The rise of the American diner is the most savory of phenomenons, where classic architecture, a friendly face behind the counter, and some mean pie all combined to make these little roadside stops a treasured part of history. From the early days when Walter Scott brought his horse-drawn lunch wagons through the streets to the heyday of mass-produced chrome and neon diners in the 1950s, The American Diner offers a full blue-plate special of nostalgia for all those who loved the counter culture of these great eateries. More than 250 historical and bright colorful photographs help remind us of life before fast food, and generous helpings of classic advertisements, cool collectibles, and architectural highlights also highlight the era. Diners from coast to coast are featured, giving readers a trip to some of the best stainless-steel and neon diners that still dot the American roadways.

This edition includes a state-by-state directory, "Where the Diners Are,listing locations for currently operating diners.

450 recipes offering up delicious foods that can still be found on diner menus nationwide. Along with the recipes are profiles of interesting diners and their owners. --back cover.

The silver Airstreams and neon signs of the classic American diner brighten New Jersey's highways and Main Streets. But the intrinsic role they have played in the state's culture and industry for more than one hundred years is much more than eggs-over-easy and coffee. Diners are the state's ultimate gathering places--at any moment, high school students, CEOs, construction workers and tourists might be found at a counter chatting with the waitresses and line cooks. Jerseyans yearn for lost favorites like the Excellent Diner and Prout's Diner and still gather at beloved haunts like the Bendix and Tick Tock Diners. Although the industry is all but gone today, New Jersey was once the hub of diner manufacturing, making mobile eateries that fed hungry Americans as far away as the West Coast. Author Michael C. Gabriele offers this delicious history--collected from interviews with owners, patrons and experts--and indulges in many fond memories of New Jersey diners.

New York Times Bestseller Paris was practically perfect... Craig Carlson was the last person anyone would expect to open an American diner in Paris. He came from humble beginnings in a working-class town in Connecticut, had never worked in a restaurant, and didn't know anything about starting a brand-new business. But from his first visit to Paris, Craig knew he had found the city of his dreams, although one thing was still missing—the good ol' American breakfast he loved so much. Pancakes in Paris is the story of Craig tackling the impossible—from raising the money to fund his dream to tracking down international suppliers for "exotic" American ingredients... and even finding love along the way. His diner, Breakfast In America, is now a renowned tourist destination, and the story of how it came to be is just as delicious and satisfying as the classic breakfast that tops its menu.

Steven J. Diner, drawing on the rich scholarship of recent social history, focuses on how Americans of diverse backgrounds and at all economic levels responded to the Progressive Era. Industrial workers and farmers, recent immigrants and African Americans, white-collar workers and small entrepreneurs had to reinvent the ways they managed their work, family, community, and leisure as the forces of change swept away familiar modes of economic life, rearranged hierarchies of social status, and redefined the relationship of citizens to their government. This is a striking new interpretation of a crucial epoch in our nation's history.