Summit Diner

 

1

6

nic l.

Summit, NJ

I have given the summit diner 4 stars because it has excelent food though. The reason i havent given it 5 is because the lack of the staffs soles. The chef who is quite a large man has yelled at me and my freinds in a foriegn laguage several times and the waitress has no problem pushing u out of the way when u r in the line. Lets start from a birds eye piont of veiw of when i walk in the door. The african american waitress simply yells at me and then notices that she is realy not doing herself anygood and i am gessing goes out the back door and has a cigaret. Then the forinees chef yells at all his staff in forineeseian, he then simply lunges his fat ass back into the kitchen and talks to himself more then a daytime tv show host(aka bob sagat).
Obvesly knowone pays any attention to him and continouse there jobs. The waitress then throws the food at u like its a shoe and u r a cocarochre and walks away in an etemp tp finish the cigaret before she eventualyflips out at thin are itself. At the end of it all the food is saprisengly cheep due to how good it is but for those of you at home watching dont tume out yet there more on your way out she simply ciks u in the behind and yells at u (i myself run out of there like a Bulgarian in the 1980's trying to make his escape from the comunists). So in it all go in there with a empty stomach and come out full and enter with a happy mood but exit pretty pised off.

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5

34

Steve S.

Millburn, NJ

I'd heard some good things about this diner, so I decided to give it a try for breakfast one morning. It's a small, old-style diner. The food is nothing special, and the place is so small you feel like you've been crammed into a large tin can. There are only about a half-dozen tables, served by one overworked waitress who very nearly throws the food at you in her frantic efforts to keep everyone happy. (There was almost as much coffee in my saucer as in my cup.)  The portions are generous, and the price is right, but if you want anything resembling atmosphere, this isn't the place to come to.

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227

72

A J.

South San Francisco, CA

So, it's pretty common that New Jersey serve as the butt of many jokes...when you run into someone from NJ, one cliche is to ask them "so, what exit?".  In any case, sure it's easy to pass off the place as NYC's waste depot or as the chosen home for the B&T crowd...but then you'd completely miss the character of places like the Summit Diner.

Living in California, we've got our share of diners, but for the most part, they're nostalgic fabrications--however well intentioned.  We've even got some great old coffee shops too, but if you want a "real" diner it only makes sense to visit the land of malls and diners.  It's something that New Jersey does quite well.  And while they may not be as famous as a Brooklyn Pizza, or a Philly Cheese Steak, a New Jersey Diner is something worth seeking out.

The Summit Diner's everything a diner should be-it's been a part of the community for over 75 years, and there's room enough for just a few booths and about 20 seats at the counter.  The staff aren't caricatures, but real people mostly serving local regulars.  The patina on the walls can only come from decades of service.  But the thing is, the Summit Diner's not just a place that you visit to recall an era gone by, but a living breathing piece of the community today.  A friend of mine makes this as regular a breakfast as his body allows, and I can certainly see why.  Tasty sausage and just slightly over-grilled French toast, generous servings of crispy bacon and black drip coffee.

As something to experience, the Summit Diner deserves 5 stars.  It doesn't get more honest than this.  But to give it more than 3 stars would be to miss the point of the place.  In any case, I hope the community doesn't mind a few more visitors from outside the area...a gem like this is too good not to share.

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