If you’re aimlessly hanging with your friends, either strolling through the park or simply window-shopping at the mall. Eventually, one, if not all, of you decide you want to grab a yummy, fulfilling meal. Problems arise: You have neither a destination nor a particular craving in mind; It’s no longer brunch hour, but it’s also too early for dinner. Good thing for us, diners exist, with assorted menu items ranging from coffee to egg cream, club sandwiches to burgers, pork chops to seafood linguine.
Though the myriad options typically found at a diner don’t necessarily help us narrow down our choices, our spontaneous palates, at the very least, won’t be confined to the limited flavors that a specialized restaurant has to offer.
For these well-liked Queens diners, we selected these 3 dishes (Of course, we’d choose a lot more if we could, but let’s not make it harder than it needs to be):
1. Good Eats Diner
Photo courtesy of @lettucedine on Instagram
The Woodhaven Burger (be a real Queens person and go for this burger topped with avocado, raw onions and some oh-so-yummy cheddar cheese); Sautéed Garlic Pork Chops (we like almost all things sautéed — onions, mushrooms, kale — so let’s give this a shot and leave satisfied); The Bomb Sandwich (Chicken Cutlet, Bacon, Mozzarella Cheese, Onion Rings, Gravy and BBQ Sauce, all on a Hero — pretty much all we need to hear, right?) Even the names of these menu items impart the diner’s lively personality.
2. Jackson Hole
Photo courtesy of @cookclickconsume on Instagram
The Baldouni Burger (It’s one of the diner’s more popular signature 7 oz. burgers. I can see why — fried onions, cheese and sautéed mushrooms — yup, understandable); The Swiss Burger with Bacon and Mushrooms (Dislike Swiss? It’s okay, your other options include mozzarella, cheddar, blue and Monterey jack. Some even say, “after eating this, you can skip dinner.”); The Veggie Burrito (Not craving any meat for the day? Mushrooms, sautéed broccoli, refried beans, guacamole and homemade salsa, are only some of the goodies wrapped in the flour tortillas.) By the way, I’m no huge fan of burgers, but I can smell the ingredients from over here and I’m not disappointed.
3. Pop’s Diner
Photo courtesy of @yellowbreadloaf on Instagram
The Tuna Salad Club (Just the sound of this is triple decker is absolutely mouthwatering); Chicken Marsala Over Spaghetti (If you happen to be in on a Monday, get this to rid yourself of those blues); Baked Lasagna (Out on a Sunday? This one’s all you.) The daily specials will make you feel right at home.
Larger dishes like the chicken marsala or the pork chops may seem sort of risky since they’re probably more likely to be eaten at the restaurants that are known for these dishes. But, as with most things in life, we’d never know unless we try. So, when you come across these items on the menu, don’t question it and just call over your waiter or waitress and tell them, like the dauntless person that you are, that you’ll have the penne alla vodka or the lemon garlic tilapia — either of these dishes might even turn you into a regular.