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Collegeville Diner
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Breakfast
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
37 reviews for Collegeville Diner
Review Highlights
37 reviews in English
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Review from Jason W.
Blue Bell, PA
11/1/2011
My wife and I frequent this rather large diner when we're in the Collegeville area for dinner. I absolutely love their Athenian Greek Salad and their Reuben (With slaw instead of kraut) is a close second. Some of their "main course" dinners are a little weak and diner-like, but their Greek food and sandwiches are well worth the visit and price.
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Review from Lisa N.
Pottstown, PA
1/15/2012
Went for breakfast. First the good - SOS was really good. Home fries were crispy and very tasty. The bad - too many tables jammed into the main dining room. Getting to a table in the back corner proved to be tricky at best. Having that many tables also creates a major noise factor. The major noise factor caused our server to mess up the order.
All in all, not bad. We'll go back there again. -
Review from Charles S.
Collegeville, PA
12/18/2011
I can't for the life of me figure out the popularity of this place. The food is overpriced and mediocre. We went for breakfast recently and I left 3/4 of my pancakes because they were tasteless. The bacon was burned to a charred crisp.
On the plus side, it is always open and the service is generally pleasant (athough it generally takes a .long time for the food to come out).
If you come here and there's a wait for a table, you may want to try the new breakfast place a minute down the road adjacent to the Collegeville Pit Stop. -
Review from Diane N.
Limerick, PA
9/27/2011
My 2 star rating is an average of 4 visits. One visit was dreadful, and another was okay. Go figure. The service was okay on 3 out of 4 visits.
I enjoyed the bagel and lox plate. Perfect! I found a different story on the side salad. Don't bother with it. It is worthless iceberg lettuce and not much more. The cheesesteak was also a disappointment. No juice...it was very pedestrian. Another disappointment was the stuffed grape leaves; obviously canned and covered with a briney slime. The cooked food is below average.
The breakfast dishes were okay. Good coffee. Unhappy guy at the cashier station. SMILE...it would become you! -
Review from Katrina S.
Norristown, PA
12/10/2011
When going to a local diner - go safe - short stack with eggs and bacon. I unfortunately ventured out and order the "crab" stuff tilapia. "crab" stuff being mayo and bread crumbs. Costumer service is a minus as there is none - I don't seek this diner out that's for sure.
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Review from Jason K.
Montgomery County, PA
Updated - 12/23/2010
Sometimes I wonder if restaurant owners are making sure that the wait staff they have actually give a crap enough so that people will want to come back.
The last two times I've been here the service has been absolutely terrible. Both times it was for lunch and both times it was a different male waiter - not that it matters, just pointing it out. The first time the guy would disappear for long stretches and he had the personality of a dishrag. He seemed miserable to be working.
Today I went here for lunch with some coworkers and our server wasn't miserable but he spent the bulk of the time we were there on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall, talking to another male waiter. Rolls that were supposed to come with our dinner - not given until we asked where they were, drink refills - asked for them but never got them, check on us part way through the meal to see if we needed anything - nope, dessert that was supposed to come with the meal - also didn't get it. We were running short on time since he spent so much time talking to the other waiter and we were fed up with watching him lean against the wall so we just left without our desserts.
I noticed a young woman that was waitressing and she was buzzing around to her tables, checking on them, refilling their drinks, etc. How I wished she had been our waitress.
It's a shame that I have to amend my review of the diner but I've given them a couple of chances now and they let me down.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/9/2009
Hey it's a diner, so that means I expect nothing super fancy in the decor, decent(but not gourmet)… Read more »
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Review from Daniel B.
Collegeville, PA
Updated - 8/30/2011
This is an update based on a recent dinner I had here. Me and my daughter rode our bikes here on the Perkiomen trail, and had dinner with her Grandmother. I enjoyed my grilled salmon salad, Granmom liked her lasagna, and my kid scarfed down the fries and a burger. The service was really good, and I'm going to have to upgrade my rating. My previous ratings were for breakfast exclusively and it seems that when it comes to breakfast, I am not easily satisfied.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/22/2009
Sorry, though we enjoyed the location, the ambiance, the decor, and the service, my family just… Read more »
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Review from Ginger R.
Philadelphia, PA
8/29/2011
The food is nothing to write home about. My gyro was competently prepared. Good french fries. Buffalo wings would have been very good, except they were undercooked.
The BF and I decided to share a Napoleon from the dessert case. Big mistake. Stale and pasty.
Our server was nice enough, but disappeared. We were left stranded, needing extra napkins. No napkin dispensers at the table.
Overall, it's one of those diners that tries to go upscale with an enormous fanciful menu. Stick to ordering the basics if you do not want to be disappointed. -
Review from Phillip Y.
Des Moines, IA
5/2/2011
I was here last week after a hike with some friends. This was the perfect place to grab lunch after our hike. I had the reuben sandwich on rye which was good. It was a little smaller than the ones I get at Pumpernick's but the price reflected the smaller portion. It came with a pickle and potato chips on the side. Quick service and friendly staff. How does this compare to Pumpernick's? You can't compare since this is pretty much a mom and pop diner and no wait. Usually, Pumpernick's is packed it's hard to get a table and takes a while for take-out. Overall, I think this ranks as much better to diners I have been too. A wide variety of selection for breakfast and lunch. I loved the dessert glass case and wished that I had room for cake. Maybe next time... Prime location being in downtown Collegeville and nearby Ursinus College.
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Review from Julio D.
Philadelphia, PA
Busy diner with fast service. I ordered a mixed grille omelet which consists of bacon, sausage and ham; included a side of home fries. This place pumps out food like I've never seen before. It took about 5 minutes after I ordered to get my food despite the fact that this place was super busy. It was delicious and quick.
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Review from Lyla P.
Narberth, PA
7/3/2011
We stop here for breakfast before heading out for long drives on the bike trail. We like the fact that they have bike racks outside.
We just went there yesterday morning. I've read other reviews here about the staff so I wanted to point out that our waitress was excellent. I used to wait tables so one of my pet peeves is inattentive and inefficient wait staff. Our waitress appeared at our table within 60 seconds of being seated. She always made the rounds of ALL the tables when she came out, the sign of efficiency. She would peek from the place where the staff waits for food to see if anyone needed anything. I give her an A-Plus. I think the staff is very well trained, at least our waitress was. I noticed they wash their hands frequently too. Keep up the good work. If all the servers aren't as deserving of such applause, then I hope they will read this and try to emulate this type of service because people DO notice.
Can't really speak for lunch or dinner, but breakfast is always satisfying and enjoyable. -
Review from Paul B.
Atlantic City, NJ
7/29/2010
Being originally from New Jersey, the Diner capital of the universe, I recently relocated to Collegeville, Pa.
Right around the corner from where I live is the Collegeville Diner.
I Can consider myself a connoisseur of diner's, having spent many a long night in them eating breakfast foods at 3am.
This Diner is wonderful in most respects. As long as you don't mind waiting on weekend mornings for a table, you should have no problems.
The food is good for a diner. When you special order something, they usually get it right. The wait staff tends to be slightly neglectful of drink refills, especially when they get busy.
Personal Recommendation- Blueberry Waffles and a Nice large OJ. I would suggest opting for the fresh blueberries, not the 'glazed' kind, which is actually just blueberry pie filling and will leave you in a horrendous food coma.
Eggs are cooked properly to order, bacon is hit or miss.
Pastries are absolutely to die for and the brownies at the counter are the size of an Encyclopedia Brittanica.
Overall a big thumbs up. 4 stars, merely due to the waitstaff's propensity to be forgetful of checking up on your table.
Try going on a Mon-Thurs morning to get the best experience. -
Review from Alex B.
Collegeville, PA
12/2/2010
As far as diners go, it has a long ways to go to be impressive. The food is okay, but the service is terrible.
Although, like all good diners, they do have awesome milkshakes. -
Review from Statia M.
Royersford, PA
2/22/2010
Realize that in the end, this is a diner. The food is typical diner food.
But, there's a great selection, it's not terribly expensive and the service is fast.
I love that the menu has enough variety to satisfy everyone. My son, lover of all things pancake, can have his fix, as well as steal the fries off my plate. It blows his frickin' toddler mind to see his two most favorite foods ever on the same table AT THE SAME TIME.
It's like me and bacon, which speaking of, they also have bacon, and gyros. If I so desired, I could get both a gyro AND a side of bacon, and my mama brain would explode.
Because it's a diner, it always seems crowded, probably because everyone else has the same idea. OK food, and everyone gets what they want. WIN. -
Review from Jeremy J.
Collegeville, PA
7/1/2007
Allow me to start by saying that I have recently moved to the Collegeville area. I've also only recently been made aware of Yelp (thanks Lee). This will be my first of many reviews so please bear with me if its not up to yelping standards.
As far as 24-hour diner food goes, this place gets the full 5 stars.
I arrived at 10:30am on a Friday and was immediately greeted and seated by a smiling host. My pleasant waitress arrived shortly after I was seated to take my drink order. The drink (diet coke w/ no lemon) was presented to me in a HUGE glass (maybe 24 oz.).
With regards to the menu, there were a lot of options; exactly what one would expect at a diner. See the website for the menu. I wasn't incredibly turned on by the "Super Breakfast Specials" section, but the menu does have a serious omelet selection. After some deliberation, I ordered the Pancake Deluxe with scrambled eggs, scrapple and a side of wheat toast.
While I waited for my meal, I had a chance to make some general observations. The booth section of the diner was full; however the noise level was quite low. The back dining area was mostly empty and the bar area was full. Overall it was generally crowded, yet the atmosphere felt open and non-crowded. There was no stupid background music playing (a pet peeve of mine). My table and immediate area were very clean.
The meal arrived in 5 minutes! I was thoroughly impressed with the turnaround time on my order. The pancakes were nicely sized, golden brown and delectable. The butter came in single serving packets and was a little on the cold/frozen side (this somewhat bothers me). The syrup also came in (Kraft) single serving packets as opposed to the pitcher method at your local ihop. The eggs were fine and the scrapple was crisp on the outside and soft and tender on the inside (exactly how it should be for those not familiar with scrapple). I tore into my meal and ate every last morsel.
Throughout the meal, my waitress paid attention to me - just enough but not too much. My gigantic drink was refilled before it became empty and she brought out the bill at just the right time.
After paying at the cashier, I left at 11:00am with a full tummy and a smile on my face. There were a lot of older people in the diner and many of the waitresses, the host and cashier knew them by name. I want to be one of the (albeit younger) regulars and this will be my new local diner.
Random comments that don't really matter:
I didn't like the entrance into the parking lot. It was narrow and twisted like a cheap drive-through lane.
The table at which I was seated was a bit wobbly; however that is a common occurrence almost everywhere. -
Review from Jumpman O.
Phoenixville, PA
8/30/2008
Very nice waiters and staff, they've always been so great. Portions are very big and prices aren't too bad at all. Location is perfect right on the corner there, plenty of parking behind the restaurant. It's a great family restaurant, I've never had to wait too long at all to get in there even with big parties on a Friday night. Alot better than the Limerick Diner right up the road from there.
I feel that I need to relate a few less than kosher experiences there. On one occasion, my pancakes kept having a metallic taste. I'd send them back and tell them about the taste and they'd give me new pancakes, still with a metallic taste. Turns out that they were giving me pancakes made with spoiled batter. Ew, right? I'll never forget that taste.
On another occasion, they didn't send out the home fries I had ordered. It took quite a long time for them to ultimately get the home fries to me and by the time they came, I had finished my breakfast. To put a cherry on top, when they came, there was some sort of hair in them, like a chest hair or something (I keep telling myself "it was a chest hair, nothing else" but it was nasty). That kept us from going back for quite awhile and our attendance there hasn't been the same since.
Also, this place needs to be more on the ball with filling coffee cups. A coffee cup at a diner should NEVER be empty. Cardinal sin, hehe. I always need to ask for a refill. Tsk, tsk.
Some of my favorite dishes:
Rigatoni with tomato sauce (very very good, lots of food)
Chicken Sandwich with fries (large, hearty fresh-cooked chicken breast, doesn't look like it was taken from a freezer). -
Review from Alexander K.
New York, NY
1/7/2009
The aura of this diner really beat most others I've been to (Limerick Diner, get your act together). Like my colleague Mike Y. said, the menu was very extensive. I had sort of an epiphany when I finally realized what I wanted, Everything just clicked.
The Waitress would also have made a great Mii.
Reuben Burger highly recommended. -
Review from Percy N.
4/20/2008
This is our go to place for a quick weekend breakfast. It can get a bit crowded by I have not seen more than a 10 min wait, even though the waiting area might be full.
The service is friendly, efficient and "old school". The food is delicious and the kitchen is fast.
Besides the usual breakfast favs (omelets, eggs benedict, etc), the Moussaka and Gryo are also great.Listed in: Breakfast Places in…
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Review from David F.
Phoenixville, PA
2/17/2011
If portion size was the only barometer for how many stars a restaurant gets then this diner would get a 10. But fortunately for us there are other factors that figure into the star rating namely quality and cleanliness. Now, don't get me wrong I gave it 2 stars which means it's okay but it's just not good. The quality of the food is typical diner quality except for the fact that there's a family of flies that constantly hover around your food. Get rid of the legions of flies and maybe I'll come back otherwise it's only 2 stars for this diner.
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Review from Pieta B.
Somerville, MA
4/25/2010
We wrapped up visit to Pennsylvania with a Sunday morning trip to the Collegeville Diner. The silver metalic exterior was very promising -- it looks like diner in Queens. The restaurant is big and crowded but we were lucky to arrive just before church let out, so we were able to sit down at the counter right away.
Our server was friendly in that special diner-waitress way. We received generous portions of eggs and homefries. They were fantastic -- best homefries ever. The coffee was fresh and hot. We were a little disappointed in the biscuits. Based on the appearance of the place, we expected them to be perfect, but they were a little dry.
I was tempted to order pie -- the pies looked fantastic -- but I refrained. I'll try one next time. -
Review from Dan O.
Philadelphia, PA
6/9/2011
Went for breakfast. Hard to ruin eggs and bacon. Meal was mediocre. Waitress must have been having a very bad day, not a smile, not a "good morning", nothing. Food came out in about twenty minutes. Had to ask to have our coffee refilled. When we went to pay the check the woman at the register was downright rude and ugly. Guess this place has more customers than they need, although the place was empty when we got there. Never going back and telling everyone that I know in the area to go somewhere else.
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Review from Michael R.
Pottstown, PA
8/6/2008
Updated review:
Has been terrible the last four times we were there.
We observed that the food served to the patrons seated near us looked like a congealed mess. My wife's turkey was nearly inedible.
When I asked why toast was burnt to a crisp (just one of the many mistakes in the kitchen) I was told "that's the way people like it"!!
It seems that it, like some of the other local diners, spends huge sums on ceramic tile, chrome and glass then serves awful food.
I'd rather go almost anyplace, now. -
Review from Anthony S.
Collegeville, PA
2/8/2010
Been to this diner quite a few times, and hopefully my last.
Every time I go, I'm hoping the food will taste better then the last time I went.
I was a cook in the Navy, and while I wasn't the best cook in the world, I never made a bad breakfast. You would think nobody could do a bad breakfast, but these cooks seem to do so.
For example..Cook the damn breakfast sausage please! Slightly browning sausage just doesn't cut it. Think about what sausage is..then think of the reasons why you should COOK it all the way.
The french toast is very bland..not a good taste at all. Your home fries/potatoes have no taste at all. Plus, there is no reason in the world to give a person 3/4 of a plate of potatoes!
Tommy Moes, LImerick Diner, Ava's make a better breakfast then this place. -
Review from mike y.
New York, NY
1/7/2009
There menu just has about everything you could want from a diner. It took me like half an hour to make up my mind. I even stated to our waitress
" this is the most difficult decision i ever had to make." (me)
delicious food that hits the spot. You should probably check it out.
They also have good sized slices of pie -
Review from Andrea m g.
Richboro, PA
1/29/2011
This is an excuse for a Diner.
New Jersey you have nothing to worry about from this place.
There are not a lot of places opened as late as this Diner in Collegeville so ,basically it's here or the WAWA at night.
.I had a decent Chicken Parm warm and gooey with cheese and sauce, but it was served with over cooked, room temp.pasta! Ate the meat and salad parts of my meal, leaving the cold pasta for later to meet up with my microwave.
I wrapped the pasta and leftover chicken, brought it home to nuke for a late night snack.. I really questioned why I bothered since reheating the leftover did nothing to improve the food.. The salad that came with the dinner was just a mediocre salad, no effort or finesse is put into any of the food ,
I have eaten here out of necessity rather than choice
.The service really sucked all 3 times I have eaten here
.Our waiter couldn't get it together enough to bring everything out even close to the same time.
This dude was not happy to be there and made no attempt to hide this fact. Not Good. -
Review from Jesse G.
Collegeville, PA
4/11/2010
Collegeville diner is not good. I do not know why so many locals rave about the food.
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Review from P C.
Norristown, PA
6/8/2011
Has great Chicken Parm. Love the Creamed Chip Beef. Really had nothing bad here. The only thing I was every disapointed with was a cheese danish
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Review from cotie s.
Harleysville, PA
7/27/2009
Cool place and atmosphere is about the best you'll do. Of the handful of times I've eaten here I've never been very happy with my food. From the dinners to the over priced deserts, I've not been able to find any go to items. What really did the place in for me was one night a group of us went out to grab desert after grilling out. The pie and cake we ordered was obviously frozen too long and was dried out and not work the trip out there. I have had breakfast at the diner and it was fine, but nothing exceptional. Even if you live in collegeville, make the trip to Skippack and eat at Mal's.
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Review from D M.
Royersford, PA
8/16/2008
I can only give this four stars because, although they have the bomb-diggity of a menu and really tasty food, they are severely lacking in haggis.
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Review from Dan B.
Royersford, PA
11/29/2008
It's a little pricier than other diners in the area, but it's well worth the few extra $'s. I've had probably the best bacon and sausage omelet ever at 3am after a night of a heavily concentrated liquid beverages. The staff is always courteous and the food is always great (even when enjoying sober). Sorry to hear about the girl being harassed as I've always been more of a lively drunk myself (the nonviolent type). Anyways I was digressing, all in all the Collegeville diner is my pick above Limerick and the diner in Trappe (not sure what the name is now).
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Review from Shelly M.
Schwenksville, PA
6/9/2008
I've been wanting to stop in here ever since it opened but the parking lot always seemed overflowing. Finally got brave and stopped in, only to find that the parking lot is used for other shops in that vicinity also. So don't let a crowded parking lot detur you from eating here!
First off, the first sight you will see is a mass of picture perfect deserts staring you in the face. Second? The menu. Oh my! You could be there for 5-10 minutes just deciding! Foods of every variety/ethnicity/culture you could imagine. Me? I went with an All American Hot Ham & Cheese with Cheese Fries. BF had breakfast foods. Both plates arrived super fast for the amount of people in there. His plate was heaping with pancakes, toasts, and bacon. My meal was also perfect! Waitress didn't have to write down the orders and check arrived promptly when it should have! Prices are right!
CONS: Tables were kind of close where I was sitting, I practically had someone elses arm on my table. No biggie. Parking lot is awkward to get in/out of. -
Review from Zachary F.
Collegeville, PA
10/4/2009
Mediocre diner. Pretty clean and nice look outside with the polished stone tiles (marble? granite? not really sure). But what counts, the food - their menu is super-extensive which I happen to think is a bad thing - jack of all trades, master of none, and what not. It's hard to pick out a meal and when asked, the staff I met don't seem consistent in picking out what the place is good at. The several dinners I had I wondered if it was frozen food reheated, never had a breakfast there.
Service can be iffy. Sometimes had to wait a long time to get a waiter/waittress, at some visits they clustered around and chatted with each other, making the customers wait, owner/manager there tolerates that behavior.
As a hangout, I guess it's decent, but for those in a hurry or just want a good meal, go elsewhere. -
Review from Jenn M.
San Francisco, CA
5/18/2008
My parents took me here while I was visiting earlier this month. The choices were amazing. I mean, you could spend an entire night just reading the menu. I got the spanakopita and while it was not my nana's spanakopita, it was really freaking good and it came with feta cheese and dolmas and a salad. I also got an order of dolmas, not knowing that some would come with my spanakopita. They were better than some, but not as good as others. Oh, and my meal came with a choice of desserts. At my dad's recommendation, I got the rice pudding and it was really, really good, plus they put whipped cream on it. It was more food than any one person could eat, so we took stuff home for my brother. Oh and our waitress was so nice.
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Review from Carolyn A.
South Burlington, VT
8/10/2010
The thing is, this is really a great Greek restaurant that poses as a diner. They have a varied menu, and you don't have to eat Greek. But that would be a mistake, as the Greek food is consistently good.
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Review from Matthew G.
Phoenixville, PA
8/7/2008
I've visited this diner a few times in the past couple of months, as it has become one of my favorite spots for decent diner food at a reasonable price. The omelettes are very good, always cooked to perfection, and the staff is friendly and attentive. The baked goods always look exceptional, but unfortunately the few I've tried have not been as fresh as I'd like. But, i will continue going back for the breakfast items, for sure.
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Review from John C.
Collegeville, PA
9/22/2009
I have eaten breakfast here multiple times but I have not been impressed. I am only basing this off of breakfast food but I was really disappointed every time I have been there. The decor is great, it really looks like a true modern diner.
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Review from C T.
Roselle, NJ
6/2/2010
This used to be one of my favorite spots to hit for a quick meal when we were in town and undecided where to go; however, the last two times I have eaten there I was treated rather indifferently for the same misunderstanding by management. When I go out to eat, I typically pay with a credit card but always leave a cash tip on the table (which is generally the preferred way to get tips according to waiters/waitresses I have personally known). The past two times I have visited this diner, it was quite obvious that it was assumed by management that I did not leave a tip when I put $0 for the "tip" portion on the credit card receipt since I had left a cash tip on the table. This is very offensive to me since I used to be in the service industry and typically tip very well even if the service is mediocre. I have only experienced this type of misunderstanding at this particular establishment.
Other than the above, I felt the food was ok - some dishes being obviously better than others. My service has typically been quick - but once you have your meal it appears as if some of the wait staff forget that you are there (others are of course very good). The environment is your typical diner atmosphere which I have always enjoyed since I hail from the diner capital of the world (NJ).
I am sad to say that I have probably eaten my last meal at this diner. I don't need to be made to feel that I have short-changed somebody when obviously I have not. Unfortunately for the waitstaff - they have lost someone who tipped well. I honestly hope that they do not treat other patrons in the same manner.
