Summit Diner – Mod Betty’s Fave Kind of Jersey Diner

OK I'll admit it - Retro Roadhusband is right - I am kind of a Diner Snob. To me you just can't slap a Diner sign on any old building and be a Diner. Well you can, but that's not the kind of diners I dig.

Mod B digs the authentic vintage diners. Small scale and cozy. Maybe it's because I grew up in New England, where the famous Worcester Lunch Car company built their diners - some so diminutive that they didn't even have booths -just another counter to sit at and gaze out the window.

My fave kind of diner is the well kept and obviously well cared for kind, where owners know they have something special and take care of it, and don't try to make it into something it isn't (you know who you are.)

So despite the fact that many folks seen to think the best New Jersey diners are the giant shiny, open 24 hours kind, with oversized laminated menus offering everything from burgers to seafood and everything inbetween,  there won't be many of those found on Retro Roadmap.

Instead, I'm gonna send you all to MY fave kind of Jersey Diner - the authentic vintage small scale ones, like the Summit Diner.

Summit Diner, Summit NJ

For those of you who are keeping track this is a 1938 O'Mahony diner built in Elizabeth, NJ that replaced a 1929 model. There's a tag on the door that leads to the incredibly tiny (even for me!) restrooms (but hey, at least they have them!)

This well loved and well preserved vintage diner is a warm hug on a chilly November day. This was no more true than when I visited, after not only witnessing first-hand the demolition of Papp's Bowling Alley in Bordentown, NJ but having just spent too many hours trying to salvage vintage tile at the closing World of Tile in Springfield Township, before it ended up in a landfill.

Mod B was beaten down with all the sad "demisement" of these places that add character and uniqueness to our country, and did not know if the diner would even be open, but I had to at least check it out since I was so close. Lucky for me - and you - the diner is open 7 days a week ('til 8:30 except for Sundays). Located in the Boutiquey downtown area of Summit, it is easily accessible from the NJ Transit train station just across the street.

I visited the diner at the awkward mid-day "too late for lunch to early for dinner" time so I had my choice of counter or booth. I opted for booth, complete with Formica topped table with striped metal banding, and fresh flowers in what once was a sugar shaker. Since the size of the diner is so human in scale, my waiter greeted me from the other side of the marble topped counter while I perused the menu boards posted above the vintage stainless steel backsplashes.

The menu is the place where you know you're in New Jersey, as it is as varied and deep as some of those oversized plastic laminated ones in the big and bright diners. The sight of spinach pie on the menu caught my fancy, and while I thought that the side Greek salad it came with would be plenty as a side, I was also offered soup - a nice touch on a chilly day. Keeping it consistent I jumped at the chance to order the chicken orzo, and it came chock full of chicken flavor and orzo aplenty.

As I waited for my spinach pie, folks started to filter in, and I realized one of the things I like so much about diners is that they are a place for everyone. From the businessman at the counter ordering breakfast in the middle of the afternoon, to the highschool kids crammed into a booth sharing a plate of "disco fries" and lemonades, to the short haired gal snapping photos and drinking in the authentic tilework and architetural details with her eyes (hey! that's me!) We're all welcome.

Speaking of eyes, mine popped open like a cartoon character when my plate of Spinach Pie and salad were placed in front of me. While I thought this would be a 4x4 square slice of pie, it was at least double that size, like a phyllo covered calzone. The salad was equally as generous, with the unexpected but welcome touch of split stuffed grapeleaves atop, and the salty taste of anchovies in the dressing. YUM.

I knew I wasn't going to finish, but took my time, overhearing snippets of friendly banter between the counter staff and customers. While I knew I had to hit the road as the skies were rapidly darkening and the streets getting heavy with traffic, I also wanted to savor the moment, my hope restored that there are authentic vintage places still alive, still aloved and patronized,especially in the wake of so many dear places lost recently.

As I was snapping photos in the last golden peeks of autum daylight I was told by a friendly exiting patron that breakfast at the diner is not to be missed, and I'm already seeing how our frequent drives through New Jersey can be rerouted to get us in the neighborhood of this vintage Jersey Diner.

As I say in my best Linus voice, "This is what a diner is all about, Charlie Brown!"

PS - and how is this for nice? If you go to the diner's website summitdiner.org, you don't find out about the diner, but rather the Other Fellow First Foundation - a local foundation that helps out families in need. Sigh! Good stuff.