #33
A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like they have them in Helsinki: > https://maps.app.goo.gl/NCiZgiRjGckp6Jzn6 And if that doesn't appeal, there's another one: https://maps.app.goo.gl/e3ZWtXWEKPvDnded8 Something you've got to realize is that this form of culture is something that has gone far beyond America's borders. To the European, it is the very pinnacle of "American Food" -- and 50s/60s themed diners are all over the place. From Belgrade,…

Fun to see all that, but curious why I haven't seen any on any of my trips across the UK and Ireland. I even asked some locals and they did not know of any diners anywhere in the country. I would've thought they would've been all over it.

We have an independent one, Herbie's, just down the road from us outside Cambridge. It's pretty good! They have a wide range of imported US fizzy drinks cans too!

Re: The Classic American Diner

#42

Post by [deleted] »

neves wrote: post #25

The photos does not display what I hate the most: the fixed 2 double seats tables. It is completely antisocial. You can't arrive with your group of six friends and "join tables" so everybody can seat together. What Americans have against a big group of friends?

[deleted]

Re: The Classic American Diner

#44

Post by dylan604 »

hackingonempty wrote: post #22

One of my hobbies is looking up old prices in the BLS CPI calculator to see what they would cost today (March 2026 is the latest data.) The June 1940 photograph along Hwy 1 in Maryland had $0.05 hotdogs ($1.17) and $0.10 burgers ($2.34). The Feb 1959 photograph from the NYC diner advertises a $0.45 burger ($5.14) and probably a $0.75 steak sandwich ($8.57)

These prices adjusted for today's value seem off though. I'm guessing you'd be hard pressed to find a diner burger for $5.14 anywhere. No, fast food joints are not the same here and not part of this discussion.

Where is the discrepancy? I've never really trusted these "adjusted for inflation" type numbers. I'm not an economist so I have no idea how they are calculated, but they've always just felt off to me. Usually, the numbers are for something esoteric to me, but these are about something I have some familiarity. In my experience, the adjusted burger price is about half the actual cost of today.

Re: The Classic American Diner

#45

Post by plemer »

dylan604 wrote: post #44
hackingonempty wrote: post #22

One of my hobbies is looking up old prices in the BLS CPI calculator to see what they would cost today (March 2026 is the latest data.) The June 1940 photograph along Hwy 1 in Maryland had $0.05 hotdogs ($1.17) and $0.10 burgers ($2.34). The Feb 1959 photograph from the NYC diner advertises a $0.45 burger ($5.14) and probably a $0.75 steak sandwich ($8.57)

These prices adjusted for today's value seem off though. I'm guessing you'd be hard pressed to find a diner burger for $5.14 anywhere. No, fast food joints are not the same here and not part of this discussion. Where is the discrepancy? I've never really trusted these "adjusted for inflation" type numbers. I'm not an economist so I have no idea how they are calculated, but they've always just felt off to me. Usually,…

That may be the point. Simple inflation adjustment gives us x but the real price is more or less than x. Why is that?

Re: The Classic American Diner

#46

Post by b00ty4breakfast »

kshacker wrote: post #7

Don't know about "classic". But diners used to be my weekly jaunt here in South Bay for almost a decade. Not any more because with age you realize the quantity is too much and my drive to work changed (WFH). There's something special about going to your regular place, seeing the same servers, and them knowing your order before you say it. Probably the same in dinner restaurants but we don't repeat restaurants as ofte…

>...the quantity is too much...

Leftovers for a later meal. Unless there is something about work involved and not having a place to put the leftovers in the fridge.

Re: The Classic American Diner

#47

Post by kshacker »

b00ty4breakfast wrote: post #46
kshacker wrote: post #7

Don't know about "classic". But diners used to be my weekly jaunt here in South Bay for almost a decade. Not any more because with age you realize the quantity is too much and my drive to work changed (WFH). There's something special about going to your regular place, seeing the same servers, and them knowing your order before you say it. Probably the same in dinner restaurants but we don't repeat restaurants as ofte…

>...the quantity is too much... Leftovers for a later meal. Unless there is something about work involved and not having a place to put the leftovers in the fridge.

Thanks I have thought about that, but somehow it does not work with me. Fresh food is something else (and my assumption is the food is fresh, even if it is just heating/grilling)

Re: The Classic American Diner

#49

Post by JumpCrisscross »

plemer wrote: post #45
dylan604 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These prices adjusted for today's value seem off though. I'm guessing you'd be hard pressed to find a diner burger for $5.14 anywhere. No, fast food joints are not the same here and not part of this discussion. Where is the discrepancy? I've never really trusted these "adjusted for inflation" type numbers. I'm not an economist so I have no idea how they are calculated, but they've always just felt off to me. Usually,…

That may be the point. Simple inflation adjustment gives us x but the real price is more or less than x. Why is that?

> Simple inflation adjustment gives us x but the real price is more or less than x. Why is that?

Restaurant economics are a function of ingredient costs and labour. I suspect ingredient costs are close to OP's estimated multiples. But real wages are way up since the 1950s. Anything with a large labour component of costs will have tended to rise faster than inflation, which is an average of goods and services.

(There are specialised metrics if you actually wanted to dig into this question.)

Re: The Classic American Diner

#50

Post by flutas »

chiph wrote: post #10

I took a visitor from Finland to a Jim's location in Austin, and they were in awe. "It's just like from the movies!" (because it was - it has been used several times as a filming location). If you have a classic diner in your town, take your foreign guests there for the experience.

I was really sad to learn recently an old diner I went to often in Venice Beach (Cafe' 50'S, on Lincoln and Lake) burned at some point and the building is just an empty husk now.

That place was great cheap food.

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