Americana Diner

Ahh, the Americana Diner. With its “look at me” almost satirical mod/funky exterior of various colors, it appeals to many tourists (or lost families) as they drive by on the major US highway that cuts through Windsor, NJ. It contains a more traditional dining hall were we ate, and a lounge where I can only imagine the coolest diners gain access.

Fresh from a good result at competition in New Brunswick, Chris and I decided to stop by on our way home.

There are definitely times when you feel as if there’s a clear generational gap when you enter a diner- whether it’s because you're not from the small town, or because you’re under 60. Sometimes stepping into a diner makes you feel as if you’ve gone back in time, as people and their fashion/mannerisms seem to have regressed.

ipads! 

This is not the case at Americana Diner. Don’t let the name fool you into expecting some nostalgic “real” good ol' America-lore. The hostesses here wear the latest fashions (one was wearing a leopard print cardigan that I also own), have their makeup fully done, and seat people using iPads. People I can only assume were management (or family of management) walked around in nice argyle sweaters (remember it was abnormally cold this weekend) and pressed slacks. The vibe is very modern and upscale (for a diner) with the senior citizens and family brunchers dressed up a bit more than usual. Some were even in heels!

With a wait of about 10 minutes, the place is comfortably packed on a Saturday afternoon at 2PM. Turns out that at 2 they switch from their brunch menu to their dinner menu. Personally, I think 2 PM is too early for a diner to start their dinner service, especially because I believe that diners should serve breakfast all day long. However, they try to ease their way into it with a front page of entrees (fancier than your average choices) and a back page of sandwiches and burgers. Note that the menu was just a one-pager, with a good half of the front page being dedicated to their wine and beer menu which was a respectable size, even for a larger non-chain establishment.

Their motto is "Our Effort is Our Distinction" and indeed, service must be something they drill into their employees, because it was clear that there was much more attention being paid to us than usual. Our waitress was pleasant with an quiet, almost meek friendliness and always quick to re-fill our water, even getting us larger glasses than other tables because we were sipping so often. A separate person brought our bread- an artisan baguette proudly served in their custom-made sleeve (“we here at Americana Hospitality Group are proud to present you with this fresh-baked…”) filled with sesame seeds and raisins and butter sprinkled with sea salt. The bread was sweet, which was an interesting contrast to most places that provide you with plain bread. This being said, we were seated to a table left with bits of broccoli from the last person, and other food particles on Chris’s side of the booth.

Food came out FAST. Before we knew it, mango and raspberry iced teas ($2.50 each and made from fruit puree) and our $8 fried calamari came out. It was quite a generous portion for the calamari, laid out on a large lettuce leaf with two dipping sauces- a lemon caper aioli-esque sauce and a marinara. The freshness of the calamari and general treatment of the squid was superb and equal in tenderness to that of any top-notch Italian restaurant. However, the batter quickly became soggy due to the excess oil that built up in a pool on the plate as you kept eating. Sauces were tasty and well-balanced in tanginess and saltiness, and the caper sauce especially was creamy with a nice kick of spice/chipotle.

Both Chris and I came across hard pieces of indiscernible plastic or maybe shell in our calamari, which was unfortunate. Like the dirty table that undercut the excellent service, this too cast a shadow.

piled high! 

As for entrees, Chris and I picked opposites to see how they execute their wide-ranged dinner menu. My soft shell crab on a bed of julienned veggies was a steal at $14 dollars. Piled high on a base of garlic butter sauce, my veggies (peppers/carrots/zucchini/etc.) sliced very evenly, well-cooked with the slight snap that you expect. My tiny crab was laid on top and garnished with aggressively fried leeks/onion bits (just how I like it!) Crab was generously flavored and sautéed and very easy to eat, but because its size, had very little substance. Not necessarily a healthy dish, despite the mound of veggies, due to lots of oil like the calamari before it. I would definitely order it again for the price value and hope that I receive a more generous portion of protein next time. Compared to the last time I ordered seafood at a diner (see our Silver Coin Diner review) this was leaps and bounds better in taste.

Chris had a somewhat worse experience with his dinner (lunch):

cheap chic 

For $9 I decided to go with a cheese-steak. They had a good list of sandwiches that included pastrami and a classic Reuben, but I wanted to go with something I was more familiar with. I've had plenty of cheese-steaks growing up (living only minutes from Philly) and almost every pizza shop in the Cherry Hill area has a cheese-steak on the menu. I've tried the classics in Philly, Pat's, Geno's and Jim's and those three are still the gold standard for me. The cheese-steak at the Americana was good. It consisted of a standard roll and steak and the fixings were fried onion, mushroom, and provolone. The one problem was that everything was standard. None of the ingredients added a wow factor that made the Americana's cheese-steak better than the rest. The cheese was a little overpowering, the roll did not help out with any stability (making it a mess to eat), the mushrooms and onions were absent in the flavor profile, and I swear they barely seasoned the steak if they did season it at all. Was it a good cheese-steak? Yes. Was it worth $9? Probably not. If I could give two tips, I would recommend using a baguette style roll (nice and crisp with every bite) and I would use a little salt.

and we leave you with an image of chocolate!

This place has a clearer vision than other diners, and seems to be experiencing success in an iffy-at-best economy. This could be due to its financial support (it seems to be part of a restaurant group that owns 3 other places) and to the fact that it clearly has hired an experienced chef who can dish out more just eggs and toast.  Don’t take a family here thinking that you can get away with a wearing sweatpants and leave with a bill under $40. However, if you’re looking for a fancier evening, this could be the place for you.