Rhode Island (RI) Diners
History
Great diner culture is not confined to the popular 1982 movie, “Diner.” It also is alive and sizzling in authentic diners throughout New England. Various places try to claim themselves as the “home of the diner,” but Providence, Rhode Island, in fact, is. The creator of the diner is Walter Scott, a part time pressman at the Providence Journal newspaper. In 1872, Scott began to sell prepared food from a horse-drawn freight wagon outside the newspaper's building.
As lunch wagons were becoming popular, entrepreneurs began buying horse-drawn streetcars and converting them to diners. By the 1930s, diners began to adopt a more modern, railroad-car appearance. In the 1950s, diners began to lose a share of their market to the new fast food establishments. A revival began in the late 1970s. New England hot spots for diner history lovers also include Worcester, Massachusetts, home of the former Worcester Lunch Car Company.
EXETER
The Middle of Nowhere Diner
222 Nooseneck Hill Road
Exeter, Rhode Island
Phone: 401-397-8855
Hours: Open daily, 5 a.m.-9 p.m.
Where the women are beautiful, attentive, charming, and like the food, worth the detour. Food, glorious food is always going on in the Middle of Nowhere. Boiled, broiled, baked, barbecued, braised, potted, roasted, poached, pickled, fried, fricasseed, stewed, and a few not yet invented. This place, which is not as hard to find as the name implies, is beloved by customers, especially for it steak and eggs and home fries breakfast and its welcoming atmosphere. Locals keep coming back.
MIDDLETOWN
Blue Plate Diner
665 West Main Road
Middletown, Rhode Island
Phone: 401-848-9500
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 6:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
The Blue Plate Diner offers traditional diner fare with an upscale, unique twist, in a casual atmosphere. Everything is made from scratch. The eggs are from local farms; the seafood is purchased daily from local fishermen, and is the same quality as the best of buy. The menu has something for everyone, including eggs, pancakes, waffles, omelets, burgers, sandwiches, salads, seafood, steaks and more. Special treats include hickory smoked bacon, gourmet English muffins, black Angus beef, and Custom House coffee. The only food that comes from the freezer is ice cream.
NEWPORT
Bishop's 4th Street Diner
184 Admiral Kalbfus Road
Newport, Rhode Island
Phone: 401-847-2069
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 6 a.m.-3 p.m.; Friday, 6 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, 6 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sunday, 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
In spite of the Newport address and all that that usually implies, this is a basic classic diner in the traffic circle right outside of Gate 1 from Naval Station Newport. Classic diner food on a fairly limited menu, but the prices are reasonable and service is good. Try the chourico (Portuguese sausage) and eggs. Your fellow diners are usually a nice mix of locals and tourists. Take cash – that is all you can pay with.
PROVIDENCE
Haven Brothers
Next to City Hall, on Fulton Street near Dorrance Street
Providence, Rhode Island
Hours: 4:30 p.m.-5 a.m.
This historic diner, located on the back of a tractor traileer, is towed every night to the edge of Kennedy Plaza next to City Hall. this classic stainless-steel diner serves up food all night long to club goers, bikers, and other after-dark wanderers. Two barstool-style seats at a short counter are the only indoor seating. Outdoor annex seating is the front steps of City Hall. The place is a late-night legend, and has been featured on the film "Federal Hill" and the TV series "Made" and "Brotherhood."
PROVIDENCE
The Liberty Elm Diner
777 Elmwood Avenue
Providence, Rhode Island
Phone: 401-467-0777
Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; closed Mondays
Situated in a 1947 Worcester Lunch Car diner listed on the National Historic Register and just blocks from the beautiful Roger Williams Park and Zoo, the Liberty Elm is the gateway to the Elmwood neighborhood of Providence. Serving full breakfast and lunch all day, including robust fair-trade, locally-roasted coffee, fresh squeezed juices, smoothies, local cage-free eggs, savory soups, salads, muffins, bagels, pies, scones, special entrees and more! Vegan friendly! Everything we serve is fresh, healthy and house-cooked. Fun, welcoming atmosphere.
PROVIDENCE
Seaplane Diner
307 Allen Avenue at Mural Street
Providence, Rhode Island
Phone: 401-941-9547
This place is located on the waterfront -- truly. A true mobile diner in every sense of the word. Many hidden surprises and nuances in their menu offerings, for example: Oreo pancakes! There's gotta be some kind of prize for that. The service is terrific.
Web Sites
Diner Reading
Lost Diners and Roadside Restaurants of New England and New York, Will Anderson, 2001
American Diner, Richard Gutman, 1979.
Diners: People and Places, Gerd Kittel, 1990.
Blue Plate Specials and Blue Ribbon Chefs: The Heart and Soul of America's Great Roadside Restaurants, Jane Stern, 2001.
Greasy Spoon. A quarterly periodical.
Diner Slang
Some diner slang –- like “cup of Joe” for a cup of coffee or “Adam and Eve on a raft” for two eggs on toast -- has entered mainstream American English, but much of this unique language has be consigned to background chatter in 1940s-style film noir movies. But people who relish diner slang have dredged up a lot of it. You might try it on your soup jockey (waitress) at your next meal at a diner to see if you can strike a linguistic mother lode of diner history. Take breakfast, for instance. You might open with a java (coffee) and a sun kiss (orange juice) or a baby juice (glass of milk) and then move on to a couple of life preservers (doughnuts) or a stack of blowout patches (pancakes) with Vermont (maple syrup). How about scrambled eggs? Tell the waitress to wreck ’em. A shingle with a shimmy and a shake is toast with jelly. If you’re feeling international, ask for toasted English muffins, also known a Burn the British. If you are in the mood for risk, tell the waitress to sweep the kitchen or clean up the kitchen and she’ll bring you a plate of hash. Lunchtime is the right time for Noah’s boy (Ham) on bread – a ham sandwich. For a hamburger with lettuce, tomato, and onion, your waitress may tell the cook to burn one, take it through the garden, and pin a rose on it. Then, there are the details: cow paste for butter; dog soup for a glass of water; an M.D. for a Dr. Pepper; sea dust for salt; Mike and Ike for salt and pepper shakers. If this list doesn’t cover your dining needs, the American Diner Museum can tell you much more.