Oakland DIner - Oakland, NJ

Establishment: Oakland Diner

Address: 72 Ramapo Valley Road Oakland NJ

Status: Dire Emergencies Only

Reason: Original Establisment Hillside Diner Blacklisted 2007

The Oakland Diner, Formerly The Hillside Diner has always had good food, but had terrible service back in 07. A waiter and busboy I have knicknamed Mutt and Jeff acted like serving customers was a hassle instead of their job Mutt would sit at the counter reading a newspaper and you could hear him sigh the minute anyone walked in the door. It was because of the horrible service that Mutt would seldom get tipped. One night became the straw that broke the camel's back. While Jeff, the busboy was giving us our food he knocked a drink into my friends lap and almost got his phone. Both Mutt and Jeff acted like they did nothing wrong and the proprietor had a lousy attitude as well. His response was "what do you want me to do about it? Oh send me the bill for cleaning his pants" What do we want you to do about it?? How bout a free meal?? How about an apology?? That was it, The Hillside Diner was blacklisted. It has now changed hands and became the Oakland Diner. Have gotten takeout and the food is decent but who knows if Mutt and Jeff are still employed there. For that reason the Oakland Diner is Dire Emergencies Only and thats for takeout!!

Franks Pizza - Oakland, NJ

Establishment: Franks Pizza

Location: Copper Tree Mall, Oakland, NJ

Status: APPROVED

Whether its pizza, garlic knots, one of the numerous rolls, sandwiches or entrees, Franks Pizza knocks it out of the ballpark. Good food and friendly service too. Franks Pizza gets two forks up and a belch!

Coach House Diner - East Hackensack, NJ

Establishment: Coach House Diner

Address: 55 Route 4 East, Hackensack, NJ

Date Blacklisted: 12/21/2009

Well, today I must have had the WORST experience in a NJ diner....Ever. Had diner at the Coach House Diner in Hackensack, NJ First of all the food was over priced. Add to that lousy service. This sad excuse for a waiter could not even take our soda order without forgetting who ordered what. Then as he is serving us, he answers his cell phone while just handing our food to us instead of putting it on the table for us. At that point it was decided that he would get no tip. As we were leaving, he asks, "what, no tip??" With that a complaint was made to the hostess. Thats it, the Coach House is BLACKLISTED!! Rotten service and overpriced food will NOT be tolerated!!

Ridgefield Park Diner - Ridgefield Park, NJ

Update 10/13/2009:

The Ridgefield Park Diner has thankfully closed. Message in door says that "They took over the diner at the wrong time." It wasnt the timing that killed the place, it was the dirty premesis and the bad food!! Maybe the local board of health had something to do with its closing??

Establishment: Ridgefield Park Diner

Address: 36 Mount Vernon Street, Ridgefield Park, NJ

Date Blacklisted 3/22/2009

If there is one word to describe the Ridgefield Park Diner, that word is sleazy. What a dump! My tag team partner and I decided the Ridgefield Park Diner was up for re-evaluation so we took a chance and dined there for lunch. Boy were we sorry. Right off the bat, I noticed that the carpet had not been shampooed in ages. You could literally see the dirt stained into the carpet where people walk and the carpet is black!! My tag team partner looking at the carpet commented that they should replace the carpet instead of cleaning it as it was worn through in spots. There was food scraps on the floor, ketchup stains on the wall next to me and there were many stains in the ceiling tiles where the roof is obviously leaking. My tag team partner commented that the ceiling tiles appeared to have mold/mildew on them as well. The fake flowers had a ton of dust on them. This establishment obviously does not believe in cleaning!! So we ordered. I ordered a cheeseburger deluxe with a diet Coke and my tag team partner ordered a bacon cheeseburger deluxe with a Coke. We got our soda and it was flat! Then my tag team partner noticed that the soda machine was out of service and they were filling soda orders from bottles. The cheeseburger was greasy and not very good, and the fries were overdone. Neither one of us were brave enough to try the lettuce, tomato or mystery slaw. So the verdict? Bad food and a dirty establishment?? BLACKISTED!! There will be only one thing that will warrant a re-evaluation... Obvious signs of renovations and a sign saying "UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT"!!

Phoenicia Diner - Phoenicia, NY

Establishment: Phoenicia Diner

Address: 5681 Rt 28, Phoenicia , NY

Blacklisted 8/1996

Ok , here is the story of how the Phoenicia Diner got blacklisted. My father, my stepmother, and I were travelling up to see the Catskill Mountain Railroad and Delaware and Ulster Rail Ride. On the way we wanted to get a bite to eat and stopped at the Phoenicia Diner. At the time, the parking lot was not paved. Looking at the photo I found, this his since been rectified. The place reeked of the late 1960's to 1970's. The interior was a naugahyde lovers delight. I at the time wondered how many nauga's gave their all to furnish the establishment. The hostess seemed at bit creepy, and we were seated. I ordered a bagel with cream cheese and a Coke, something that cant really be screwed up. Our food was served. The bagel was the usual Lenders type bagel, toasted with the usual specimen cup of cream cheese. They used plastic glasses which I dont really care for, but seem standard for lower end diners. Thats not what got the place blacklisted. It was the hostess passing behind us as we were eating saying "Yummy Yummy In the Tummy!" Talk about REALLY creepy!! Would something claw its way out of my stomach in few hours?? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!! Blacklisted!! Check Please!! Oh, and no, there will be NO re-evaluation of this establishment!!

Story of the Decoven Diner, Cove Pa

Establishment: Decoven Diner

Address: Rt 11&15 Cove, Pa

Blacklisted: 4/2003

Ah yes, can remember the day I blacklisted the Decoven Diner. (The photo of which is on the top of this blog) A one time friend and I went to have a little fun at another "friend's" expense out in Cove, Pa. Once we found this person we hung out and it became time for lunch. This person we had met suggested the Decoven Diner. Here it was 12 noon on the dot and there was only one car in the parking lot and the place just looked sleazy. That warranted an instant blacklist. Apparently the people of Perry County felt the same as I did since the Decovan is no more, It closed, was torn down and now is a vacant lot. But thats not the only place in the area thats blacklisted. Do NOT eat any sandwiches out of the Sheetz in Cove, Pa!! My tag team partner ate a pork sandwich out of there and was sick for days. Perry County so far is not looking like a very good place for food. :-P (Barf)

Welcome

I would like to welcome all(well those that are literate) to "The Inconvenient Diner Critics" blog. We've traveled all over North Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania to find good food, and a lot of times we end up with places that don't exactly meet our criteria. My tag team partner and I have "blacklisted" hundreds of diners on the area and are not afraid to keep going! We have found good establishments and will recognize them accordingly! We also like to hear YOUR stories of any blacklisted diners and see if they can compare to ours. Sit back, grab a cup of coffee and read our reviews of what's "Approved" and what is not!