The Diner's Surprising History

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Жыл бұрын

Diners are an American culinary staple. What other place can you get pancakes, a martini, and a triple-decker sandwich? But, where does the word "diner" come from? And why do many diners look like old silver train cars?
On today's episode, we're breaking down the history of the diner. While many people associate them with the 1950s and 1960s, we're going all the way back to the 19th century to explore the real origins of this beloved culinary institution.
Food History is a show all about... well, the history of food. Join host Justin Dodd as he brings you the stories of how your favorite meals ended up on your plate.
Special thanks to Sarah Lohman for writing this script, check out her book here!
www.amazon.com/Eight-Flavors-...

Пікірлер: 82

@deltatango6793 Жыл бұрын

Growing up in NJ, I definitely took 24 hour diners for granted.. haha not having access to diner food 24-7 seems like a crime to me!

@gussnarp Жыл бұрын

I love a diner, I've lived within walking distance of one for over 20 years. The downtown diner is a godsend when traveling for work. sadly not enough cities have them anymore, but being able to walk from your hotel to a place to get a breakfast twice as good for half the price of the hotel is great. I've got a Greek diner a block away from my house now and we got take out there every week during peak pandemic, and mostly still either get takeout or eat there every Monday night. I've been to several old New England diners as well and recently tried a new one that was one of the old railroad cars completely fitted out. I hope the diner never dies, it's the first thing a neighborhood needs to be truly livable and walkable.

@johnstevenson9956 Жыл бұрын

I mourn the loss of he diners in this area. I'd go in and have breakfast, then smoke cigarettes and drink coffee the rest of the morning, talking, reading or playing chess. Can't much do that anymore.

@jessrose4301 Жыл бұрын

You know you're a New Yorker raised by a trucker when you have eaten at multiple diners shown/mentioned in this video 😂😂😂

@kandipiatkowski8589 Жыл бұрын

My hometown (Wichita, KS) was a hub for a popular pre-fab diner business, named Valentine diners. There are many still around today....sometimes even inside larger structures.

@VictoryAviation Жыл бұрын

I proudly grew up in Kansas. I had no idea about this. Very awesome. Did you have to look up where Marysville, KS is like me? 😅

@kandipiatkowski8589 Жыл бұрын

@@VictoryAviation I did have to look it up. I keep getting Marysville mixed up with Mayeta, where a friend of mine lives...lol. I found out about the Valentine diner company because of my work in historic preservation.

@VictoryAviation Жыл бұрын

@@kandipiatkowski8589 Speaking of learning about historical type things, when my dad and I were in Wichita, probably in the late 80’s or early 90’s, we stopped by the original Cessna plant on a Saturday. They were closed but a security guard was there. My dad and I were just standing outside asking him a few questions and the security guard asked if we wanted to go inside and he’d show us around. We basically got a VIP tour while the entire factory was dead silent. It was so neat. I’ll never forget how nice that security guard was for showing a dad and his eager kid around. I wish I could shake his hand and tell him that I’m a commercial pilot now.

@micahphilson Жыл бұрын

Truck stop diners are the absolute best, I always loved going to one after church or to see grandma and getting a massive plate of chicken fried steak and gravy, or a southwestern style omelet, all with plenty of the iconic watery coffee!

@Apophis324 Жыл бұрын

I've always found the super retro aesthetic of diners interestingly nostalgic even if I've never been to one. I believe there is one (maybe more) American-styled diners here in my country, yet I still never worked up the appetite to really check it out. I hope they never truly go away...

@joelb8653 Жыл бұрын

The only restaurant in the little town I live in is an traditional diner. Breakfast and lunch only.

@WenzelSays Жыл бұрын

As a New Jersyite loving diners is in my blood. There's a diner about 10 min from me (I mean there are four but im talking about one in particular) that's been around for decades. I used to go there as a kid with my great grandmother and at each booth they had a mini jukebox. The place has changed a lot since then (they now turn into a nightclub after 9pm for starters and built a beach in the parking lot) but I'll always remember order chicken nuggets or whatever off the kids menu and getting Jello for dessert. Man, I love a diner.

@lp-xl9ld Жыл бұрын

There were several restaurants my family and I frequented in the NYC area which called themselves "such-and-such diner" even though they didn't look like the "classic" type "diner". They were still among our favorite places to eat, though!

@davidfrischknecht8261 Жыл бұрын

The main thing that distinguishes a diner from other casual dining restaurants is how you pay for your meal. In a diner you typically pay for your meal at a cash register instead of paying your server.

@Ohheyleesuhj Жыл бұрын

I'd love to hear about Shepards Pie and Cottage Pie, and how the two are similar/different!

@emmaclark6028 Жыл бұрын

A roast dinner food history would be good! It’s such a long standing staple for British people

@jonathandevries2828 Жыл бұрын

Oh my god the pies!!! soo good! i've been to that airmont diner used in the b roll!

@spiegelprime Жыл бұрын

A food history on some of the Canadian classics would be awesome. Poutine, Butter tarts and nanaimo bars

@lynn858 Жыл бұрын

The dinner I hung out at in high school happened to be a truck stop. Never had any trouble finding a suitable parking spot for the farm pickup.

@erictaylor5462 Жыл бұрын

In the early 1980's my family were planning on moving to Colorado. I was between 10 and 12 and quite small for my size. But on this morning I was very hungry so I ordered a 3 stack of pancakes. Mind you, this was not a kid's mean 3-stack. This was a breakfast made for a full grown man who expected to work outside all day long. But they were very tasty pancakes and I was really hungry. I cleaned my plate which seemed to impress the waitress who asked if I had put it down my "wooden leg" so I took it off to show her I had not done that. I guess she didn't know I was actually an amputee. The look on her face is still a treasured memory 40 years later.

@lijohnyoutube101 Жыл бұрын

My mouth fell open reading this lol !

@erictaylor5462 Жыл бұрын

@@lijohnyoutube101 Imagine what happened to the waitress's mouth. Sometimes it's fun to be an amputee.

@jliller Жыл бұрын

I think of diners as a simple, comfortable place to get a simple, comfortable, relatively inexpensive meal while harkening back to a (somewhat) simpler and more comfortable time (the 1950s). However, the diners I'm familiar with are a bit different from the NYC diners you describe in the video.

@christinegengaro8931 Жыл бұрын

I’m from Queens and was a theater kid. It’s not just you, Justin. ❤

@richard1701able Жыл бұрын

The last diner I went to was in central Moscow. That was an interesting experience.

@benw9949 9 ай бұрын

The diner that was a favorite for my grandmother and her best friend and became a favorite for me, closed a few years ago. I was so sorry to see it go. Another local favorite restaurant that had been in business for over 30 years also shut down. A local indie burger place that had been there since the 1950's also shut down. The local restaurants are much less than they had been.

@CaptainPIanet Жыл бұрын

An episode on hummus would be pretty good. And or falafel

@mattyt1961 Жыл бұрын

100% behind Falafel :)

@thesweetgirl6544 5 ай бұрын

I love diners because of the shiny out side and the large menu 😊❤

@JasonBob Жыл бұрын

Do a beloved dish episode on Chicken Tikka Masala

@MentalFloss Жыл бұрын

Oo yes! Adding it to the list immediately.

@elainebelzDetroit Жыл бұрын

Another branch of diners is the Coney Island (usually referred to as a "Coney") originating in Detroit. They tend to have a diner aesthetic, and have historically tended to be owned by Greek immigrants and their descendants. While their main staple is the "Coney dog" (a hot dog with a chili-like beef topping, usually with onions and mustard) and French fries, you can also get spinach pie and other Greek-inspired dishes (like gyro sandwiches)...but not always.

@camillastacey4674 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this- I guess in the UK the closest we have is the greasy spoon, but I don't think you can get a cocktail at many of those! I've always loved the idea of the 24hr diner but living in the UK, and never living in a big city means I've never had a chance to discover one.

@MentalFloss Жыл бұрын

I wouldn't say the cocktail is a requisite component of diner-dom, but it is pretty fun to be able to get chicken fingers and a martini. If you ever make it to NYC, get yourself to a diner!

@VictoryAviation Жыл бұрын

When he talked about getting a cocktail at a diner, the very first thought that popped into my head was, “What diner can you go to where you can order drinks!?! I must have been doing this diner thing wrong my entire life because I’ve never seen that!” lol

@CaptainFabulous84 Жыл бұрын

There's a great immigrant-owned diner right around the corner from me, and it's my go-to place to eat. Good food, great prices, and that beloved diner visual aesthetic. I will die on this hill: diner coffee is the BEST coffee!

@JanBartnik Жыл бұрын

Beloved dish suggestion: pierogi :D

@edgardoheffele3 Жыл бұрын

Going to a diner is one ofthe things I have in my list if I ever visit the states

@jjquinn2004 Жыл бұрын

I grew up in the Philly suburbs and at the time (early 70s), the drinking age across the river in New Jersey was 18 (the logic being that if you could be drafted at 18, sent to Vietnam and potentially get your *ss shot off, you should be able to get a drink.) Anyway, as you said, Jersey was full of 24-hour diners, so a stop there was always part of the trip home. Even in PA, our weekend get-togethers usually involved a late-night meal at a local diner.

@MsLazyllama101 Жыл бұрын

Nothing beats a 24 hour New Jersey diner

@KerryHallPhD Жыл бұрын

I've never seen/noticed a prefab diner structure before. if there are any around me in southern Indiana, I expect they have multiple add-ons. I'll be on the look out for them now.

@missheadbanger Жыл бұрын

Pineapple pizza was invented by a Greek Canadian, could you do a food history video on it.

@MentalFloss Жыл бұрын

Ha! I was writing about that exact man about 2 hours ago! We've got an episode all about pizza coming up in January, and have a chunk on the Hawaiian pie.

@soliloquylove2115 Жыл бұрын

Hot Water Cornbread has a great history.

@route2070 Жыл бұрын

Huh, coming into this I wasn't sure how many diners I have been to. Many fit some of the descriptions here, but far from all of the descriptions, so I'm still not sure.

@ericreativecuts Жыл бұрын

Please do chicken soup with Matzo balls (kaneidlach) next. My Bubbe was a horrible cook but she still made amazing chicken soup. She put half a cucumber in it and then would fish it out at the end. I have no idea if that actually made it better but I still do it most times lol

@m1nds0up13 Жыл бұрын

My highschool theater department spent waaayy too much time at steak n shake

@ZOB4 Жыл бұрын

Shout out to Oconee Diner in East Islip! Best seasonal decorations on Long Island.

@spiegelprime Жыл бұрын

The Oconee is in Islip, not East Islip but I 100% agree that they have the wildest decorations!

@nuii37 Жыл бұрын

Diner culture in NJ will never die. Idk what you mean lol

@mgooding8 Жыл бұрын

Yay I live in Providence! I love that we had the first food truck! (And we still have some of the best!!) Here’s an idea about a beloved dish: “My mamas Mac n cheese” everyone says their mother make the best one (especially my mom, but everyone will say their mum’s is better) the different add ins and whatnot turns a basic dish into a completely different meal

@kd1inoly693 Жыл бұрын

Yay Food! How about Chicken and Dumplings?

@firstcynic92 Жыл бұрын

No fries. Chips! No Coke. Pepsi!

@ChainsGoldMask Жыл бұрын

Dish idea. Hopping John. Please and thanks ❤

@SlowToe Жыл бұрын

Irish pubs next please 🙏🏼

@davidjones6296 Жыл бұрын

Yo Justin! Remember Mels Diner in Sarasota?

@mikestarr5160 Жыл бұрын

FUCK YEAH NEEDED THIS VIDEO!!!

@sarinehkhachatourian6746 Жыл бұрын

Please do a food history on "tolma" or "dolma"

@jonathandevries2828 Жыл бұрын

iconic foods? bagels, hot dogs, pizza, taylor ham egg and cheese salt pepper ketchup

@HeliosKou Жыл бұрын

How about arroz con Pollo. My mom's side of my family is from the Dominican Republic and as a kid,I used to beg my abuela to make the dish for me. My mom would make it but it never tasted like the way my abuela made it (it was still really good though). Now that my abuela has passed, my mom kinda cooks like her and I make it like my mom did

@6thwilbury2331 Жыл бұрын

Twenty seconds into this video, and I'm hoping to see/hear a reference to the outstanding Barry Levinson movie. Go!

@MrShaclakclak Жыл бұрын

Diners, diners forever.

@Jamessmith-xk3fh Жыл бұрын

I'm not a big fan of this tv show but Seinfeld had a diner setting. Also like I Love Lucy showed a Diner a time or two

@JuicyCrone Жыл бұрын

We need that cartoon bear stat!

@Leftyloveshuskies Жыл бұрын

The history of Kugel.

@ericbeattie761 Жыл бұрын

In key largo we had you have a Danny's liquor license

@godnoble Жыл бұрын

I don't think those blue cups are as ubiquitous as you seem to. I don't think I've ever seen one in my life, living and dining in 4 corners of the country. Though I also don't go to a diner when I want takeout.