Diner Dash - Parts 2 and 3

Summit Diner
www.summitdiner.org
Summit Ave and Union Place
Summit, NJ
County: Union
Arrival Time: 11:55am



The Summit Diner is a true New Jersey diner. Built in 1929, it's a tiny, pre-fab building on a corner in wealthy Summit, within walking distance for thousands of commuters using the local train station every day. The book Jersey Diners refers to the egalitarian nature of diners, the Summit being an example of this at work. Businessmen getting ready for a day on Wall Street, public works employees, retirees, everybody comes together in one of the small booths or, like we did, at the counter, here.

I ordered a slider in Summit Diner terms: taylor ham, egg and cheese on a (toasted) roll ($3.95) and a cup of coffee ($0.75). Ali had three pancakes ($3.50) and a cup of coffee. Our seats at the counter gave us a great view of the griddle and the harried waitress trying to move people through the booths quickly enough to seat those waiting at the door. The food was very good, fast and the service, direct from the cooks, was nice too.

As we were preparing to leave, a man seated next to Ali earned the ire of the main guy behind the counter. He told the man that there was a no loitering policy and he needed to order a drink to stay at all. The man then told all of us that the Commerce Bank up the street had been robbed. On our way back to the car, parked across the street from the bank, we saw numerous police cars and crime scene surrounding the parking lot. Neither of us remembered seeing it when we arrived, but we cannot be certain.

Although finding parking was an issue in downtown Summit so close to Christmas, the effort was worth it as we enjoyed an original diner experience.

Matt's Rating: 8 out of 10
Ali's Rating: 8 out of 10

Nautilus Diner
95 Main Street
Madison, NJ
County: Morris
Arrival Time: 6:00pm



The Nautilus was actually not our destination in Madison, but we couldn't find the Madison Grille so stopped in here intead. It was a lucky find.

We missed the early bird specials by thirty minutes, but I ordered a dinner special anyway - half a roasted chicken with dressing, mashed potatoes and string beans ($12.25). It also came with Manhattan Clam Chowder and an assortment of breads (roll, potato bread and cornbread). Ali ordered the California chicken wrap on wheat with sweet potato fries ($8.95) and a diet pepsi($1.65). We both found the chicken dry, but the rest of my entree was amazing. The mashed potatoes were some of the best I've ever tasted and the string beans, unlike most diners, were plain without bacon, tomatoes or anything else to muddy their flavor. The clam chowder was pretty salty and not all that clammy, but it was a large bowl serving and decent for diner soup. There was plenty of food and I brought home enough for a big lunch tomorrow.

Matt's Rating: 9 out of 10
Ali's Rating: 7 out of 10