The Pompton Queen Diner- Pompton Plains, NJ

Pompton Queen Diner

710 State Route 23 North

Pompton Plains, NJ 07444

(973) 835-2086

http://pomptonqueendiner.com

Status: APPROVED

Excellent is the word for this diner. Its was NJ.com's Readers Choice for 2015.

http://www.nj.com/jerseysbest/2015/12/see_which_diner_won_readers_choice_award_in_njs_be.html

I have never had a bad meal here. Whether its breakfast, burgers, chicken, turkey and even steak dinners, the food is always top notch. The sides are good too. I like the fries, mashed potatoes and baked potatoes. There is an excellent choice of drinks whether its soda, beer, wine and even mixed drinks. This place is ALWAYS busy, even at 2am in the morning!! The service is always excellent. You may have to wait for a table around dinner time, my guess anywhere from 5pm to 8 or 9pm. Its never that long a wait though, maybe 10-15 minutes. BTW, if you like chocolate, try the chocolate fudge cake!! Its SINFULLY RICH!! DECADENT!! YUMMY!!! The lemon meringue and apple pies are delicious too!! If your in the area, stop by with an empty stomach, YOU WILL BE SATISFIED!!!

Wilkes Deli - Oakland, NJ

Wilkes Deli

380 Ramapo Valley Road

Oakland, NJ 07436

(201) 337-2366

http://www.wilkesdeli.com/Wilkesdeli.com/Welcome_to_Wilkes_Deli.html
Status: APPROVED

While this is primarily a site to rate diners and other "eat in" establishments, I feel the need to add this deli to the page. If you are ever in the Oakland area and want to do breakfast or lunch, Wilke's is the way to go. I get sandwiches here on a regular basis and they will deliver to nearby locations. I have NEVER had a bad lunch here. The sandwiches are fresh, made to order and all cold cuts are usually fresh cut. Breads and rolls are always fresh and soft and tasty. Sandwiches come with chips and a pickle if so desired. There is a fair choice in drinks including Stewarts Root Beer, A fair number of Boylan's products and some other brands I normally don't see. They also have some baked goods like linzer tarts, black and whites and some pastries. They also have some cakes and muffins as well. Just stay away from the cookies. While fresh baked,they are rather bland. They also do catering which can be a plus if you need it. 

The Railroad House - Sinking Springs PA

The Railroad House

152 Woodrow Ave

Sinking Spring, Pa 19608

(610) 678-1177

http://railroadhouse.net
Status: APPROVED

Another good find. My tag team partner and I tried this place out because he always sees the place packed whenever he passes by. Well, theres a reason for that, GOOD FOOD!! I had a cheeseburger and onion rings and they were delicious. Another good thing, Norfolk Southern's Harrisburg Line passes right behind the place so its a good place to eat and rail buff at the same time during the warmer months. I have to visit this place again!!

Backyard Bar & Grille - Springfield, MA

BACKYARD BAR & GRILLE

1506 Riverdale St, West Springfield, MA

I was searching for a place for dinner while on vacation and at the same time trying to find a place where we could have a few good drinks so I found this place on a Google search which was right up the road from where we were staying at. Upon walking in there was NO line whatsoever and plenty of space for people to sit all over, it has a bar type atmosphere including the tables separated from the bar they have high chairs to sit on to get a broad view of the restaurant.

Beer wise they had a wide selection including Yuengling (which is a personal favorite) both bottles and on tap. They serve both 12 and 22 oz draft sizes which was another plus. There was a decent selection for the menu appetizer wise, I ordered mild boneless buffalo wings and they were excellent. The mozzarella sticks were the good round ones too well cooked and filled with flavor.

Onto the dinner itself I ordered a full rack of baby back ribs and they were excellent. Fall off the bone, full of flavor and the side of fries were seasoned and tasted good. After dinner there was no rush to get out the door so we relaxed, shot the breeze and tied a few more on. I definitely will be back to this establishment if I'm up in the Springfield, Mass. area in the future.

The Alburtis Tavern - Alburtis, PA

Alburtis Tavern

106 South Main St

Aburtis, Pa 18011

(610) 928-0404

http://www.opentable.com/alburtis-tavern?rid=186199&ref=1068

https://www.alburtistavern.com/specialty-sandwiches
Status: APPROVED

Excellent!! Thats what I have to say about the Alburtis Tavern. Good Food!! Good Drink!! Outside dining in the warmer months. Oh and for the rail enthusiast, Norfolk Southern's Reading line is right across the street!! The first time I dined here, I had a cheeseburger with onion rings and chips. The burger was VERY tasty and the onion rings.....BEER BATTERED HEAVEN!! I highly recommend them. The second time I had a prime rib dinner off their specials menu. It was one of the best prime ribs I have had in quite some time. had the waffle fries and they were good too. Went there a third time and had the cheeseburger and onion rings again and of course, they knocked it out of the park. One thing, you may want to call ahead for a reservation as they are very busy. One can expect to wait 30 minutes to an hour without a reservation. Trust me though, the food is well worth the wait!!

Meadowlands Diner - Carlstadt, NJ

Meadowlands Diner

320 RT17 S

Carlstedt, NJ

Status: DIRE EMERGENCIES ONLY!!!

Once a favorite eating establishment, the Meadowlands has unfortunately gone downhill. The quality is just no longer there. The service has gone down hill as well. Some of our favorite waitresses must have found better work as they are no longer there and the current crop isn't the best to say the least. Inattentive is the word here. Its getting close to being service with a snarl. The last time I had waffles, there weren't very tasty although I was a little out of it at the time and even the burgers just don't have the taste that they should. It seems they are cutting corners on the quality of the food. Thats really sad considering the Meadowlands is conveniently located. Considering there are better eating establishments nearby, I would pass this place up unless I was REALLY lazy and REALLY hungry. 

The Steaming Tender - Palmer, MA

THE STEAMING TENDER

28 DEPOT STREET PALMER, MASSACHUSETTS

Though it's housing is a former railroad depot and considered a novelty these days, the entrance and parking lot resemble the quality of the food. First off there was a massive railroad convention in town and every rail fanatic in a 1,000 mile radius decided to hit this place up for dinner so what does the restaurant do? Cancels any form of phone ahead reservations so the only way you were going to get in was to show up and have to stand around up to two hours awaiting a table. 

So, standing in the entrance way itself there was no self closing mechanism on the door so as every person walked in and out (which was once every 10 seconds they'd leave the door open assuming it would close) they left the door open allowing the freezing cold January air in.

Onto the dinner itself. The beer selection itself was rather bleak consisting of Bud, Miller and Sam Adams, some of the most bitter beers on the planet. Now ordering when I get steaks cooked I prefer and ask them to be EXTRA WELL done. The prime rib was on special so I ordered that. The waitress barked the only way to have it that way was to get an end piece (which is usually loaded with more fat than anything). Appetizer wise they really didn't have anything but the saving grace was they had the good round mozzarella sticks but they tasted like they weren't fried long enough. When the main course came I had to have the steak sent back because it was blood red in the middle (after I specifically asked for it EXTRA WELL), there was only one vegetable being served and that was green beans that had dark spots on them, didn't even have a choice either to swap veggies if we wanted to. I ordered french fries with my meal and it came with not even a handful of them so I pretty much got snubbed on those. Given the opportunity next time I'll choose to dine elsewhere!