Review of Jackson Diner in Jackson, NJ

On Tuesday, October 19th Mo' Money and I visited The Jackson Diner in where else but Jackson, NJ.



I went with my usual breakfast for dinner of french toast and eggs. Mo' decided to be a little more adventurous (while also risking his life) and ordered a seafood platter. Diners and seafood can be a dangerous combination.





And here is our review:

Food Quality: 4 Fonzies. No complaints from me. Everything tasted great. Eggs were cooked well and the french toast were light and fluffy. Plenty of syrup and powdered sugar to make it a joyous occasion.



Mo’ sez: 5 Fonzies. Initially, I was liking Johnny’s “breakfast-for-dinner” idea, and was thinking of a big stack of fluffy buttermilk pancakes with syrup. Then I saw the list of specials for the evening. It was Italian night. (I don’t know what it is about Tuesdays and Italian night, but just like at the OB , Tuesdays at Jackson Diner feature food with a root in the boot.) Usually I’m hesitant to order seafood at a diner, but since my mussel feast at the OB turned out very well a while back, I figured I’d give it a shot here too. I don’t know exactly what caused the about-face from pancakes to Seafood Fra Diavolo, but I was thankful for it. This dish was outstanding. The clams, mussels, calamari, scallops, and shrimp all tasted fresh, the linguini was cooked perfectly, the spicy marinara sauce was very good in taste and consistency for a non-Italian restaurant, the portion was big, and the $16.99 price tag was very easy to swallow. (In a nice Italian joint, this dish would easily be 25 bucks or more.) And at Jackson Diner it included soup or salad and a selection from a small list of simple desserts. That’s definitely mo’ fo’ yo’ money. I decided to spend a few extra bucks and chose from the main menu for my dessert. I enjoyed an out-of-this-world in any decade slice of New York cheesecake with strawberries.





Staff: 2 Fonzies. We were first seated in a strange middle section of the restaurant. I felt a little exposed and also preferred a booth to get that authentic diner feel. The first waitress seemed a little offended when we asked to move as if it was personal. No, it wasn't.

The only way I can describe our next waitress is bipolar. She was annoyed when Mo' took a little time to order. She was extremely rushed with everything. It was hard to relax. Then she would turn around and call me "hun" and refill my coffee before I would think of it which I always appreciate. Her attitude improved later on in the meal but there were a few rough moments.

Mo’ sez: 2.5 Fonzies. We sat down at a small-ish table for 2, but then decided we’d prefer more room (I knew Johnny was psyched for a “breakfast-for-dinner” feast, which would undoubtedly mean multiple plates of food.). So we asked our waitress for a switch to a larger table. She actually seemed a little annoyed to be handing us over to a different waitress. OK, no big deal. Then, our waitress at the new table turned out to be Miss Split Personality. On her first visit, she actually huffed when I wasn’t ready to order. On her second visit, she took our order but gave us a big smile. Then, when Johnny asked for a refill on his cup o’ joe, she huffed again (I thought I might have even heard a slight grunt). But when she brought the coffee over for the refill, we got another big grin and she called Johnny “sweetie.” On this one I’ll have to spilt my Fonzies, just like the waitress’ personality.

Restrooms: 3 Fonzies. I've seen some horrendous diner bathrooms in the past but not the case at The Jackson Diner. Nothing spectacular and a little messy but completely functional.

Mo’ sez: 4 Fonzies. Easy to find, clean and spacious men’s room. Nothing fancy, but hey, it’s a diner bathroom, not The Olive Garden. No complaints here.



Music / Noise Level: 4 Fonzies. Decent tunes in the background. Wasn't too loud to interrupt our conversation. No table side jukebox which I haven't seen in a good while. Should be a staple at every diner.

Mo’ sez: 5 Fonzies. When we first sat down, the place was pretty empty.The overhead speakers played a great mix of rock-n-roll oldies at just the right volume. As the joint got more crowded, the noise level obviously increased, but the oldies still sounded good, and I still had no problem hearing Johnny telling me how much he LOVES having breakfast for dinner.

Overall Presentation: 4 Fonzies. I like the whole 50's nostalgia motif they have going. Brings you back to another time and place. If only it weren't located in a strip mall...



Mo’ sez: 4 Fonzies. Jackson Diner’s motto is “Take a step back in time” and they mean it! As you walk through the door, try to forget the fact that you’re in a strip mall. If you can do that, you’ll feel like you’re entering a 1950’s malt shop. (Well, OK, you’ll also have to ignore the three flat screen TV’s on the walls too, but otherwise, the place looks pretty authentic.) From the designs on the booths and tables, to the memorabilia on display, to the neon signs, to the huge mural on the far wall; if you want to feel 1950s-ish, this is the place. While the design of the menu plays to the 50’s theme, the offerings are still typical modern Jersey diner fare, including wraps, paninis, seafood platters, and senior specials. Plenty of old-fashioned desserts are also featured, including sundaes, shakes, malts, floats, ice cream sodas, and even a NY style egg cream. Overall, if it wasn’t for the strip mall and the flat screens, (and a waitress with a possible personality disorder) Jackson Diner would get all 5 Fonzies from me. (And how about adding car hop service with waitresses on roller skates? Ok, maybe that’s too much to ask.)



This concludes our review of The Jackson Diner.

Review of Broad Street Diner in Hamilton, NJ

I went to The Broad Street Diner in Hamilton, NJ (Mercer County) on Thursday, August 5th, 2010.



I was again accompanied by my friend and colleague, Mo' Money. Mo' takes his diner reviews seriously and as you can see from this picture, he meant business.



Got to Broad Street around 5pm and decided to have a nice cup of coffee while I waited for Mo'. I decided to do breakfast for dinner this time around.



I ordered blueberry pancakes along with scrambled eggs and home fries. Mo' went with the turkey club sandwich.




And here is our review:

Food Quality: 4 Fonzies. I am usually very impressed with the quality of the food at The Broad Street Diner and again I was not disappointed. Eggs came out nicely and the pancakes were delicious. The blueberries were not cook inside the pancakes which I found a little bothersome. I had to have a huge gob of blueberries on the table to put on the pancakes.



They still tasted great so I can't complain too much.

Mo’ sez: 3 Fonzies. When I go to a diner and I don’t know what I wanna eat, I always order my top diner standby: the triple-decker turkey club. The BSD version was average. Not as big as other diners’ turkey clubs, but at $7.25, not nearly the most expensive either. The turkey was ok, but the bacon and lettuce were both nice and crisp. Came with some tasty fries and slaw (which is standard at most diners); but the biggest surprise was that it also came with a cup of soup; all for $7.25. That’s what I call mo’ fo’ yo’ money.

Staff: 4 Fonzies. I found the waitress to be very pleasant. She always asked to fill my coffee up and didn't make any mistakes in my order. Everything came out very promptly and efficiently.

Mo’ sez: 4 Fonzies. Johnny showed up first. The pleasant young lady who greeted me at the door welcomed me and pointed me toward Johnny’s table with a smile. Our waitress appeared quickly, got our orders right, was very pleasant, checked up on us several times during the meal, and was a cutie to boot. No complaints here.

Restrooms: 2 Fonzies. The restroom seemed to be in good condition and not particularly messy. However, I did find something slightly disturbing. One of the urinals was out of order and covered up with plastic. Quite bizarre. I wasn't impressed.

Mo' Money didn't use the restroom.

Music / Noise Level: 3 Fonzies. It was packed for dinner on a Thursday night so the place was a little noisy which I don't mind. Makes for good ambiance. Of course there was no table side jukebox which should be a staple of every Jersey diner.

Mo’ sez: 3 Fonzies. The joint was not that big, but even though it was pretty full, the noise level was perfect. Had no problem hearing Johnny rave about his blueberry compote (and our cute waitress). The flat screens on the walls were muted, which kept the ambient noise at a good level for eating. Still no tableside jukeboxes; maybe at our next diner stop.

Overall Presentation: 4 Fonzies. Every since The Broad Street was remolded several years ago I've been impressed with it. Very nice modern building. Might need some new TV's but otherwise great. I prefer to enjoy my dinner over a nice chat with a friend than watch TV anyway.

Mo’ sez: 3 Fonzies. The place didn’t have the classic Jersey diner feel that I love, but it was clean and comfortable, and had cool faux-brick interior walls. The flat screen TV’s were a nice attempt to liven up the place, but that’s not what I look for in a diner. The menu wasn’t huge but had all the usual diner standards. Big list of daily specials and lots of good looking desserts. All of the prices appeared reasonable. Didn’t knock my socks off with anything to make it stand out from other diners, but overall not a bad place to get some good eats.

This concludes our review of The Broad Street Diner.

Review of The Ocean Bay Diner in Point Pleasant, NJ

I've decided to review diners. Reviews of categories will be based on a scale of 1-5 Fonzies in honor of my hero, Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli.


Fonzies: 1=Lousy 2=Just OK 3=Better than average 4=Very good 5=Best I’ve seen in a while

On Tuesday I visited The Ocean Bay Diner in Point Pleasant, NJ along with my colleague and friend, Mo' Money.



I ordered Homemade Lasagna with Minestrone soup and garlic bread while Mo' Money ordered Mussels with house salad. Tuesday at The Ocean Bay is pasta night where you can get any pasta dish for $8.50.



Here are our reviews in a nutshell:

Food Quality: 4 Fonzies. Portions were very generous. Quality of pasta was above average. Fulfilling meal. I was disappointed they didn't have the specific type of cheesecake I asked for although the one I got wasn't bad.

Mo’ sez: 4 Fonzies. Tues night was pasta night: large plates of pasta (some with meat and/or seafood) for $8.50. Can’t beat dat. My plate was overflowin’ with mussels. Tasted good and was served hot. Salad took a while to come out which left no time to eat it before main dish came out. Poor timing and boring lettuce-only salad kept this from being higher.

Staff: 4 Fonzies. Waiter frequently came over to ask if we needed anything, constantly refiling my coffee as well. Very friendly and smiley. Order was correct and food delivered promptly. It was somewhat difficult to understand him with his heavy accent.

Mo’ sez: 3 Fonzies. Waiter made no mistakes with food, but had no silver wear to start and had to ask for a straw. Accent made him a little hard to understand.

Restrooms: 2 Fonzies. Not the worst I've seen but not so great either. There was an unpleasant odor and they only had soap in a bottle on one of the sinks which didn't smell nice. I saw a few tiles missing on the wall as well.


Mo' Money didn't use the bathroom.

Music / Noise Level: 3 Fonzies. A little quiet for my taste. I've always enjoyed the sound of a bustling diner. The music was fine from what I recall. Being May it's a little early for crowds at the shore, especially on a Tuesday night.

Mo’ sez: 2 Fonzies. It being a Tues night, the place was pretty empty which meant no room noise at all. That made the radio station coming out from the ceiling speakers sound louder than it needed to be. Don’t see them too often anymore, but I always look for the old tableside jukeboxes and found none at the OB.

Overall Presentation: 3 Fonzies. Place appeared to be in decent shape. No debris falling from the ceiling. They have some interesting wall art.



I wasn't overwhelmed by the smell of urine as some others have noted in the reviews of The Ocean Bay on other websites.

Mo’ sez: 3 Fonzies. The place wasn’t fallin’ apart. Clean and modern looking. Better than average, a little.



I finished my meal off with a slice of cheesecake.


This concludes the first diner review.