The Classic American Diner • Hacker News Board

Re: The Classic American Diner

#101

Post by dfxm12 » Sat, Apr 25, 2026, 1:12 AM UTC

I think "diner" should be a protected term that has to meet certain criteria, like Kentucky Strait Bourbon.

A diner should only be able to legally call itself a diner if it's open 24/7, has a glass case showing slices of its desserts, offers breakfast, lunch and dinner all day, and if you order spaghetti, your server yells back to the kitchen for "a mile of rope".

Re: The Classic American Diner

#102

Post by kulahan » Sat, Apr 25, 2026, 1:20 AM UTC

goosejuice wrote: post #96

userbinator wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If anything, I think they've probably decreased ("shrinkflation").

Not in the US. See "portion distortion". https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1447051/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8667835/ Edit: hamburgers and hotdogs are pretty standardized though

Everyone knows what a quarter pounder is!

Re: The Classic American Diner

#103

Post by socalgal2 » Sat, Apr 25, 2026, 1:20 AM UTC

In SF/LA there's Mel's which has been around since 1947. Unfortunately I've had some pretty bad meals there (the one a across from the Metreon). In SoCal there's also Ruby's. It not "classic" (started in 1982), but their original location is on the Balboa Pier which is pretty great (https://maps.app.goo.gl/WoWrLEmGwPbVaumq5)

Re: The Classic American Diner

#104

Post by kulahan » Sat, Apr 25, 2026, 1:26 AM UTC

xeromal wrote: post #56

thaumasiotes wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds pretty reasonable. Within the US, there are at least two major diner chains: https://www.dennys.com/ https://www.ihop.com/en At a diner in America, I'd be unsurprised to see some less "diner" offerings. When I go to my local non-chain diner, I order fettucine alfredo. And the article here has a good picture of a diner advertising "American and Korean food". I think part of the core diner concept is a somewhat…

I'd say a waffle house is a better chain if you're in the lower Southeast. Much closer to a true diner experience

Yes, absolutely. They talk to you the way I expect to be talked to in a diner (lotsa “huns”), the coffee never ends, and sometimes you get to watch UFC live. The food is so easy to eat, too.

Re: The Classic American Diner

#105

Post by JSR_FDED » Sat, Apr 25, 2026, 1:27 AM UTC

The lack and white photo “row of truck drivers sitting at a Maryland diner counter” has an amazing sense of place.

Re: The Classic American Diner

#106

Post by kulahan » Sat, Apr 25, 2026, 1:30 AM UTC

solomonb wrote: post #23

I love diners but they aren't affordable anymore! I want a cheap simple meal and bad coffee. The diners that seem to survive in this market end up up-scaling their menus. : (

Especially today. I used to go to a place where every time I ate, my wife would roll her eyes as I talked about how good the prices were. Even they’re expensive now. Still cheaper, but damn. I don’t eat out nearly as much anymore. It’s sad. Diners are my favorite.

Re: The Classic American Diner

#107

Post by fipar » Sat, Apr 25, 2026, 1:30 AM UTC

koolba wrote: post #100

fipar wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And people not even from the states (like me) know about NJ diners because one saw the birth of Unicode :)

> … NJ diners because one saw the birth of Unicode While it’s possible that Unicode was also conceived at a diner, you’re likely thinking of UTF-8. Unicode was from a decade earlier. https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs/utf-8-history.txt

Yup! That's what I was thinking about. In fact I did read this right before posting (though I had found it at https://doc.cat-v.org/bell_labs/utf-8_history) but only to validate that it had been in a NJ diner, so I missed my confusion of UTF-8 with Unicode.

I would not make a good fact-checker :(

Re: The Classic American Diner

#108

Post by kulahan » Sat, Apr 25, 2026, 1:32 AM UTC

SJC_Hacker wrote: post #40

solomonb wrote: post #23

I love diners but they aren't affordable anymore! I want a cheap simple meal and bad coffee. The diners that seem to survive in this market end up up-scaling their menus. : (

Waffle House is your jam. Only in the southern US unfortunately

WH is all over the place in the US. I live in CO and go regularly. I’m 90% sure I saw one when I was in Utah.

Re: The Classic American Diner

#109

Post by mech422 » Sat, Apr 25, 2026, 1:44 AM UTC

thenipper wrote: post #12

Oh nice. I remember miss bellows falls from growing up!

yeah - growing up in Claremont NH, right across the connecticut river from Vermont, it was cool to see a few 'local' places in the article

Re: The Classic American Diner

#110

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Apr 25, 2026, 1:50 AM UTC

thaumasiotes wrote: post #24

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,…

> 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. What do they serve?

[deleted]