Route 40 Diner

I was driving back to Pittsburgh from Virginia on Saturday, and came across the Route 40 Classic Diner in Brownsville Pa.  The place is classic stainless steel with old style booths and a counter with swivel stools.  50's music completes the classic feeling.  The menu is typical diner fare, but I didn't look long.  As soon as I saw the burgers, I knew what I was eating.  The Fat Burger, is aptly named.  Check this out...1/2 pound of beef, topped with an egg, then hash browns and on top of that, bacon.

Tasty!  This diner would make a nice afternoon day trip from the city. 

The Route 40 Classic Diner is located right on 40, in Brownsville Pa.

PO Lunch

I've seen Lawrence County, Pa referred to as the Hot Dog Capital of the World.  That's quite a claim.  Over the years there have been numerous discussions on foodie sites such as Chowhound debating the virtues of various hot dog shops in the New Castle, Lawrence county area.  Usually the talk centers not so much on the dogs themselves, but the chili sauce that they top them all with.

I was in New Castle last week and happened upon P.O. Lunch.  The P.O. stands for Post Office...Why, I don't know.  Anyway, P.O. Lunch is one of the names that I remembered being a favorite of the locals so I had to stop in for lunch.

The place is diner like, very bright and very clean.  The menu offers typical diner fare, and while I was temped to try a burger, I had to go with what made them famous, the hot dogs.  I order two dogs with everything.  In New Castle lingo that means mustard, onions and chili.  The following explanation of New Castle hot dog lingo (from the Lawrence County website) is described as:

New Castle Hot Dog Terms
     
Everything = Mustard, Onions,and Chili
Ketchup Everything = Ketchup, Onions, and Chili
Ketchup with Everything = Ketchup, Mustard, Onions, and Chili

I was told that they would put ketchup on my dogs, but that is frowned upon.  I was obedient.  The dogs were great and the chili really made them.  On top of that a couple of loaded dogs, and order of fries and a soft drink came out to less than six bucks.  Can't go wrong with that!

P.O. Lunch is located at 2402 Wilmington Road, New Castle, Pa.

Bob's Diner

I just happen to really enjoy a good diner. It just so happens that my most current two posts are both diner related, although that wasn't planned. A few days ago, Stacy and I took my sister to the airport early in the morning, and decided to get breakfast somewhere out there. I wanted to go to Janoski's on route 30, but since it was the weekend we knew that it would be packed. We ended up trusting the GPS, which took us to Bob's Diner just off of Stubenville Pike in Imperial.

Bob's is bright, with tacky but comfortable diner decor. They have a small counter where you can watch the cooks prepare the food and a number of tables and comfortable booths. It was pretty busy, but we were seated right away in a booth by a window. The menu has a weekday special of two eggs, toast, 2 slices of bacon or sausage for $4.95. Not bad. When it was time to order, Stacy did as she usually does, and chose the same thing that I was going to order, Bob's Eggs Benny ($7.95). I didn't want to order the same thing, so I went with another diner classic, Corned Beef Hash and Eggs ($6.95). The service was friendly and prompt and the meals arrived fairly quickly, despite the crowd. The Eggs Benedict were classic, with a great tasting hollandaise and a delicious slice of thick ham. My meal of hash and eggs came with great red skinned potato homefries, homemade hash that included a touch of grilled green peppers and onions and two slices of Mancini's toast. Both of us thought that our meals were exceptional.

My favorite diner in the Pittsburgh area has always been Gab'n Eat in Carnegie...Mostly for it's quirky nature, good food, hodgepodge coffee cups (like I have in my kitchen) and of course, it's name, but Bob's Diner gives Gab'n Eat a run for the money! I'm sure we'll be back very soon.

Summit Diner, Somerset Pa

Years ago, when I was working selling medical products to hospitals, I would travel through Somerset on a regular basis. This small town is charming, but doesn't have a lot to offer when it comes to food. There is a nice little restaurant called the Pine Grill, a little bar called Maggie Mae's, an Eat'n Park, and a great diner called the Summit Diner. One ominous memory that I have is eating breakfast there, getting in the car to travel back to Pittsburgh, and learning that the attacks of 9/11 had just occurred, with one of the plane's crashing in a Somerset field.

A couple of weeks ago, Stacy and I were headed to Cumberland Md for a family visit, and stopped for lunch at the Summit. The place has been updated since my last visit, but still holds the great charm of a Pennsylvania diner. The waitstaff were dressed in '50 attire and they were just getting ready for an afternoon car cruise, with car owners arriving in their classic cars and parking them behind the restaurant.

The menu was diner typical, in a good way. Basic home cooking and a great selection of pies. Stacy ordered a chicken salad, and I went for the club sandwich. When the food arrived the salad looked bland and Stacy looked disappointed, but that soon changed when she tasted it. The greens, while mostly "diner iceberg" were fresh and crisp, the dressing homemade, and the flavor was great. My club was also a winner. We didn't try dessert, but the pies looked really tasty, and I'm sure we will make it a point to sample them on our next stop.

I highly recommend this as a good diner experience if you find yourself traveling the Pa Turnpike in need of a good, quick and fun dining experience.

Gab 'n Eat, the best diner in Pittsburgh!

I love this place. Gab 'n Eat (yes, that's really the name) is on Washington Avenue (Route 50) in Carnegie, just a couple of minutes off the Parkway West. This place is a true greasy spoon. When you walk in there is a counter on the left with the grill behind it. Booths line the other side and fill the back. I usually sit at the counter because I love watching the cooks work their magic. The menu is typical diner fare but the food is exceptional and the portions are massive! They have a mixed grill that would feed a small army, and if you order "dippy" eggs they know what you mean. This is the kind of place where the coffee cups are all different, just like in my kitchen.

In addition to the breakfast menu, the hamburgers are one of the best anywhere in Pittsburgh, (and you know how I like Tessaro's!). They close in the mid afternoon on weekdays and around noon on the weekends and there is frequently a line, so be prepared to wait a few minutes. While the food is very good and plentiful the prices are low enough that I'd call this a bargain. As much as I love Pamela's, Deluca's and several other diners around town, Gab 'n Eat has always been my favorite.