Sometimes you don't want the modernized version of a classic. You just want the classic. Love 'em or hate 'em, these 26 diner classics are as they would have been back in the day, so put on your letterman jackets and poodle skirts.
Blue-Plate Meatloaf with Brown Gravy
This is as basic a version of meatloaf as you can get, without so much as a ketchup topping. The breadcrumb and milk mix keeps it soft and moist, and the gravy completes the dish.
Blue-Plate Meatloaf with Brown Gravy
Ingredients
Method
- Stir the breadcrumbs and milk together and let them stand for 5 minutes until the milk is absorbed.
- Mix in the beef, onion, eggs, Worcestershire, salt and pepper just until combined, then shape the mixture into one free-form loaf on a rimmed sheet pan.
- Bake at 350°F for 55 to 65 minutes until the center reaches 160°F, then rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour for 1 minute and whisk in the broth until smooth.
- Simmer the gravy for 5 minutes until it coats a spoon and serve it over thick meatloaf slices.
Open-Face Hot Roast Beef Sandwich
This is as simple as it gets — sliced roast beef, brown gravy, and toasted sandwich bread. However, a good-quality roast beef from the deli, sliced fresh, will make this taste better than it looks.
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Open-Face Hot Roast Beef Sandwich
Ingredients
Method
- Melt the butter in a wide skillet over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute until lightly browned.
- Whisk in the beef broth, Worcestershire, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes until the gravy coats a spoon.
- Lower the heat, add the sliced roast beef and warm it gently to 165°F without boiling.
- Toast the bread until firm enough to hold the gravy but not deeply crisp.
- Set one toast slice on each plate, pile the warm beef on top and spoon gravy over the entire open-face sandwich.
Chicken-Fried Steak with Cream Gravy
Of all of the diner classics, this is one of the few I would routinely eat quite happily. Steak gets the bread-and-fry treatment, and a cream gravy (basically a béchamel) somehow elevates it.
Chicken-Fried Steak with Cream Gravy
Ingredients
Method
- Season the steaks with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and let them stand for 10 minutes.
- Mix 1 1/2 cups flour with the garlic powder, beat the eggs with 1 cup milk and coat each steak in flour, egg and flour again, pressing firmly.
- Rest the coated steaks for 10 minutes while heating 1/4 inch oil in a skillet to 350°F.
- Fry 2 steaks at a time for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden and at least 145°F, then drain them on a rack.
- Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat, whisk in the gravy flour, remaining salt and pepper for 1 minute, add the gravy milk and simmer until thick; serve beside the steaks.
Calf Liver with Bacon and Onions
I'm always trying to get people to eat more organ meats. After all, they're healthy for both you and the planet, and if cooked right, they can be delicious. Calves' livers are soaked in milk to tone down some of the smell and should absolutely be served rare to prevent a gritty texture.
Calf Liver with Bacon and Onions
Ingredients
Method
- Cover the liver with the milk and refrigerate it for 30 minutes, then drain and pat it completely dry.
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, transfer it to a plate and leave 2 tablespoons fat in the pan.
- Cook the onions in the bacon fat for 12 minutes until deep golden and soft, then move them to the bacon plate.
- Mix the flour, salt and pepper, dredge the liver lightly and shake off the excess.
- Melt the butter in the skillet and cook the liver for 2 to 3 minutes per side until browned and 160°F; serve with the onions and bacon.
Yankee Pot Roast with Root Vegetables
I had a lot of dry, stringy pot roast as a kid, but if you use a good-quality chuck roast and cook it low and slow, it should come off in tender slices instead. Feel free to use rutabagas as well for a real old-school treat.
Yankee Pot Roast with Root Vegetables
Ingredients
Method
- Season the roast with the salt and pepper, heat the oil in a Dutch oven and brown the meat for 5 minutes per broad side.
- Transfer the roast, brown the onion wedges for 5 minutes and stir in the garlic and tomato paste for 1 minute.
- Return the roast, add the broth and thyme, cover and braise at 325°F for 2 1/2 hours.
- Add the carrots and potatoes, cover and continue braising for 45 to 60 minutes until the beef is at least 145°F and fork-tender and the vegetables hold their shape.
- Rest the roast for 15 minutes, whisk the cornstarch and water into the simmering pot liquid and cook for 2 minutes before serving.
Hot Turkey Sandwich with Pan Gravy
The hot turkey sandwich was perhaps my absolute least favorite cafeteria meal back in the day. But for those who feel differently, go forth, and even I have to admit the sage is a nice touch.
Hot Turkey Sandwich with Pan Gravy
Ingredients
Method
- Rub the turkey with the oil, salt, pepper and sage and place it in a roasting pan with 1 cup broth.
- Roast at 350°F for 65 to 80 minutes until the center reaches 165°F, then rest for 15 minutes and slice thinly.
- Pour the pan juices into a measuring cup and skim away excess fat.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour for 1 minute and whisk in the pan juices plus enough gravy broth to equal 2 cups; simmer for 5 minutes.
- Toast the bread lightly, cover each slice with turkey and spoon the hot gravy over the open-face sandwiches.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken Blue Plate
Even the most Americaphobic Europeans I know grudgingly admit the genius of buttermilk fried chicken. The buttermilk tenderizes and adds an irreplaceable tang.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken Blue Plate
Ingredients
Method
- Combine the chicken, buttermilk and 1 teaspoon salt and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
- Mix the flour, paprika, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and remaining salt in a wide bowl.
- Lift each chicken piece from the buttermilk, press it firmly into the flour mixture and rest it on a rack for 15 minutes.
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot to 325°F and fry the thighs and drumsticks for 13 to 16 minutes, turning, until 165°F; drain on a clean rack.
- Fry the breasts and wings for 10 to 14 minutes until 165°F and let all the chicken rest for 8 minutes before serving.
Ham Steak with Raisin Sauce
When was the last time you saw a ham steak on a menu? The sauce definitely isn't for everyone, but if you like it when sweet meets sour, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Ham Steak with Raisin Sauce
Ingredients
Method
- Pat the ham steak dry, melt the butter in a large skillet and brown the ham over medium-high heat for 3 minutes per side.
- Simmer for 6 minutes until the raisins swell and the liquid reduces slightly.
- Stir the cornstarch and cold water together, whisk it into the sauce and simmer for 1 minute until glossy.
- Return the ham and heat it to 140°F, spooning only a thin layer of sauce over the meat.
Rye-Bread Patty Melt
I love a good patty melt — it combines my favorite parts of a burger and a grilled cheese. The rye bread holds it together beautifully.
Rye-Bread Patty Melt
Ingredients
Method
- Shape the beef into 4 thin oval patties slightly larger than the bread and season them with the salt and pepper.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter on a griddle over medium heat and cook the onions for 12 to 15 minutes until deep golden; transfer them to a plate.
- Cook the patties on the same griddle for 3 to 4 minutes per side until they reach 160°F.
- Spread the outside of each bread slice with mayonnaise and build each sandwich with Swiss, one patty, onions and another slice of Swiss.
- Melt the remaining butter and griddle the sandwiches over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side until crisp and melted through.
Classic Diner Cheeseburger
The smash burger is basically just a gentrified version of a classic diner burger, and honestly, it can't live up to the original. The crispy edges are key, and don't even think about using any cheese other than American here.
Classic Diner Cheeseburger
Ingredients
Method
- Divide the beef into 4 loose balls and flatten them into patties about 1/3 inch thick without compressing the edges.
- Heat a cast-iron griddle over high heat, season the patties with salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes until deeply browned.
- Flip the patties, add the cheese and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the centers reach 160°F.
- Butter the cut buns and toast them on the griddle for 1 minute until golden.
- Build each burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, mustard and ketchup and serve immediately.
Griddle Grilled Cheese and Tomato
Tomatoes in the 1950s weren't exactly heirloom, and the cheese was hardly artisanal. However, American cheese and supermarket tomatoes actually work best here.
Griddle Grilled Cheese and Tomato
Ingredients
Method
- Lay the tomato slices on paper towels, season them with the salt and let them drain for 10 minutes, then blot the tops dry.
- Spread one side of every bread slice evenly with softened butter.
- Build each sandwich with one cheese slice, 2 tomato slices and a second cheese slice, keeping the buttered sides outside.
- Heat a griddle over medium-low heat and cook the sandwiches for 3 to 4 minutes per side until evenly golden.
- Rest for 2 minutes before cutting so the melted cheese stays inside.
Monte Cristo Sandwich
It seems like a mad scientist's experiment: a ham and cheese sandwich spliced with French toast. And while it might seem excessive, it's actually, like good French toast, lighter than you think.
Monte Cristo Sandwich
Ingredients
Method
- Spread the mustard over 4 bread slices and top each with 2 turkey slices, 2 ham slices, 1 Swiss slice and the remaining bread.
- Press the sandwiches firmly and trim only loose overhanging meat so the edges sit flat.
- Beat the eggs, milk and salt in a shallow dish and dip each sandwich quickly on both sides without soaking the center.
- Melt the butter on a griddle over medium-low heat and cook the sandwiches for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden and hot in the center.
- Dust lightly with powdered sugar, rest for 2 minutes and cut each sandwich diagonally.
Tall-Stack Buttermilk Pancakes
Pancakes just look better stacked up. The buttermilk is acidic enough to react with the baking soda, providing a light texture and a delicious tang.
Tall-Stack Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients
Method
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.
- Whisk the buttermilk, eggs and melted butter separately, pour them into the dry ingredients and stir just until streaks of flour disappear.
- Rest the lumpy batter for 10 minutes while heating a griddle to 375°F and brushing it lightly with oil.
- Pour scant 1/3-cup portions and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until bubbles stay open and the edges look dry.
- Flip once and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the second side is brown and the centers spring back lightly.
Corned Beef Hash with Fried Eggs
Corned beef hash gets a bad name owing to the use of cheap canned corned beef. However, if you use leftover cooked corned beef or a good-quality butcher version, this will be as good a potato dish as you can imagine.
Corned Beef Hash with Fried Eggs
Ingredients
Method
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter on a large cast-iron griddle over medium-high heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft.
- Add the potatoes, corned beef, salt and pepper, mix once and press the hash into an even layer.
- Cook undisturbed for 6 minutes until the underside forms a deep brown crust, turn the hash in broad sections and cook for 5 minutes more.
- Melt the remaining butter in a separate skillet and fry the eggs until the whites are set and the yolks remain soft, or to your preferred doneness.
- Divide the crisp hash among 4 plates and set one fried egg on each serving.
Diner Home Fries
Home fries were a critical part of my Saturday hangover breakfast in my early twenties. Parboil the potatoes for a few minutes, slice, toss with aromatics, fry, and make sure you didn't send out any ill-advised DMs the night before.
Diner Home Fries
Ingredients
Method
- Cover the potatoes with cold water, add 1 teaspoon salt and simmer for 6 minutes until the edges soften but the centers remain firm.
- Drain the potatoes thoroughly and spread them on a sheet pan for 10 minutes until their surfaces look dry.
- Heat the oil on a large griddle over medium-high heat, add the potatoes in one layer and cook undisturbed for 6 minutes.
- Turn the potatoes and cook for 6 minutes more, then add the onion, bell pepper, paprika, pepper and remaining salt.
- Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until the vegetables soften and the potatoes have several crisp brown sides.
Steakhouse Creamed Spinach
Creamed spinach is, believe it or not, one of the dishes my houseguests love the most, often outshining the meat. It's a simple, French-style cream sauce blended with blanched spinach. Nothing could be simpler.
Steakhouse Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
Method
- Cook the spinach in a large covered pot over medium heat for 3 minutes until wilted, then cool it slightly.
- Squeeze the spinach very dry in a clean towel and chop it into small pieces.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan and cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft without browning.
- Stir in the flour for 1 minute, whisk in the milk and cream and simmer for 4 minutes until thick.
- Add the spinach, salt, pepper and nutmeg and cook for 3 minutes until hot and spoonable.
Sweet-Tangy Diner Coleslaw
Diner coleslaw is a bit sweeter than the barbecue version. It helps not just to salt the cabbage and carrots before mixing them, but to massage the salt in to ensure an optimal texture.
Sweet-Tangy Diner Coleslaw
Ingredients
Method
- Toss the cabbage and carrots with 1 teaspoon salt in a colander and let them drain for 20 minutes.
- Rinse the vegetables briefly under cold water, then spin or pat them completely dry.
- Whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, mustard, celery seed, pepper and remaining salt in a large bowl.
- Fold the cabbage and carrots into the dressing until evenly coated.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, stir once and serve within 24 hours for the best crunch.
Pineapple Cottage Cheese Plate
I've always loved cottage cheese, but it was only the oldest of my neighbors and relatives who still served it with pineapple. The maraschino cherry is de rigueur for a retro presentation.
Pineapple Cottage Cheese Plate
Ingredients
Method
- Chill four plain salad plates for 15 minutes.
- Divide the shredded iceberg evenly among the cold plates and pat it into low beds.
- Spoon 1/2 cup cottage cheese into the center of each lettuce bed.
- Set one well-drained pineapple ring over each mound of cottage cheese and place one cherry in the ring center.
- Season the cottage cheese lightly with salt and pepper and serve immediately while everything is cold.
Counter-Service Chef Salad
The chef salad really is a full meal, and using strips of meat and cheese instead of chunks makes this feel more substantial. The red wine vinegar dressing would have been a classier option at the diner back in the day.
Counter-Service Chef Salad
Ingredients
Method
- Whisk the vinegar, oil, mustard, salt and pepper until lightly emulsified.
- Chill the chopped lettuce and four plain dinner plates for 15 minutes.
- Divide the lettuce among the plates and arrange the turkey, ham and Swiss in three separate rows over each portion.
- Add the egg quarters, tomato wedges and cucumber around the edges.
- Drizzle each salad with a modest amount of dressing immediately before serving and pass the rest separately.
Chocolate Malted Milkshake
I love malt anything — malty beer, malt whisky, and malted milkshakes. Bonus points if you serve it in a tall milkshake glass with two straws, one for you and one for your sweetie.
Chocolate Malted Milkshake
Ingredients
Method
- Chill two tall soda-fountain glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Add the milk, chocolate syrup, malted milk powder and chocolate ice cream to a blender in that order.
- Pulse 5 times to break up the ice cream, then blend for 15 to 20 seconds until thick and barely pourable.
- Stop and add 1 tablespoon milk only if the blades spin without pulling the mixture downward.
- Pour immediately into the cold glasses and serve without letting the malt soften.
New York Chocolate Egg Cream
For older New Yorkers, this egg-less, cream-less drink was an essential part of their childhood. Fizzy chocolate milk really is better than it sounds.
New York Chocolate Egg Cream
Ingredients
Method
- Chill one 12-ounce straight-sided glass in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Pour the cold milk into the glass and add the chocolate syrup without stirring.
- Pour in the seltzer in a strong narrow stream so a thick white foam rises above the darker liquid.
- Slide a long spoon to the bottom and stir quickly 3 or 4 times, keeping the foamy head intact.
- Serve immediately before the carbonation fades.
Cherry Phosphate Soda
It's worth seeking out food grade acid phosphate for this blast from the past, in which the phosphate provides a different sort of acidity than lemon would. As a kid with dreams of being a mad scientist, the name was half the fun for me.
Cherry Phosphate Soda
Ingredients
Method
- Fill one tall soda glass halfway with the ice cubes.
- Pour the cherry syrup and acid phosphate over the ice.
- Add the cold seltzer slowly, stopping briefly if the foam approaches the rim.
- Stir from the bottom 3 times until the drink is evenly ruby-red without flattening all the bubbles.
- Serve immediately while the soda is sharply carbonated.
Black Cow Root Beer Float
I once ordered a root beer float at a table full of Brits, and their derision was palpable. Their smirks changed to smiles as soon as I passed the glass around for a taste.
Black Cow Root Beer Float
Ingredients
Method
- Chill one tall soda-fountain glass in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Place 1 1/2 cups ice cream in the bottom of the glass and press it down gently.
- Tilt the glass and pour in the root beer slowly along the inside wall, pausing whenever the foam rises.
- Set the remaining 1/2 cup ice cream on top once the foam settles below the rim.
- Serve immediately with a long spoon and a straw.
Lemon Meringue Pie
Meringue is not for everyone, so while my guests might love it, I view this as a delicious lemon pie with Styrofoam on top. Cream of tartar goes a long way towards helping those egg whites reach peaks.
Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Method
- Whisk 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, salt and water in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until clear, thick and bubbling.
- Whisk the egg yolks, temper them with 1 cup hot mixture and return everything to the pan; cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the lemon juice, zest and butter.
- Pour the piping-hot filling into the baked crust and immediately beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar to soft peaks.
- Add the remaining sugar gradually and beat to glossy stiff peaks, then spread the meringue over the hot filling all the way to the crust edges.
- Bake at 350°F for 14 to 16 minutes until browned, cool for 1 hour and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Coconut Cream Pie
I don't trust anyone who throws away the coconut bonbon from the box of chocolates. Sweetened shredded coconut is an absolutely awesome old-school ingredient. The DIY custard makes it actually elegant.
Coconut Cream Pie
Ingredients
Method
- Toast 1/2 cup coconut in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for 4 minutes until golden, then cool it.
- Whisk the granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, milk and egg yolks in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until thick and 170°F.
- Remove the custard from the heat, stir in the butter, vanilla, toasted coconut and 1/4 cup untoasted coconut and spread it in the crust.
- Press plastic wrap directly against the filling and refrigerate for at least 4 hours until cold and firm.
- Whip the cream with the powdered sugar to medium peaks, spread it over the pie and finish with the remaining untoasted coconut.
Apple Pie a la Mode
Pie crust might be one of the most difficult cooking techniques in the American canon, so I won't look down too much on anyone who wants to use a pre-bought crust. That being said, once you get your pie fillings down, learning is so, so worth the effort.
Apple Pie a la Mode
Ingredients
Method
- Fit one pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate and refrigerate it while preparing the filling.
- Toss the apples with the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and lemon juice and mound them in the crust; dot with butter.
- Cover with the second crust, crimp the edges, cut 5 vents and brush the top with the egg beaten with water.
- Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes, lower the oven to 375°F and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the crust is deep golden and the filling bubbles through the vents.
- Cool for at least 3 hours, warm individual slices briefly and top each with 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream.
