The time has come when your tummies are too full to eat another bite, so you head up to the register to pay the check. It is time to reflect on our wonderful meals, as we will be taking a glimpse back at our Diner Dash. Along our scrumptious journey we encountered not just great meals, but the diverse demographic who attends diners. I created a unique set of interview questions to ask each group. These questions were catered to age and the group of people, as I narrowed in on three. The three courses on the menu included: families, couples, and friends.
I really thought at the end of the meal that families would be the most interesting topic to me, but I felt couples were. Throughout this experience, I spent a lot of time observing and interviewing couples, as I was constantly left hungry for more. I believe it was because they were the group that shocked me the most. There are so many places couples could go on a date, so I was expecting “forced answers”. That term meaning answers that force them to go to the diner, like it being cheaper or close. These are not the answers I got, instead I was given answers as simple as fun milkshakes. Many couples loved adventure and challenges because they saw the diner as a place to incorporate these factors. Many diners are known for some special item, and at the Orangetown Diner it was crazy milkshakes. These milkshakes were made to be over the top, as they had a piece of dessert on top with a lot of different toppings. The menu listed an abundance of milkshake flavors, and this couple thought it would be fun to test out which flavor was the best. They showed me how important a diner is by saying that fancy restaurants would have judged them for their milkshake competitions, while in fast food restaurants you quickly eat and leave. Therefore, diners do not rush anyone. Experiencing the spark of joy this couple had, helped me to utilize diners in a new way. Although this couple classified a diner their hangout for that reason, there are many couples out there who do not want a challenge. As a result, they seek the diner for a circumstance. This circumstance never really crossed my mind until seen and explored by this couple. The circumstance was tradition, as they did not need the tangible, like a milkshake, but instead the atmosphere. This other couple used the diner as a background in order to take in the calming and home-like atmosphere. The community atmosphere helped them to have a high level of comfort, as they conversed for hours on their traditional diner date.
This direction, of diners being a symbol for tradition and community, will help me in furthering my future research. In the future, I want to analyze the diner as being not just a place with a great burger, but as a community staple. These firsthand examples of tradition and community helped to provide me with what direction I want to follow. For my future research, I would like to study the demographics of diners and the history. My counterargument would say there are people brought up without diners, like those in California and the southern states. I would answer my counterargument saying, “Many are brought up without a diner, but here in New York it is a community staple. There are many waffle houses and trendy café’s in other areas, but they lack the tradition of the diner, which is a big factor in the diner’s atmosphere. It seems our diner dash has come to an end, but do not forget, we can always do takeout, or you can come again when it is open. Thank you for filling up our recipe book.
Diner Dash 