MASSACHUSETTS

History

Great diner culture is not confined to the popular 1982 movie, Diner. It also is alive and sizzling in authentic diners throughout New England. Various places try to claim themselves as the “home of the diner,” but Providence, Rhode Island, in fact, is. Many of them began to appear in New England towns in the late 1800s. As lunch wagons were becoming popular, entrepreneurs began buying obsolete horse-drawn streetcars and converting them to diners. By the 1930s, diners began to adopt a more streamline, modern, railroad car appearance. In the 1950s, diners began to lose a share of their market to the new fast food establishments. A revival began in the late 1970’s. New England hot spots for diner history lovers also include Worcester, Massachusetts, which is considered the home of the American diner because many of today’s working diners were built at the former Worcester Lunch Car Company.

FLORENCE
Miss Florence Diner
99 Main Street
Florence, Massachusetts
Hours: Open daily, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Information: 413-584-3137
In business since 1941. Tradition breakfast classics, lunch classics, dinner classics. Prepare to be well-filled.






GARDNER
Blue Moon Diner
102 Main Street
Gardner, Massachusetts
Hours: Monday through Friday, 6 a.m.-2 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 6 a.m.-1 p.m.
Information: 978-632-4333 or visit www.bluemoondinergardnerma.com

If you are aching to step back in time and listen to some some oldies but goodies in a caring, clean environment you need to come and visit Blue Moon Diner. The diner makes its own homemade roast beef hash, sausage gravy and bisquits, quiche of the day, soups, meatloaf dinner, Yankee pot roast, and desserts. Homemade daily specials and an extensive breakfast and lunch menu are available. If you are short on time, call ahead and your meal will be ready when you arrive.

LYNN
Capitol Diner
431 Union Street
Lynn, Massachusetts
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 6 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m.-1 p.m.
Information: 781-595-9314 or visit www.capitoldiner.net

All the diner classics are served, including fantastic omelettes with a variety of fillings. Wait staff is friendly, helpful, and 100 percent professional.

MENDON
Miss Mendon Diner
16 Uxbridge Road (Route 16)
Mendon, Massachusetts
Hours: Monday-Sunday, 6 a.m.-10 p.m.
Information: 508-634-3000 or visit www.missmendondiner.com/

Miss Mendon began her journey in 1950 as a hand drawn sketch at the desk of a designer at the Worcester dining car company in Worcester. Since then she has had a storied history and has made a number of stops on her way to the little town of Mendon. The car layout remains the same as it did in 1950, with some modernizing and restoration of all of the finishes. Today Miss Mendon still evokes fond memories of times gone by, neon lighting, juke boxes at every table, great American comfort foods, and service that is friendly and courteous that will take you back to a great time in American history.

NATICK
Casey's Diner
36 South Avenue
Natick, Massachusetts
Hours: Monday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Information: 508-655-3761

This historic diner, established in 1890, is famous for its delectable and classic steamed hot dogs, and, secondly, its grilled cheese sandwiches. Take out window is popular and lines move efficiently. This basic eatery hasn’t gone out of fashion in more than 100 years, so draw the obvious conclusion. Cash only.

NORTHAMPTON
Bluebonnet Diner
324 King Street
Northampton, Massachusetts
Hours: Monday-Friday, 5:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Saturday, 6 a.m.-11p.m.; Closed Sundays
Information: 413-584-3333 or visit www.bluebonnetdiner.net
Since 1950, the Bluebonnet Diner has become a local favorite, renowned for home-style cooking and reasonable prices. Awesome broasted chicken. Order it! You'll be glad you did! Friendly waiters and waitresses and lots of easy banter with the regulars.

PEABODY
Little Depot Diner
Peabody Square, 1 Railroad Avenue
TOWN, Massachusetts
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Information: 978-977-7775 or visit www.thelittledepotdiner.com/
The Little Depot Diner is a special little breakfast place where cell phones and laptops are things of the future. Serves breakfast only on the weekends only, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. All breakfast items and cooked wonderfully and with care. The place is famous for its custom-made butter, consisting of cinnamon, maple syrup, and brown sugar. Built in 1929, this 13-stool Worcester Lunch Car #650 still maintains the charm of yesteryear and continues to serve up great comfort food at reasonable prices. The Little Depot Diner was on the Food Network's popular show “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives” and filming was fun for everyone. Payment in cash only. No rest rooms.

SALEM
Deb's Pilgrim Diner
4 Boston Street
Salem, Massachusetts
Hours: Monday-Friday, 5 a.m.-1 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 p.m.-5 a.m.; closed Sunday.
Information: 978-745-2348

Deb's Pilgrim Diner is on the edge of Salem’s McIntyre neighborhood. Built in 1927, the diner is operated by Deborah Dentremont, a former waitress. Despite some upgrades, many original details of the diner’s furnishings remains. Deb’s serves breakfast and lunch, including a homemade fish and clam chowder. Cash and credit cards accepted.

SHREWSBURY
Dinky's Blue Belle Diner
70 Clinton Street
Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 6 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; Friday, 6 a.m. - 8 p.m.; Saturday, 6 a.m. - 1 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Information: 508-856-0844
Everything you could ask for in a diner, along with premium ice cream and cruise nights in the warm weather

SOMERVILLE
Kelly’s Diner
674 Broadway (Ball Square)
Somerville, Massachusetts
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 6 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 6 a.m.-2 p.m. (Breakfast Only)
Information: 617-623-8102 or visit www.kellysdiner.net

Kelly's Diner is a 1953 Jerry O'Mahoney, two piece dining car. At 55 feet long it is one of the largest diners ever manufactured in the 1950s. It spent the last 42 years on Route 13 in New Castle, Delaware, and was brought to Massachusetts in 1996. Completely renovated, the Somerville community enjoys comfort food at this classic addition to the Ball Square area. Cash only, no checks or charge cards.

SOMERVILLE
Rosebud Diner
381 Summer Street (Davis Square)
Somerville, Massachusetts
Information: 617-666-6015 or visit www.rosebuddiner.com/

The rosebud is housed with a carefully restored 1941 streamlined Worcester diner (Worcester Lunch Car #733). It is one of two streamlined models still operating the Massachusetts (the other is the Owl Diner of Lowell). In 1999 the Rosebud Diner was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Rosebud offers up a savory melting pot of home-style cooking. It is familiar comfort food worthy of your own kitchen. The diner serves breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, with daily specials. In addition, there is a bar offering wine, micro-brewed beer and renowned Bloody Marys. Burger lovers will be satisfied with of specialty char-broiled burgers and veggie burgers.

SPENCER
Charlie’s Diner
5 Meadow Road
Spencer, Massachusetts
Information: 508-885-4033

Charlie's is a classic Worcester-built diner serving up the classic New England diner experience. Food here isn't fancy, but it is solid, tasty, and memorable. People keep coming back to Charlie’s.

WALTHAM
Wilson's Diner
507 Main Street
Waltham, Massachusetts
Hours: Monday-Friday, 5 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday, 6 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
Information: 781-899-0760 or visit www.wilsonsdiner.com/

Lunch and dinner specials change daily.

WATERTOWN
Deluxe Town Diner
627 Mount Auburn Street
Watertown, Massachusetts
Hours: Daily, 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
Information: 617-926-8400 or visit http://deluxetowndiner.com

“Fine Dinering -- Family owned for over 64 years” Home made food, deluxe pancakes, local maple syrup.




WORCESTER
Ralph's Rock Diner
148 Grove Street
Worcester, Massachusetts
Information: 508-753-9543 or visit www.ralphsrockdiner.com/
The motto of this diner is “Eat at Ralph’s and Live Forever!” The Boston Globe writes: “The 400-capacity, split-level diner/club is about a mile from the DCU Center, tucked behind a factory complex known as Northworks…. If the word funky was invented for anything, it was invented for Ralph's. When you walk in and turn left, you're in the Rock 'n' Roll Diner, built in the 1930s in Worcester's Chadwick Square, then moved to its present site in 1979. It's an ultra-cool, burger-and-chili joint that serves food until 12:30 a.m. If you turn right, you move into Ralph's grotto-like bar inside a former factory building. The crowd is quite friendly, and the bohemian-favored room is filled with murals by local artists and bric-a-brac like an antique phone booth…”

Web Sites

American Diner Museum
i Love Diners.com

Diner Reading

Lost Diners and Roadside Restaurants of New England and New York, Will Anderson, 2001
American Diner, Richard Gutman, 1979.

Diners: People and Places, Gerd Kittel, 1990.

Blue Plate Specials and Blue Ribbon Chefs: The Heart and Soul of America's Great Roadside Restaurants, Jane Stern, 2001.

Greasy Spoon. A quarterly periodical.

Diner Slang

Some diner slang –- like “cup of Joe” for a cup of coffee or “Adam and Eve on a raft” for two eggs on toast -- has entered mainstream American English, but much of this unique language has be consigned to background chatter in 1940s-style film noir movies. But people who relish diner slang have dredged up a lot of it. You might try it on your soup jockey (waitress) at your next meal at a diner to see if you can strike a linguistic mother lode of diner history.

Take breakfast, for instance. You might open with a java (coffee) and a sun kiss (orange juice) or a baby juice (glass of milk) and then move on to a couple of life preservers (doughnuts) or a stack of blowout patches (pancakes) with Vermont (maple syrup). How about scrambled eggs? Tell the waitress to wreck ’em. A shingle with a shimmy and a shake is toast with jelly. If you’re feeling international, ask for toasted English muffins, also known a burn the British. If you are in the mood for risk, tell the waitress to sweep the kitchen or clean up the kitchen and she’ll bring you a plate of hash.

Lunchtime is the right time for Noah’s boy (Ham) on bread – a ham sandwich. For a hamburger with lettuce, tomato, and onion, your waitress may tell the cook to burn one, take it through the garden, and pin a rose on it. Then, there are the details: cow paste for butter; dog soup for a glass of water; an M.D. for a Dr. Pepper; sea dust for salt; Mike and Ike for salt and pepper shakers.

If this list doesn’t cover your dining needs, the American Diner Museum can tell you much more.