Westmont Family Diner

Even though I technically live in Haddon Township, NJ now, I still consider the entire area of "Haddon" to be home. I still live very close to Westmont, and therefore, I consider the Westmont Family Diner to be my true local diner. I say this not necessarily based on proximity alone, but also on general quality. It is the diner that is our default- in a good way. I've been here at least half a dozen times throughout the year and a half and oftentimes on Sundays when I need a quick breakfast.

On this trip, Chris and I decided to finally review it, believing that its consistency of food should be something to be shared with others. We were greeted with a quick hello and a "sit where you'd like" around 8:30am on a Thursday morning. Our coffee came with water without us asking for it.

The menu is pretty standard, but the diner really shines through its specials menu that changes one or two items every few months. We both ordered off of it- I got the Greek scramble with feta cheese and oregano that came with toast, and hashbrowns with grilled onions and peppers (as a standard). Together with the coffee, it was $6.99. My toast was wheat as usual, but toasted really well, with a higher sugar content than others I've had (even at this location). My meal was yummy, and warm, with a clear attempt at more sophisticated flavors than other diner breakfasts. For example, my my onions and peppers inside my potatoes were delicious and well seasoned with salt, pepper, and rosemary. My eggs were also delicious, although I thought there was too much feta which kind of overwhelmed my mouth on certain bites. It was a very simple scramble with exactly what it said would be inside of it which is something to appreciate in and of itself.

I am still on a biscuits and gravy kick. And, let me tell you, Westmont Family Diner does this southern classic right. The first thing you notice is some delicious looking sausage gravy covering two flaky (but you don't know they're flaky yet) biscuits. A little bit a sausage goes a long way, too. The gravy is thick and creamy, but not to the point where it becomes like toothpaste, and the nibbles of sausage along the way add a great pork flavor. The two eggs over medium were cooked perfectly. I decided to switch up my usual side of sausage to a side of bacon. Westmont delivers when it comes to pork. They serve the thick cut bacon that falls into the spectrum of chewy and crispy. Did I mention that you can lap all of this up in the gravy that is still overflowing on your plate? Just in case you do have some gravy left on your plate and you haven't started the biscuits, they happen to be the perfect morsels to mop up the remaining gravy. Like Chi said above, the Westmont has become our default and for good reason. By the way, my half of the meal cost less than $7.00.

Unfortunately, all pictures of Chris's part of the meal were accidentally deleted. Sad.

Pat's Diner

First thing you notice about Pat's Diner is that it's super small, especially because the back room (by the tiny bar) was closed. The prep station is right in the middle of the room so you can see your waitress make/pour coffee, toast your bread, and scoop your pudding. Not only can you keep tabs on your waitress (I'm sure the purpose was to do the opposite) but you can also see everyone else which could be awkward if you're looking for a more private dining experience.

Our waitress, who I'll call Tiana (from Princess and the Frog), was super professional, and had a sweet, hardworking demeanor. She was accommodating not only to us but to a difficult table next to us with three rowdy children who all DEMANDED dessert that they couldn't share.

Soup and Salad

 Let me just say- $8.25 goes a long way at Pat's Diner. I don't think I'll ever not appreciate how cheap NJ Diner's are, and how much you can get for your money. I ordered the fish and chips, because I wanted something hearty but not saucy. I was given an extensive choice of sides (multiple ways of doing potato, rice, veggies,etc.) and I chose broccoli because I was a little apprehensive. Not only was there that, but it came with soup AND salad. Most places give you the option of one or the other, so I was totally taken aback by this generosity.

Fish and Delicious Chips

My soup, lima bean, was surprisingly tasty and flavorful. It was more than just salty or brothy, and I appreciated the effort that was put into it. It was a bit watery, but I liked that the beans themselves were big and full. My salad, was basic as I expected, but clearly fresh and colorful with big, even slices of tomato which I appreciated. It wasn't drowning in water like previous diner salads that I've had, and was generally pleasant to pick at (even without dressing).

My main entree did not disappoint me either, although it was a little strange. Fish and chips has a very distinctive look to it, slightly thicker filet cuts of white fish, battered and then fried. You know the drill. These came out more like wide pieces of fish sticks. Granted, they were tastier than the ones you'd expect from the grade school cafeteria...I felt like un tres chic 4th grader. Nevertheless, the breading was decent, it wasn't that oily, and it stayed crispy throughout the duration of the meal. My 'chips' were amazing. Who'd a thunk that this little diner hidden in a nook of a not-so-great looking part of Trenton, NJ would make delicious, delicious, French fries that were hot, crispy, well-salted and never got that weird hollow density that happens when they get cold.

The Best Side of Broccoli I Have Ever Seen

Places like Pat's Diner is why I love this blog. I had never heard of this place, didn't know exactly where it was, and was completely unfamiliar with the area. As we drove through Trenton I admit I was getting a little nervous since some of the other shops and stores on the block seemed dirty and not well kept. But, then we saw the small building on the corner and I parked the car in a smaller lot around the back. Pat's certainly does not boast lavishness; the walls were not plated with chrome, but the place was clean.

Chicken Salad Sandwich Done Right

We were seated in a corner of the main dining room and were handed an extensive menu. I thumbed through the pages until I found the sandwich section. Pat's diner has a great list of double-decker sandwiches and they're all priced around six dollars. Like Chi said earlier, a little money goes a long way. I ordered the chicken salad sandwich and it was huge, which was great since I had a long night of lessons ahead of me. The chicken salad itself was refreshing and loaded with white meat. They throw in celery for the nice crunchy texture as you bite your way through the four triangles. The mayo was definitely present, but not overwhelming. Also, if you look closely, those are thick-cut bacon strips thrown in above the tomatoes, awesome. I think my favorite part of the meal, though, was the fries. The sandwich was good, but the fries pulled everything together. Each one was crispy on the outside and filled with soft, steamy, potato-y goodness. And, every once in a while I could take a little bite of tasty, non-soupy, coleslaw. I'm excited to visit Pat's again and maybe try their Reuben, or maybe their pastrami. Here's to looking forward.

(The New) Maple Hill Restaurant and Maritsa's Part Deux

Two Eggs and Home Fries

I won’t lie. I remember very little from this experience. In fact, I’m pretty sure I went into this meal expecting that it would be forgettable, and thus got my standard 2 eggs with home fries (not even well-done) and wheat toast. If my veggie omelette orders are the basis from which I judge tastiness (eggs  are important to all diners, and the quality/cooking of veggies determines how fresh their produce is/their rudimentary skills of cooking/not overcooking things), then 2 eggs is what I order when I just want to eat breakfast and go. I remember everything being okay, with little happening on the delicious side or the not so delicious side. If anything, I would say that it was very satisfactory, with good prices. It’s very small, with a strong local crowd, so if you want more of a diner where you can hang out with your friends and be left alone, this may be a bit too social for you. However, it’s a great place for a small party (I wouldn’t suggest more than four or five people) to enjoy a quick breakfast. This being said, now that the renovations at Maritsa’s down the street is done, I would recommend that over the Maple Hill restaurant.

Looks Good, Tastes OK.

This restaurant is quite forgettable. Chi and brainstormed for about twenty four hours before we remembered the name of the New Maple Hill Restaurant. Sadly, Chi had even taken a picture of their exterior, but forgotten she had taken it. That was the first time that happened to us. Strangely enough, the food for me, even though boring, was still good. It  was just good though, vanilla, not vanilla bean. I ordered the french toast with sausage patties (always superior to sausage links, right?). The french toast smelled great due to the copious amount of cinnamon, but it was kind of soggy and limp. It tasted good, but it was boring and it was an example of when I left feeling I could have cooked the same dish better than they could have. The sausage links impressed me a little more. I'm used to tiny hockey pucks of sausage at other diners that are overcooked and unfulfilling. At the New Maple Hill, the sausage patties were larger than average and had decent flavor and above average texture. I believed it was real. Unfortunately they still need to work on their cooking time since the patties were brought out to me lukewarm.

Combine the mediocre food with the fact the inside looked like it was put together with glossy plywood and a nail gun, the over all experience left me glad to leave. With the concentration of diners in New Jersey I recommend you head out and explore for a different place to get your breakfast fix.


Chi sums it up perfectly,

If we ate at the NEW Maple Hill Restaurant, it makes me wonder what it used to be like.

Maritsa’s PART DEUX:

Yes, we’ve gone back to Maritsa’s since the muddy mushroom’s incident. I ordered French toast, and it was very soft/buttery although perhaps not as large portion-wise as other places. My home fries were a little too well-done for my liking, because I didn’t ask them to be so. Coffee was good, and the service was faster than last time and our cups never emptied.  The inside is complete (no more random ending to the carpet/stucco-looking walls) and the waitresses were wearing proper uniforms this time. Definitely no longer a place to avoid. We'll have to go back and try something more complex and see how they handle it.


Definitely a better experience at Maritsa's. Good thing my parents really like it or I might not have gone back. My second time around I ordered the short-stack of blueberry pancakes with sausage links and scrambled eggs. The sausage was average. The blueberry pancakes were almost disappointing. They were all loaded with fresh, delicious blueberries and they were cooked to perfection. They were sadly not nearly as tasty as they looked. The blueberry came through nicely, but the sweetness had a watered down taste to it and their Heinz Syrup packets didn't help out with the flavor. When I have blueberries I expect some tartness, and since there was not I left a little suspicious. The eggs, thankfully, stole the show and Maritsa's knows how to cook them right. They were super fluffy and light and buttery. Next time I'm ordering a plate of scrambled eggs and double toast.

Berlin Diner

So Inviting

Chris has been wanting to go to this diner for at least a month, but it's always been just a little too far away to justify after a long day of work. However, last Friday we decided to take an impromptu trip to Atlantic City to celebrate our both being 21-ness, and thus, the opportunity presented itself. At 117 S. White Horse Pike, is the Courier Post's [One of] The Best of South Jersey Berlin Diner.


The layout is strange with the door/host/cashier desk (one and the same) acting almost like an apex to two wings (a left and a right) where booths and tables are. The left side, where we were seated, also has a breakfast bar.

Where's the Veggie Patty?

This menu is full of specials (you get the sense that this is a local favorite) w/ an impressive Early Bird Special that includes a full page of 9.99 meals (entree, two sides, housecake, etc.) This is also why, I assume, that the place was packed at 5:30 PM.


I ordered a veggie burger with some swiss (I think) cheese and mushrooms. I tried to find it on the menu online to reference it, but it must be relatively new burger, because it's not on the menu. It was fine, but fell short of delicious. The bread was dense, and a little crusty, like it had been out for a while. My veggie patty was average, and tasted very similar to the type of veggie meat concoction that Subway uses in its veggie patty subs. My fries were yummy and crispy, so I ate the majority of them. Overall, I enjoyed the service and attention that the waitress paid us more than I really cared for the food. Chris, who tried my slaw for me, said that it was one of the wateriest slaws he ever tried. Wah-wah.

Some Creaminess Would Add Stability

I ended up getting a proper PM meal instead of greasy eggs and sausage and chose my first wrap of this adventure. I was torn between the chicken ceasar and the buffalo chicken, but after a few minutes of self reflection I decided on the latter. The wrap came with french fries, slaw, and a pickle. Sadly for the wrap it was very one dimensional. The actual buffalo sauce that they used was good that it had decent heat and flavor to it, but that's where the train stopped. The next step to making buffalo chicken delicious is adding a creamy element. The two best that I've experienced have been a melted blue cheese or ranch dressing. I've had both in wraps, on pizzas, and as sauces for dipping buffalo chicken wings into. Without the added dimension, the buffalo sauce isn't much of a sauce and instead just spicy, oily, water. So the obvious folly was that the sandwich was completely devoid of creamy goodness, but on a positive note, the fresh grilled chicken was accompanied with fresh tomato and lettuce. It made the wrap more watery, but it lent some acidity and crispiness.

Shiny

The sides fell on the boring side of the excite-o-meter. The french fries were actually cooked nicely with a crunchy exterior and light interior, but I gave them demerits when they also tasted like they had been under a heat lamp for the better part of the hour. The slaw was watered down and had almost no substance to it whatsoever. Sadly, the pickle was drabber than most pickles I've ever seen. I had such high hopes for this place since I pass it every single day. It's very appealing with its bright lights and shiny exterior, but just like the Berlin Diner's food the restaurant lacks substance.

Additional Notes: The Berlin Diner is very shiny and seems to be a popular spot for locals. The average age of everyone else was somewhere in the range of forty to fifty. They must be doing something right for what appears to be customer loyalty. Prices are definitely reasonable. This is not a 24/7 deal and is open until 10pm Sunday through Thursday and 11pm Friday and Saturday.

Want

Club Diner

Front door of Club Diner

Post ballroom practice munchies call for wholesome food less than five minutes away. In the only state you can do this in, Chi and I typed "diner" into the GPS and sure enough there were seven diners within a three mile range. We picked the closest one, Club Diner, located on the Black Horse Pike in Bellmawr, NJ. We were coming down West Browning Avenue, about to make a left onto Route168, and we asked at the same time, "where is this place?" We were answered quickly when, around the corner of an art store, Club Diner's red, glowing, neon lights suddenly appeared.

Chicken Escarole Soup

Before the meal we were handed a giant basket of bread that appeared to have sourdough and a sourdough-pumpernickel swirl bread. I loved the sourdough-pumpernickel myself and Club Diner does a very nice job of combining the two bold flavors. And surprise, surprise! home made, super dense, sweet banana bread was hiding at the bottom of the basket, delicious.  Also, as an appetizer I ordered the chicken escarole soup. This salty and savory soup was a great way to start the meal. It had nice big chicken meatballs full of flavor and texture as well as diced pieces of white meat.

Wanting to try something new, I originally thought I would order a roast beef sandwich to see how it compared to the roast beef deli meet sold at Wegmans, but then I saw ravioli and meatballs and my stomach ended up deciding for me. Evidently I didn't know that cheese ravioli and meatballs is weird, but everyone (my girlfriend and parents) informed me that it's strange (I mean come on, Chef Boyardee has meet ravioli with meatballs in a can, but Boyardee isn't an expert on Italian cuisine, so that's that). Regardless of how different this plate selection was (by the way, you have an option between meatballs and Italian sausage. I think I made the right choice) it had some high points even though the plating was strange. 

Ravioli and Meatballs

You know how sometimes a dish can get boring as you keep eating it because it's a lot of the same thing? Well, the Ricotta cheese filling was very creamy and even nearing the end of the plate the dish never became repetitive. The pasta sauce was unique. I can't quite place my finger on whether it's homemade or just altered sauce from a can, but it had a nice sweetness and thick, not chunky, consistency. The meatballs were sadly the low point of the meal (maybe I'll do Italian sausage if I ever try it again). My best guess is that it was an all beef meatball (onions and other spices in the blend) that was moist like a meatball should be, but it was soft and mushy and had a downright strange texture to it (they should set their beef grinder to the same setting as their chicken grinder).

Blueberry Pie with Whipped Cream

Dessert came with the meal (awesome) and after our waitress (who was wonderful) listed off all the different pies they had, I decided on blueberry almost immediately. She asked if I wanted whipped cream on mine. I said yes. The pie wasn't exactly what I expected. The crust had a similar taste to a palmier and it was thin, soft, and almost had a slight chewiness. At first it was off putting but I grew to like it as I kept eating. The blueberry filling was kind of crazy. The whole reason I ordered blueberry pie was because I wanted some tartness to go along with the sweetness. This thing was all sweet, like blue sugar. I understand how people could really love this pie, but if you have a fruit that can have different flavor levels, then the pie should reflect that.

Outside

Inside

If there are different types of diners I think it would be reasonable to say that at least aesthetically, there are two kinds: the dreary, bordering on dirty diner, and the (kind of) trashy, flashy kind of diner. I think Club Diner wants to be the second kind (see pictures) with its red neon cutting through the black of the night and its digital jumbo-tron flashing advertisements and specials.


Given this, I was amused by the simplicity of the inside and the simplicity of the man sitting next to us who was talking about “a machine that puts bubbles into drinks”. Well sir, do you mean…a soda machine?

As I eavesdropped, I surveyed the menu that I thought to be rather dinner-heavy, including a whole page full of $9.99 specials. I settled on the fried flounder after much hesitation about having fish again at a diner so soon after the Silver Coin debacle. But I decided to take a chance, especially since the Club Diner’s $9.99 special comes with:

1 entrée

1 soup du jour or 1 salad

2 vegetable sides (they also had rice pilaf as an option)

1 dessert (they have a bakery on site)

I was charmed by this deal, especially since it cost me $11.00 earlier in the day for a grilled cheese sandwich and some chips in Philadelphia. I opted for the salad (because the veggie soup option was split pea) and soon enough presented to me was The Wettest Salad Ever. It was not soggy at all, nor were the greens especially juicy. It was physically wet. It’s like they washed the iceberg and cherry tomatoes proceed to throw it on my plate without so much as waiting for it to drip excess water away or heaven-forbid put it through a colander or salad spinner.  I was literary eating water, and not in the way that lettuce is water anyways. However, having been the one to find the hidden pieces of banana bread in our (extensive) bread basket (with whipped butter) I was quickly appeased.

Broccoli and Potatoes

Fried Flounder

My fish was surprisingly well-thought out. It was fried, but not so much that it lost the fish’s natural tenderness. The filet was a good size and the fish itself was fresh tasting and flaky. My sides of baked potato and broccoli were almost on par with the fish. My baked potato would have delicious if there was some fluffing of the actual starch to make it easier to eat, particularly since it came out sans toppings and still in its foil casing. My broccoli was the biggest disappointment of the night, as it came out in HUGE stalks and was chewy. But I should point that this probably stemmed from the fact that broccoli is the veggie I eat the most and the fact that my dinner knife was incredibly dull and could barely saw through it.

I chose pumpkin pie as my desert since I make it point to go out of my way to eat pumpkin in the fall. I am OBSESSED with pumpkin spiced lattes and pumpkin muffins, by the way. The waitress had said it was her favorite, and I can see why. The pie was sweet, but still flavorful with notes of different spices. The actual filling was not too dense or goopy as pumpkin pie can start to separate after a while. With the whipped cream on top it was the perfect not-too-unhealthy finish. Overall it was a good meal at a very good $9.99.

Pumpkin Pie with Chris in the Background