Today’s Specials are…Families, and we are serving up the real reasons why families frequent a diner. The memories of being a kid and driving to the diner to order a milkshake with my parents, always makes me smile. I have seen numerous families fill those leather booths, but why? Why did they choose the diner? A lot of places sell milkshakes and burgers, like fast food chains, so why here? Right when I walked into Pleasantville Diner, I saw a retro look that had a modern touch. It had the same retro leather booths by the big square windows and stools at the counter, but TVs filled the room, no more checkered floor, and no more waitstaff in 50’s uniforms. This demonstrates that diners have adapted in some ways to help stay relevant, but who can blame them.

I went to the diner at six o’clock at night, as that is dinner time for a lot of kids. When I walked in, families were everywhere, but TVs immediately caught my eye. The TVs at Pleasantville Diner are set up so that two TVs are side by side and one plays a kid channel, the other an adult channel. There is a total of four of these sets. I saw a family having a conversation, but their kids were young, and it was hard to get them focused. I heard the mother say to the eight-year-old boy, “Marcus eat up, we have to go, it’s almost bed time.” This was repeated twice, as the boy was talking instead of eating. Shortly after, I watched the mother point to the kid show that was playing. As she watched the news, her child was very concentrated on the kids show. I watched him start eating as he was watching, and soon he was done. Something as simple as having a TV, can be a factor in the choice of going to a diner. The mother whipped up her knowledge of kids love for TVs and utilized it for her son to finish his dinner. Fancier food establishments do not have televisions as you eat, and a fast food chain barely has one. Therefore, this diner served up two television sets right by their table. Not all diners have this fantastic feature, so what else makes it worth going to?

I interviewed the Alfieri family, a family I met at a diner in Rockland, and they brought up many great points. Right from the start, they said they love diners because with three children, ages: thirteen, eleven, and six, one has to find a place for the whole family to enjoy.  When asked what great qualities a diner has, compared to other restaurants, Candice Alfieri stated, “Fancier restaurants are more for an occasion, as I have three kids who each need to be entertained so fancier is not good for that. Also, I want more options than fast food chains because I like sit down restaurants with my family, plus the waitstaff is friendly here.” She showed me the menu and pointed out the fact that this is a place where you can get breakfast all day, bakery items, burgers, sandwiches, homecooked traditions like Pot Roast, and even pasta. This is the only point I expected parents to say, as their kids would not fight over type of food, since there is something for everyone. I experienced the waitstaff myself, and although they were not on roller-skates, like in the older diners, they were great. I saw them playing along with kids while even making smiley faces out of ketchup for the kids.

I flipped the interview, and asked the kids why they pick to come here? Therefore, eleven-year-old Andrew Alfieri answered, “I always see one of my friends here, it is the place to go, plus I really like the big windows”. A lot of restaurants have big windows, but diners put a big window by every booth. I did observe kids running to them with gigantic smiles as they walked in so they, as kids, can look over the town and feel in charge. Andrew also helped to show me a factor I never thought of or expected, as a diner is a symbol for a community. He said he is always seeing one of his friends and how he comes here with his parents after baseball. Therefore, I found that this place was more than a restaurant, it is a place that brings together the community. This observation became my favorite because it is uniting a community in a delicious way.

 

 

It’s date night tonight, so what’s on the menu? Are you a stay at home couple or do you like to go out? Whichever type you are, there is one place I have seen many couples frequent, a diner. Young or old, this place attracts many in love, but why? Popular TV shows, like the teen #1 hit Riverdale, uses a diner as a date night staple. Although many teens watch this show, could it really influence them to make all their dates at a diner?  I wanted to find out if when given the option, would couples come here to eat? Also, I always found it interesting how diners were a Northern East Coast staple, while waffle houses and burger joints spread to the other coasts. If couples were given the choice, would they leave behind these retro diners for a waffle house?

Going into this observation, I expected only young couples to come to a diner, but want to go out to a fancier restaurant. I figured couples would only go to the diner because it was the only place around or less expensive. I went to the Orangetown Diner on Friday night, in hopes of finding couples. To my surprise, there were quite a few in booths, each with a smile bouncing off the reflection of the metal napkin holders. I saw a couple in their teens laughing and having the time of their lives spinning on the stools up at the counter. Although they were older, they were still having fun just spinning up there. When I asked them what they were doing, they expressed that the diner has so many little joys people forget about. Therefore, this couple felt like kids when they were enjoying the fun, as kids appreciate these little things that sometimes we forget about.

Later that night, a college couple entered. The girl was so excited to be there, as she took in the smell of pancakes and ice cream that filled the air.  I asked the boyfriend, Matthew Quinones, why they come to the diner for their dates? He said, “There are always cute things for us to do, we love coming to this diner for the crazy milkshakes, delicious desserts, and the fun flavored pancakes.” He said that they liked to try different flavors and see which one ordered the better option. I asked him why they chose here, rather than a fancier restaurant or a fast food chain, as I figured maybe the show Riverdale came into play. Right when the words left my mouth the couple immediately shook their heads no, they stated, “We are a young couple so older established people go to fancier restaurants frequently, for us it is more of a special occasion place because most times we want to have fun on our dates and not have to act differently. Also, yes, the diner does look great on Riverdale, but that is not why we are here because in reality that’s just TV.” At the end of the interview, I asked them if they could imagine life without diners, and to my surprise the answer was challenging. Right away Mr. Quinones responded, “Yes”, while his girlfriend, Ashley Toledo, responded the opposite way. Ms. Toledo immediately answered, “Oh no they are my favorite, they help you to feel comfortable in a different place besides your home and have great quality.” After thinking for a second, Mr. Quinones responded, “Actually, now that you mention it, It would be very odd to not have the diner as an option when I am going out to eat.” Although young, this couple blended together many factors to serve up a different perspective about diners.

Right when I was going to call it a night, a surprising couple decided to mix up my research. An older women and her husband walked through the door and were immediately greeted with a hug from the waitress. Right away the waiter behind the long counter shouted, “Hey my favorites, is it date night?”, to which they responded with a smile. The couple were married for over 50 years, and mainly the wife, Linda Cataldi, answered my questions. I asked her if she has come here a lot and she let out a laugh and said, “We love the diner, it was the cat’s meow when we were growing up, and to us it still is.” I asked her why she picked here to eat, as she could go anywhere, and she answered, “Bobby and I like to come here, it reminds us that even though we are older, we can still have fun like the kids we once were.” I concluded with asking her if compared to the Southern waffle houses and West Coast café’s, does she believe a diner is different? Linda immediately screamed, “Oh of course, the quality, variety, and community is very different. Here, this place, they got to know me and my husband and they care.” This couple really intrigued me, as seeing this tradition within them helped me to appreciate the diner. Through the interview, I learned that a diner is calming and filled with tradition. Therefore, it is a place where all ages can enter and not be judged, but instead be bonded by love, and milkshakes of course!

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.