I was a touring musician for many years. One main rule on the road was every new city we went to We went to a small mom and pop diner. We didn't even look at the menu. We just asked them what their specialty was and why they started their restaurant Then we all ordered that. I can't think of one time in 10 years that we were disappointed in that choice. I live in puerto rico now and I love it here but the thing I miss most Is A Midwest diner!!!!!
@@roseblondie692 did you man? having just been to an island for the first time (Aruba) i decided while there that id love to spend a year or two working somewhere like that before getting too far into my career. currently about a year out from receiving my BA. what made you decide on St Croix, and was there anything about living on an island like that you wish you knew before you went?
My Mom owned a diner in a VERY small farming town in Upstate NY and it was absolutely the heart of the town. EVERYONE ate there at least once a week. The teachers from the school on lunch, the tellers and president of the local bank, the farmers and the hired hands. The seniors in town would sit at a couple of tables and drink coffee (free refills ALL DAY lol) and chat about everything and anything. Every year she would close on Thanksgiving and Christmas but we'd have our holiday dinners there with friends, relatives and anyone in town who didn't have a family to go to. I miss it.
I'm from Pennsylvania, but I found myself in Yarnell, AZ. It has a gas station, pizza shop, and a BYOB diner that stayed open as long as people were tipping the piano player after food service. Wonderful place.
I've lived in America all my life, but something I've heard is folks from Britain planning vacation trips that they think they can achieve in a month, but getting here and finding out how far everything is away from each other, they realize that what they thought would take a month, instead is about 3 years of traveling.😅
I was born and raised in California and I love diners. Each diner menu is different and yet the same. They all feel homey and comfortable. So much better than chain restaurants.
Diners and coffee shops are a staple in the USA, and we love them. When you go on a regular basis and you get to know the staff and the other regulars, it becomes like a community.
I was a Over The Road Truck Driver for about 20 years. I am a 3rd generation driver. I have been coast to coast, there are only 7 states that I have not traveled, I also covered Canada. This country is really beautiful and is very diverse. A person could spend a life time traveling around and still not see it all.
Imagine spending all of your time in Chicago while you were in the US... Uhmeeeeeeeeen.... There's some pretty good stuff in Chicago, but.......uhhhhhhhh...... Man you could do a lot better. I've been to four more States than you have, and I've spent significant time in at least half... Two or three weeks say... Chicago would be about 150th on my list. Frankly a lot of the good parts of Chicago you can get in some podunk town like my hometown of Sharon Pennsylvania for about a third of the price. Plus Sharon has free golf. And exceptionally good cheap golf. And to be clear I never go back to Sharon except for a day when it's in route somewhere. Preferably somewhere like the four corners.
I just had another thought about the Chicago bound Brit. He probably doesn't even really know how big America is. He probably thinks oh we are the king of beautiful cultivated farmland here in the UK.... Not realizing that in upstate New York, Pennsylvania Dutch country, and the Piedmont of Virginia we have at least double the beautifully cultivated farmland that the UK does. I'm 100% sure you know that as a truck driver.
You should watch more videos from the guy L3WG is reacting to, he has a good understanding of the size and cultural differences in America considering Chicago isn't the only place he's lived and he's talked about his travels in other states.
The Appalachian Trail, which is a hiking trail, is over 2,000 miles long. Yellowstone is over 2 million acres, Yosemite is over 1 million acres. Wrangle is over 8 million acres. All the national parks combined are over 83 million acres. That a lot of acreage to cover in fifteen years. All of United Kingdom covers about 60 million acres.
I had a very dear friend who was 110% British, although she'd lived in the USA for more than 20 years, she NEVER lost her Britt-speak. And she always flew her union jack. We were SO different, yet she was one of my best ever friends. I miss her greatly.
There's just something great about "bellying" up to a diner counter and sitting next to people you're meeting for the first time. It's just cool, I'd miss it.
Diners are still common, but not on a big scale. Which kind of makes them even more special. If you find a diner that is still open, it's open for a reason. Some of the best food you run across at a still decent price is normally going to be from a diner. Plus, diners try to create food similar to how you would make it at home, so it's almost always just top stage of delicious. It is certainly something everyone should try, and most American's can probably direct you to a really really good Diner near them.
That's something we forget about with our nostalgia glasses. There were a lot of terrible diners out there that had no business serving food haha. You're right the ones that have stuck around have integrity and serve quality food.
Not in the Northeast, they are everywhere! They often serve consistent quality food and you can get everything. Granted some types of food is not good at a diner (eg steak, Italian) but you can get it if you want. Other types of food (breakfast, burgers, etc) are usually quite good.
Yes, diners are pretty much the way they are in movies. Great aromas. People are a bit more sociable in diners because they're so casual and the smaller space puts people closer to each other. It's a welcoming experience with awesome food
I am a born and raised American and I'm in my mid 50's . I can remember as far back as the drugstores having a soda fountain. Albeit it was probably one of the last soda fountains in California but I was still blessed to be able to experience it. Diners are right on par with soda fountains in the drug stores. I pray we don't lose the last remaining old time diners left in this country. It would be very sad. I love the diners.
Lewis, you mentioned that it would be cool if people would fund your holiday…I’m certain that a fair number of your U.S. subscribers would be more than happy to host your stay in cities all across the US, if you were inclined to stay with total strangers. If you could fund your transportation to the US and your transport for moving around between the cities you want to visit, you’d not have to pay for hotels. Plus, you could have a cool type of immersion experience. If you want to make a stop in Indianapolis, our house is open to you 😊.
Hell yeah ! 🙌 come visit Chicago, we'll put you up. Come hang out during the summer where there's a ton of street festivals, taste of Chicago, etc. We'll even take you to one of our most iconic landmark, WALMART 😂. When you're ready to move on we'll take you with our semi truck and bring you to the next major city.
I went to Dublin, Ireland this way! I stayed with people I had met on FB. We’d been friends for several years on there. Was a wonderful trip! Saved a fortune in hotel bills and was able to treat my friends to some of the things we did. I was able to see some of the touristy places but also able to see some of the what I’d call the real Ireland. It’s a great way to see different places. I’ve down sized since that time so I don’t really have a place for guest but would help you find a place. I’m in North Georgia at the foot hills of the Smoky Mountains. Tennessee isn’t far away.
Your check list of where to go and what to do when you get here is gonna take you a LONG time. Two or five or ten vacations won't be enough. When you hear visitors say they are amazed at how big America is, what they are trying to say is "Holy F%#k! This place is HUGE!"
Agreed. My Dad met an Australian on vacation who despite being from a large place himself, was amazed at just how big the country is. My sister had a co-worker (fellow intern) from Ireland who asked how far we had to drive to get to the place they both were working at. We said it's not bad, only about a seven hour drive. He was so shocked. On the map that seven hour drive is about the width of a fingernail. He found it hard to believe that for the small states it takes three or more hours to drive across them, and the biggest ones take over twelve hours without stops. These times only work at highway speed, so if you take the slow roads you will have to factor that in as well.
i know this was posted a few months ago but just wanted to put in my post. I am 60 years old this year, my father was in the military. I have lived my whole life (with the exception of 2 years overseas) in the US. I have lived in California (both southern and northern), been to Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff Arizona, and the Rocky Mountains. I've lived on the East Coast as well, in northern Virginia (near Washington D.C.), driven through the Appalachian Mountains and South Carolina (where I have lived for the past 30 years). I have also lived in the Mid-West (Iowa and Oklahoma). I have driven or ridden through many other states and have been as far north as Chicago/Great Lakes and Rhode Island. This country has so many beautiful and awesome places to see. There are many states that I have never been to, mostly in the northern areas near Canada. Oh and I was born on Hawaii (O'ahu to be exact). Whenever you do get the chance to come to this amazing country, you will thoroughly enjoy yourself I am sure. As for our diners, my Grandparents used to own a drive-in diner when I was a child. I used to get free hot dogs and ice cream, LOL.
Re: passports: When I was a young woman (70 next birthday), we drove to Canada from New York & Pennsylvania without passports. It wasn't necessary in the pre-911 era. All you needed was something like a driver's license with your address on it. Children just needed to be with a parent. I understand that the Mexican crossing was similar for Americans, and we had a guest worker program that made it easier for non-citizens to cross back & forth then.
You still don't need a passport to cross state lines, at least not in my recent expereinces, nor even to fly domestically. But you're right it used to be you didn't need one to cross the southern border into Mexico and back again. That changed years ago, though. But for that you just need the passport ID card, not necessarily the booklet. My recommendation is that if someone gets a passport, get both the booklet and the ID card.
In thec70 I just drove to BC Canada, you stopped at the border and told them how long you would be there, approximately, that was it! We didn't need a passport then.
Especially if it's a Greek diner. For those that don't know, Greek diners serve all the standard diner food ..usually cooked very well.... Plus they have gyros and souvlaki and other good tasty Greek things. Served American style of course.
One thing I enjoy about diners as opposed to national chain restaurants is that typically the diners near me in Minnesota let you take your time and don't hurry you to leave, so it's more relaxing .
The best sunsets aren’t at the beaches. They’re in the deserts. The dust in the air makes for the most incredible reds and oranges. Sometimes we do get great beach sunsets, but that often means something nearby is on fire. Also, diners were way more common in the 1950s and early 60s. Most people go to them now for the great food, but also for a good dose of nostalgia. (Yeah, I grew up in the 50s and 60s.)
My grandmother worked in an old school diner when I was a kid. Little jukeboxes at each table. Long counter with people drinking coffee and eating pie. It’s since closed, and I miss it dearly.
I'd forgotten about those little juke boxes at every table! We used to beg our mum for a nickel just to play it. Diner juke boxes had songs by ppl like Elvis, the Everly Bros, and the latest groups. Idk if those still exist but they were the coolest things ever!
I grew up in Florida and moved to London with an English friend. I loved it. I was 18 and it was the eighties. So different from where I lived. But listening to you is making me realize I shouldn’t take the States for granted. I’m planning a cross country trip with my daughter now!!!thanks!
Visit Nebraska?? I'll give a quick tour with places to stop. Odd ball beauties only locals enjoy. Oooo and take ft. Collins way through to see the Rockies.
Of course you shouldn't! The U.S. is amazing! It's a beautiful place to live and raise a family. So ecologically diverse. Europeans get confused as to why Americans never leave America for vacation... but why would we? You can travel the world just taking a trip across the U.S.! Have fun with yours! I'm incredibly jealous!
Diners are the best! I'm 67, lived in US my whole life. Diners are usually owned and run by a family, so they are not big corporate outfits. Diners tend to cook home cooking, which is a lot of comfort food, and done really well. Diners are friendly. Not uncommon to have a conversation with your waitress, or even the table next to you, just about life stuff. Diners are definitely very cool. And they will exist as long as America exists.
I am a 70 year old American. Diners are comfort to me. A large menu and good service. Great conversation with friends and family. There are less now than when I was a young guy but there are still alot. I'm not talking about the chain diners that are everywhere I am talking about the small business diners that are run by a family usually
The thing I love about diners here are that they’re open 24 hrs and you can orders Anything from eggs to steak at Anytime if day or night. The food is delicious and cheap with Heavy portions.
I had a lovely conversation with three young ladies (early 20s) outside of King's Cross train station when I was trying to figure out how to make my American phone work. They approached me and asked if they could help. Super sweet. I've also chatted with Mongolians on a subway in South Korea, strangers in Australia...I think at least part of it has to do with my willingness to look people in the eye and smile...even shock them with a hello (small town, it's what we do). Why not try it and see if it makes a difference in how people relate to you.
I grew up in a small town in Michigan and we had a diner that everyone went to. After football games, dances, or basically any social gathering. I always appreciate the nostalgia and laid back vibes
Regarding passports; it's not just that we have so much in America that we don't need to leave it. There is a big percentage of people that don't have the money to travel. Example, I've never left Southern CA. I barely have enough money to leave my own city let alone travel to the next county. I only leave my city for something that is necessary. There are a lot of people like me.
I have a friend in Ireland that has the income of a lower scale here. It's very important to them to have holiday travel to other countries. They call it a holiday rather then vacation. They save thier money carefully in order to so every couple of years. Her son and daughter came here, another son went to Hong Kong, just prior to covid. She can't travel on airplanes and really has no desire. Even tho her kids are young adults who haven't lived at home for quite sometime, it is still in her mind her responsibility to help them travel. Idk where this comes from, I assume it's just old tradition there but it is very important it seems to make sure they do this. Realizing that our country is filled with different cultures who brought thier food and backgrounds with them, it really is true that we don't need to travel far to leave our culture. I live very remotely and the nearest little city is 100 miles away and it's little. Yet they have a Greek bakery ran by true Greeks. There is a Chinese buffet ran by Chinese. There is real Mexican food owned and cooked and served by real Mexicans. There is now Indian food, Asian food, Texas Barbque, Mongolian grills. All that is missing is true Italian. The Americans who are generational seem to have the hardest time succeeding, those still coming from other countries or those whose parents or grandparents migrated here do not have an easier time succeeding, they just work much harder to do so.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but when I go to a diner, even when I’m having a bad day, the ambience, the kindness, and the people around, make me feel like I’m at home. Even the most mediocre of food I complement, because being there always lifts my spirit.
I went to my local diner recently because i had gotten some bad news and didn't feel like cooking for myself and sure enough the food and atmosphere fixed me right up. I couldn't help but smile as I ate my food. I was sitting at the counter in view of the kitchen window and the head cook leaned through it and asked if I enjoyed my food, noting the smile that I had on my face and how it made her happy as well; it turned my whole day around. It's those sorts of interactions that make diners invaluable. Much love to you Jesse.
Lived in the US my whole life. Diners are my favorite place to eat. We don't go all the time because there are fewer now. We usually go for breakfast or brunch. They always seem to have the best breakfast foods and unlimited coffee. The best part is the atmosphere. Its like going to eat at your grandmas house. Its warm, its an intimate space, usually a booth, where you can sip hot coffee, eat and lean in to conversation with the people you are with. Its inexpensive, tasty, comfort food. And did I mention unlimited coffee? Literally SO much coffee!
There is actually a road you can drive though that is through a sequoia tree. And no my mom was from England and lived in America for most of her life yet her accent never changed all that much. Sure she used words that she got from America but she always sounded like a Brit while saying it.
The drive through tree is on the Avenue of the Giants in Nor Cal, it used to be hwy 1, now the road parallels hwy 1. It's in Mendocino county. Or is it Humboldt county, hmmmmmmmm.
If you’ve ever seen Groundhogs Day with Bill Murray, that was filmed in my town and the diner scenes were in the diner I grew up eating in. The food was so good and it was so cozy and nice. I miss it. But it wasn’t some “special” thing to us. It was just one of our favorite places to eat, but standard for a small town; you know?
My grandparents were from a small town. They would would drive about half an hour to the next town over to go to the same diner every single Sunday after Church. When I would visit in the Summers, even though I didn't know anyone there, the staff there would always ask me about my school and events that had happened in my year because my grandparents would always have these conversations with them about their grandkids. They were so friendly, and I loved that it felt like they really cared about my grandparents like they were old friends. Living in the city there aren't many tried and true diners anymore, so I'd say you're much more likely to encounter them in older smaller towns in the country so many may have never been to one especially if you're younger.
I’m a lifelong American & after watching ur videos I realize that I take advantage of living here & don’t realize just how lucky I am to be an American! I don’t have a passport & I don’t care to have one. Diners are great & they are just like the movies but I don’t go often. I live in CA near the mountains and it’s absolutely gorgeous, the mountains are behind my house. Here I have driving access to the beaches & snowboarding in the same day that if I wanted. But do I? Nope, hardly ever😢, but I could. However, I do recognize the beauty!
Get a passport and put it in a drawer. It is better to have it and not want it than to want it and not have it. This is true for tourist reasons, but just trust me on this... Seriously just trust me: things are a lot worse in America than you think. Don't even worry about how. Just have 6 months of food and a passport, maybe a shotgun if that's easy where you live.
@@Julieb615 The overall combined vector is NOT good. We might lose the Tbill/oil denomination. that would be VERY bad. from where we are to where canada is, and in case you didn't know canada is FFFFFFFFFed. Median house price $680k USD, food off the chain
@@theminister1154 A good look at Canada and Australia should give everyone in the USA a chill to the bone. But, most are too busy with their phones, Taylor Swift, the latest assault on their "feelings", or just grinding out a living trying to raise their kids to even notice.
Lewis, of you're planning to go from Chicago to Yosemite, it will take week or more to drive. It is close to 2000 miles each way. Including two major mountain ranges!!
2 seperate oceans, 5 lakes that look like oceans, mountains, deserts, tropics, temperate, feet of snow, northern lights, stunning national parks, recreation areas everywhere, islands, wilderness, hiking, climbing, boating, & even ice fishing in the winter. There is just so much to do before you get into things like food regions & city entertainments.
I've lived in several regions in America and yes the sunsets in many places are something to behold that I would greatly miss. Being from Southern California though, I'm particularly partial to the sunsets in the west. The golden glow from either the deserts or beaches as the sun kisses the horizon, followed by the beautiful pink, purple and blue hues across the sky once it's dipped out of view... it's just stunning.
On the accent changing thing, I think it's much easier for a younger person to 'naturally' change accents when in another country than it is for an adult. As an example, I was born in the U.S. and we moved to England (Stockport) when I was 8. My sisters were 6 and 11. It really didn't take long, without us even trying, to take on the accent. It was around 6 months or less. But our parents never had the accent change. For them it was more a matter of a slow transition into using British words vs. American words for certain things. And then 4 years later we moved back to the States and as kids we lost our British accents within 3 months, and we started using American English words pretty quickly, but our parents used British English words (with their never-lost American accent) for quite a few years.
My grandparents were born in Maine. They moved to Florida when they were in their 40's and my dad was 10. They never lost their Maine accent but my dad did.
I agree with this. As a kid, when we had foreigners visit us, I would find myself slowly starting to talk like them throughout the first couple of days with them. I felt bad because I was afraid they would think I was mocking them, but I just naturally would pick up on the accents of the people I was around. Now that I'm older, I haven't had this happen, and I've never had to be concerned about it. I've always loved different people's accents!
I now live in Texas. I worked with a nurse that had been here since she graduated university and she was in her late 50’s. The most I ever laughed is every time she said “ya’all” in her British accent.
I'm German born,we moved to the USA in 1969,celebrating my 6th birthday in Minnesota! All my schooling was in the States...after 37 years,I returned to Germany! Here I'm considered an American because of the way I speak...funny being told I'm a foreigner from actual foreigners!
The best thing about living in the Chicago area is the lake. Most people underestimate how wide the Lake is in Chicago. It is roughly 50 miles wide. To see a tiny bit of the Michigan shoreline you have to get up to the top of the Jogn Hancock building or what was first called the Sears tower. It also has to be a clear day! The parks along the lake and most beaches are public. Visit for sure.
American diners are like cozy & warm to the heart....the service is awesome (usually) the food standard (burgers, liver & onions, grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of soup....and breafast often served 24/7...and a great place to just go and get a desert after a Friday or Saturday night of partying.....however because fast food has become such a part of our modern culture, many diners have closed after the owner has passed on.....they started in the 1920's and hit their prime in the 1950's but still are a good part of our culture
I live in the Rocky Mountains and used to drive across country to my home state of Michigan every year. It’s a 28 hour drive, Nebraska and Iowa are one long corn field of a drive. I’ve been to Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Grand Tetons, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Everglades, Isle Royale, and Porcupine Mountains,
Diners are a treat...I live I the diner capital of the world...New Jersey. You sit you have water, if the waiter knows you...he comes to you with coffee in hand, your coffee he pretty much knows your breakfast order when you see him again he gives you toast and pours you more coffee...it's like your favorite pub you know the people you know the experience and you get a meal wearing a hoodie, leggings and slides
I am a 70 year old American woman, I love Diners, yes they are being replaced by fast food restaurants but they are still alive and well in small towns and the homestyle food and conversations are awesome. The national parks are worth never leaving America, each more magnificent than the last, from the grand canyon to the pacific national forest He really needs to drive through the Rocky mountains , the sunrise and sunsets are spectacular. I hope you get the chance to come here I know you will want to stay.
9:13 Yes! Thank you for pointing that out. I've had to explain that to a number of my overseas friends. Especially those in western Europe where there are a bunch of countries all nearby each other. For someone in the UK or France or Germany, having a passport and travelling to another country is fairly commonplace. But in America, we have every terrain and weather type in the world. Mountains, Lakes, Deserts, Snow, Ice, Rain, Shine, Tunnels, Caves, Bridges, Beaches, Islands, etc etc etc.... So in Europe, if someone in the UK wants to go skiing in the mountains, they have to go to someplace like Austria or Switzerland. But in the US, we just travel to another state, no passport needed. Now, do I not want to see other countries? Of course I do!!! but travelling overseas is a pretty expensive endeavor compared to driving or taking a bus or plane to see another part of the US. That said, there's only a few places I really want to travel to overseas, one of them being the UK. I want to rent a car and drive all over the country, spend time staying in a little cottage in the countryside overlooking the sea, hitting all the touristy places in London, take one of those walking tours, and going on a pub crawl... Just LOTS of things 😍😁😊
Those weren’t hash browns those were home fries. Big difference! Hash browns are shredded. Also diners offer comfort food like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, all types of fruit cobbler and pies depending on what part of the country you are in. Pretty much anything you can think of and you can have breakfast anytime or dinner anytime (if it’s a 24 hour diner). There is a highway that goes through the Rockies because we drove through to get to Denver, Colorado Every year as a kid from Connecticut. A three day drive, Awesome. Let’s remember how Far these places are from one another. To fly from one coast to the other takes 5 hours.
Born in America & lived here all my life. Diners are so special. They are so different from a chain restaurant & the food is so good. I just got back from a trip to Arizona. We flew into Vegas, drove to Arizona & stopped at a Diner on Route66. The food was amazing! I love the way they decorate Diners, too.
Born and raised in USA and love diners. Been to at least over a 100 and the authenticity of food, conversational vibe is fabulous and impossible to replicate.
I remember years back, my son who worked in hospitality, wanted to move from Orlando to Las Vegas. I took a week off and drove him. We stayed at Ballys. I was going to catch a flight home on Sunday so I could work on Monday. On Saturday I heard him say to a friend, 'I don't know if I'm staying.' I was flabbergasted. I told him if he was not staying to get in the car. Lol...he's an adult but I'm still Mom. This was 1:00 PM in NV. We checked out and headed home. I drove all the way (he didn't drive fast enough to suit me) and I made it to work Monday morning at 7:00 am. No sightseeing on the way home. I have taken several trips out west though. My favorite was one trip that included Rocky Mtn National Park, Little Bighorn battlefield, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Black Hills (Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument, Deadwood), Wind Cave National Park...that was just one trip. It was amazing. The best thing we ever did as a family. Driving through the west, with those little roadside monuments, that said things like ' This is where Dr so-and-so and 5 others were killed in an Indian raid in 1865... it really made the entire trip even more interesting.
He screwed up. He probably got to Vegas and was put off by The glitz and the squalor. The first thing you guys should have done when you got to Vegas is hit up a good strip mall. Ironically as far from the strip as possible. Real Vegas is in the strip malls in the residential areas. I have never seen a town with so many good $20 meals. Not even DC, & DC has a lot of good $20 meals. And $10 meals for that matter. Then you get your job on the strip or whatever and you learn all the little ins and outs by which the casinos can provide you with all kinds of very cheap luxuries. Plus if you learn to play poker you can really add a lot to your income. There are some tables that are basically just cash machines presuming you're decent at it. My first two weeks in Vegas I didn't make a single bet... But the next time I came back I knew how to play poker and I did nothing but Gamble.
You should try reacting to the movie National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) to get an idea about what a road trip in América is like. Keep in mind, it is poking fun at all the things-that-go-wrong-with-a-road-trip. That or the first season of THE DETOUR.
I'm from New Jersey, diner capital of the USA. There are usually 2-3 in every town (I was honestly surprised when I moved to different states how few diners there were). You usually have a favorite that you go to often enough that the server remembers your name, and they'll plunk down your coffee and put your usual order in unless you stop them (I worked at a diner for 5 years over a decade ago, and I can still tell you what Billy and his grandson ate). Many diners are also open 24 hours, and you can get anything off the menu at any time. So when you stay out late drinking, you and your friends stop at the diner at 3 AM. Joe can get meatloaf and mashed potatoes, Tom can get pancakes and bacon, and I can get disco fries and a slice of blueberry pie. I love diner atmosphere and I don't really want to live anywhere without a mom-and-pop diner that I love.
My parents took 5 kids every summer for 2-3 weeks on road trips all across the country. When I was older I traveled Europe and Asia and while they were beautiful, coming back home was always the happiest part of my trips.
I had an aunt that had been born in Scotland and didn’t come here until she was 21. She was married to my uncle for 60+ years and never lost her accent. I realized it did soften just a slight bit because when she would go back to Scotland for a visit when she came back her accent was heavier for awhile.
Awesome that at 4:36 there is a shot of a diner in my hometown called "The Grill" in Athens, GA! I used to go there all the time when I was a student attending the University of Georgia! Right next to it is a great Georgia Bulldogs clothes and memorabilia shop, called "The Clubhouse", owned by a really good friend, Rick Maggiore! Go Dawgs!
Wow im realizing how lucky we are here! If we get cold, we fly south to warmer states or drive out west to see real countryside with prairie dogs or pick sand & sea! It is truly amazing! I so agree he really needs to get to those parks now!!!
I love traveling in North America (been many places in Canada, almost every state in US, and Mexico adding Costa Rica to the list the winter). It's fun exploring and learning more. Also been to many countries in Europe, the Middle East and New Zealand. Son lived overseas for 12 years so we explored. I won't claim England, as I never made it out of Heathrow, so doesn't count in my book😂. I've enjoyed everywhere we have been. Best most memorable for me so far are New Zealand and Petra (place in Jordan).
Diners as opposed to chain restaurants. Chain restaurants are almost all the same because they are a chain...a McDonald's in Alabama will have the same food as McDonald's in Georgia whereas a diner will have local taste in food. I love our diners. Diners are where you find delicious coffee, not over the top coffee like a Starbucks, but a regular cup of coffee in a nice heavy mug. Diners will also have a plate choice that will have 1 meat and 3 side choices, drink and dessert for one price. I just went to the local diner yesterday and had country fried steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet tea, and strawberry cake for $9. This is where the server will call you "Hon" and refill your glass or cup when it is about 1/2 full . A good server will never let your glass or cup be totally empty.
Years ago I had to go to California for a meeting and we had dinner at this beautiful waterfront restaurant in San Fran. My coworker who is from San Francisco said we need to go right before the Sunset. Me being from SE Florida don't get to see sunsets very often unless I'm down in the keys or on the west coast of FL. Needless to say I was quite excited. OH MY GOD, when that sun started setting this is going to sound stupid but I literally had tears in my eyes. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Like nothing I had ever seen!
Some American diners look very retro and those are a fun experience. Others might be "holes in the wall" but with great food. I live in the South. We have our own version of a diner right across the street that serves Southern country cooking. By the way, we (your subscribers) will fund your trips to America.
He got me as well. A diner often is a hometown place where the people in the general area come to eat. COVID did decrease the number of diners because they just couldn't survive the lack of business. The diners usually had a special for the day, something not always on the menu and usually less expensive. along with their normal menu. Traveling through the country was always great, even if the weather wasn't the best. Love how the mountain range he showed is actually in the eastern part of the states. Just for curiosity, You do know how far apart all of the places you have talked about going are?
Yes, a person's accent can change depending on which part of the country they live in. My aunt, my mother's sister, grew up living in Arizona and California. From that time, the mid to late 60s, until today she has lived in the South and does have the southern drawl as if she has spent her whole life there. Even tho her and my mom grew up in the same house, no one would have guessed it because their accents were so extremely different.
Much the same in my family. Two sisters from NYC. As adults, the one (my mother) got a southern drawl living in rural FL, while the other (my aunt), despite decades in FL and still sounded like Brooklyn.
I’ve taken multiple trips in the US, but also to other countries, mostly on cruises. Next Thursday, May 16, I’m flying to London with my step-sister. We’re going to explore London and the surrounding area on our own. before joining a fairly large group on a garden tour of England. The gardens are associated with castles and large estates. We are really excited about it!
I’m born & raised in America & I love diner’s. It’s usually owned by a family & it’s always good to support small local businesses. A lot of them especially the hole in the wall ones have the best food too & for a decent price compared to restaurants.
After reading through a number of the comments, I realized that most of your questions were answered very well and very completely. I may have not scrolled down far enough, but I didn’t see an answer to your question about beaches. I’ve been to beaches, both inland and on all three coasts. The inland ones are on freshwater and the costal ones are on salt water (with the exception of Salt Lake). I think the Gulf Coast, sometimes called the “Third Coast “ has the best beaches because the white sand is a fine grained silky texture and the water is warmer for more of the year. Some of the most magnificent sunsets are ones over the oceans. Laurence is right, though, Illinois can have beautiful sunsets too; I lived there for 57 of my 78 years there. I’m now back at my birthplace of Corpus Christi Texas. I would also be willing to finance a stopover for you here if you wanted to see Texas on your trip to America. Texas is the second largest state in square mileage, so if you to see Big Bend National Park, you would have to allow yourself travel time from south Texas to west Texas.
Born and raised American here and yes... diners are really *that* good. It's like getting home cooking, but you're not at home and someone else is doing the cooking. (and the clean up!) Older, more established diners are usually the best (in my humble opinion). The food is simple and homey and delicious and most of all, consistent. The older places have been doing what they do for so long, that they've worked out all of the potential problems, like maybe over-cooking or under-cooking the food or forgetting a mainstay ingredient, etc. They rarely change up their menu, except for the change of season and the daily specials, of course. But even those remain pretty much the same... they're just on a rotation. I think the consistency is what a lot of folks really appreciate the most, because you know that when you're really craving a particular dish, it's going to be there and it's going to be as good as the last time you had it. Now, it's essential that you make sure that you're going to the right places, but that's pretty easy to determine. You just have to ask the locals (and the long-haul truckers) and they'll never steer you wrong. (See what I did there? Honk! Honk!) Jokes aside, you really can't help but fall in love with the food, the atmosphere, the people and the overall experience, the first time you go to a "small town America" diner. Even if you have to take a little detour to get to a diner that's been recommended, you're not gonna regret it! ☺️ Oh... and most Americans have been out of the country. We just don't do it as often. 😉
Rode a motorcycle along route 66. Nothing else like it and Ive been in a few different fox holes around in one of my first jobs away from home(US Navy). There's some cool stuff to see in the world, but Id never leave my country today to do it. Anything there, is here with spirit added. I had 3 generations of Naval service to live up to or I would never have left in the first place. 4 generations including me and now my oldest son serves. 5 generations have served our great Constitution. The open road in the U.S. in the 80s-90s was unmatched across the globe, and dinners were a MUST
I grew up in the rural southern U.S. in the 80s so I was exposed to diners in movies and tv shows before I ever saw one in person. I have the exact same type of feeling Lawrence described in his video. There’s a diner very close to my house now, and we go there for breakfast twice a week without fail (within reason). The pancakes there are so good I can’t order anything else on my two weekly outings, so if one of their weekly specials piques my interest, I have to go for a third breakfast that week. I can’t even explain the pancakes. If we ever move I can’t go without getting the recipe. I won’t be okay.
The thing about diners is they tend to be very much small town or local neighborhood places. If you live in some vast suburb you probably won’t have one (a restaurant in a strip mall just doesn’t cut it); where they exist, they do serve as important “third places” where you’re likely to be remembered and see neighbors.
I’m born and raised American and I love our diners as long as I’m in the mood for nostalgia, tradition, it’s after the bars close and I need food to make it home, a place to go with a large group of old friends to be loud and rowdy, or if I’m living in NYC and need a place to eat before work… these are the only times I am happy to see a diner 😂 I’m joking a little bit. I think we stopped LOVING diners when the franchise chains killed the mom and pop diners. The best thing about a diner is the uniqueness of each one, the things that make it “your spot.” I imagine our diners and your pubs have a lot in common. But not in the ways that immediately come to mind. We don’t go to our diners as often or as regularly as you go to pubs, but our diners are the place we will go with our oldest friends from when we were young and spending time with the people who define our coming of age; after homecoming dances, after concerts, after football games. It’s the place young people gather and lots of people know each other at night. Or it’s the place older folks go for early supper because they all get discounts for their age, or they all meet before going to bingo. It’s really our only little local gathering place in the way a pub is treated in the UK. Most people say our dive bars are like your pubs, I disagree. Our dive bars aren’t the kind of place a child would ever be seen and I believe children are allowed in pubs to eat with their families. Our dive bars are a bit gross and nasty, smell like stale beer and are dark as night to hide what you don’t want to see. Whereas your pubs are welcoming and not a place you’d get scolded for bringing a kid along. With all that said, our diners are going extinct 😢
I have some very fond memories of going to diners. There was our family road trip to Walt Disney World and back. We stopped at just about every Union 76 truck stop and ate at their diners because my dad would get a discount as an employee. No road trip would complete without a stop at a diner or two. Also, after a night of cruising Whittier Blvd, crashing a party, or after a football game... my friends and I would meet up at Bob's Big Boy, get a table, sit back and have a very late breakfast or dinner and just talk about our evening. Great memorable times.
That “20 foot high spaceman” is called the Gemini Giant located at the Launching Pad resultant in Wilmington IL. My grandparents lived there for many years. A naming contest was held at the local grade school and Gemini Giant was the winning name. Inspired by the Gemini Space program. It has become a tourist photo stop along Route 66
Live in Louisiana my whole life and in my small town (1057 pop) we have a diner and the town next to me has 2....they are always packed and the conversations in the mornings are pure gold. Nothing beats diner food!
I live on the east coast, in eastern Pennsylvania, right on the border with Jersey, and diners are king here. We love diners and they’re everywhere. They serve all of our favorite comfort foods. If you can find a diner, you can find one of your favorite foods on their menu. And the menus are *extensive*. There’s no shortage of great options.
I live in a very small town (about 5000 people) in Northern NY and we have 5 locally owned diners that thrive here. The members of our community love just going to the diners and talking, eating homemade food, and getting all the “tea” on what is going on in town. We go at least once a week (sometimes more) after mass on Sundays. I would definitely miss the diners if I were to move away! I really hope you get to visit here very soon to experience all that the U.S. has to offer 😊 I can’t wait to hear your thoughts from first hand experience! Love your channel and all the reaction vids ❤ keep ‘em coming!
Personally, having breakfast at a diner is my number 1 personal choice for eating out. For many years, the Cup and Saucer Diner was my favorite place to eat and hang out period. I much preferred it to a fine dining restaurant that cost 10 times as much. I think I feel the about the Cup and Saucer the same as the English feel about their favorite local pub... ❣
As someone who grew up on Long Island with tons of real, New York style diners but now lives in rural Western Pennsylvania where the closest thing to a diner you get is Bob Evans, I miss them a lot. My teenage years were largely spent in diners with my friends.
Born and raised American, love a good Mom & Pop diner. They have the best food, service, and atmosphere. Lady I work with had been in American for 20 years, but raised and lived in the UK for 30 years of her life so her accent is very ingrained in her.
6th generation American here - small town diners are an institution. The ambiance is COMFORT. You feel at home from the moment you walk in. People smile and say hello. It’s not unusual to strike up a conversation with the people at the next table. The food is delicious IF you ask for the daily special OR what their best seller is. Wait staff will treat you like a friend.
I’m 72 I’ve lived here my whole life. My family and I drove from Idaho to Ohio to my grandparents. There were no interstate roads. We went across America through all the small towns and byway. Every town had diners that became friends over the years. I grew up on Air Force bases and I went into Montana and my heart and soul is there. Look up Cut Bank Montana it is 36 miles from Glacier Park and 15 miles south of the Canadian border
I’m from New Jersey which is a diner haven. Breakfast is the best. 2 eggs ( any style) home fries and toast for $2.99 add a bottomless cup of coffee for $1.50 and you can eat and talk for a couple of hours on a weekday. No specials on week-ends. Also many diners are open 24 hrs. So you can always get a meal.
The vintage style movie diner is less common but we have a ton of small little eat in diner restaurants, Casual atmosphere, booths, friendly, young people on dates, simple comfort foods.
Diners are amazing! Scrambled eggs, hash rounds,bacon, etc.. Best time to go is after a night of drinking. 😂😂 Perfection! I don’t go very often and I am aware of how nostalgic and “American” they are, which is definitely part of the experience. Definitely add at least one to your trip when you visit!
I was a touring musician for many years. One main rule on the road was every new city we went to We went to a small mom and pop diner. We didn't even look at the menu. We just asked them what their specialty was and why they started their restaurant Then we all ordered that. I can't think of one time in 10 years that we were disappointed in that choice. I live in puerto rico now and I love it here but the thing I miss most Is A Midwest diner!!!!!
Awesome story❣️❣️
We miss you man.
I lived in St. Croix for a year and just loved it! I’ll be back there
@@roseblondie692 did you man? having just been to an island for the first time (Aruba) i decided while there that id love to spend a year or two working somewhere like that before getting too far into my career. currently about a year out from receiving my BA. what made you decide on St Croix, and was there anything about living on an island like that you wish you knew before you went?
Mid west dinner and super clubs 🍽 ♥️ love the food and vibe !!! 😋
As an American, diners have a cozy and welcoming vibe that other restaurants just don’t have
Same here.
Same here.
You’ll find the best waitstaff at diners, too.
Yeah
Diners are fucking great. One of my favorite restaurants is a local diner, and I think that there's a LOT of Americans that feel the same.
Diners in the middle of nowhere are the best! They are exactly like the movies. This video just popped up!
As an American 🇺🇸, I’m still in awe at the authenticity of our diners.
Not all Americans go to diners daily so we enjoy going as often as possible. We are a food culture with friendly service
And the friendlier the service the bigger the tip 👍
fun fact: despite being the 5th smallest state in area, New Jersey has the 11th highest population in the US and more diners than any other state
Sadly, the sunsets are due to pollution and wildfires. Sigh
I'm wondering how we got color-coded. I'm also a Brown. We have a Greenberry and a man called Mungo! 😅
My Mom owned a diner in a VERY small farming town in Upstate NY and it was absolutely the heart of the town. EVERYONE ate there at least once a week. The teachers from the school on lunch, the tellers and president of the local bank, the farmers and the hired hands. The seniors in town would sit at a couple of tables and drink coffee (free refills ALL DAY lol) and chat about everything and anything. Every year she would close on Thanksgiving and Christmas but we'd have our holiday dinners there with friends, relatives and anyone in town who didn't have a family to go to. I miss it.
THAT is an American diner story right there. Beautiful.
❤
This is fantastic
Awww, what a fantastic sense of community the diner provided! Glad that the memory still stays with you 🥰
I'm from Pennsylvania, but I found myself in Yarnell, AZ. It has a gas station, pizza shop, and a BYOB diner that stayed open as long as people were tipping the piano player after food service. Wonderful place.
I've lived in America all my life, but something I've heard is folks from Britain planning vacation trips that they think they can achieve in a month, but getting here and finding out how far everything is away from each other, they realize that what they thought would take a month, instead is about 3 years of traveling.😅
I was born and raised in California and I love diners. Each diner menu is different and yet the same. They all feel homey and comfortable. So much better than chain restaurants.
Northerners are not Southern, in any sense of really! I can only pray the people that have brought upon us, are diminished in this Life!
Diners and coffee shops are a staple in the USA, and we love them. When you go on a regular basis and you get to know the staff and the other regulars, it becomes like a community.
Agree, our local diner is like the morning catch up place for lifelong residents in our town.
I was a Over The Road Truck Driver for about 20 years. I am a 3rd generation driver. I have been coast to coast, there are only 7 states that I have not traveled, I also covered Canada. This country is really beautiful and is very diverse. A person could spend a life time traveling around and still not see it all.
Imagine spending all of your time in Chicago while you were in the US...
Uhmeeeeeeeeen.... There's some pretty good stuff in Chicago, but.......uhhhhhhhh...... Man you could do a lot better. I've been to four more States than you have, and I've spent significant time in at least half... Two or three weeks say... Chicago would be about 150th on my list.
Frankly a lot of the good parts of Chicago you can get in some podunk town like my hometown of Sharon Pennsylvania for about a third of the price. Plus Sharon has free golf. And exceptionally good cheap golf. And to be clear I never go back to Sharon except for a day when it's in route somewhere.
Preferably somewhere like the four corners.
I just had another thought about the Chicago bound Brit. He probably doesn't even really know how big America is. He probably thinks oh we are the king of beautiful cultivated farmland here in the UK.... Not realizing that in upstate New York, Pennsylvania Dutch country, and the Piedmont of Virginia we have at least double the beautifully cultivated farmland that the UK does. I'm 100% sure you know that as a truck driver.
You should watch more videos from the guy L3WG is reacting to, he has a good understanding of the size and cultural differences in America considering Chicago isn't the only place he's lived and he's talked about his travels in other states.
@@onlybassfishing1813 It's useless trying to talk to someone who can't listen and put context together 😂😂😂
The Appalachian Trail, which is a hiking trail, is over 2,000 miles long. Yellowstone is over 2 million acres, Yosemite is over 1 million acres. Wrangle is over 8 million acres. All the national parks combined are over 83 million acres. That a lot of acreage to cover in fifteen years. All of United Kingdom covers about 60 million acres.
I had a very dear friend who was 110% British, although she'd lived in the USA for more than 20 years, she NEVER lost her Britt-speak. And she always flew her union jack. We were SO different, yet she was one of my best ever friends. I miss her greatly.
There's just something great about "bellying" up to a diner counter and sitting next to people you're meeting for the first time. It's just cool, I'd miss it.
Diners are still common, but not on a big scale. Which kind of makes them even more special. If you find a diner that is still open, it's open for a reason. Some of the best food you run across at a still decent price is normally going to be from a diner. Plus, diners try to create food similar to how you would make it at home, so it's almost always just top stage of delicious. It is certainly something everyone should try, and most American's can probably direct you to a really really good Diner near them.
That's something we forget about with our nostalgia glasses. There were a lot of terrible diners out there that had no business serving food haha. You're right the ones that have stuck around have integrity and serve quality food.
And, the pie...
Not in the Northeast, they are everywhere! They often serve consistent quality food and you can get everything. Granted some types of food is not good at a diner (eg steak, Italian) but you can get it if you want. Other types of food (breakfast, burgers, etc) are usually quite good.
Very popular in mid west , Wisconsin,I've gone to many supper clubs and diners 😋
Yes, diners are pretty much the way they are in movies. Great aromas. People are a bit more sociable in diners because they're so casual and the smaller space puts people closer to each other. It's a welcoming experience with awesome food
I am a born and raised American and I'm in my mid 50's . I can remember as far back as the drugstores having a soda fountain. Albeit it was probably one of the last soda fountains in California but I was still blessed to be able to experience it. Diners are right on par with soda fountains in the drug stores. I pray we don't lose the last remaining old time diners left in this country. It would be very sad. I love the diners.
I'm in my mid 50s too. We had a little drugstore with the soda fountain. We used to ride our bikes there. It was very sad when they tore it down.
Lewis, you mentioned that it would be cool if people would fund your holiday…I’m certain that a fair number of your U.S. subscribers would be more than happy to host your stay in cities all across the US, if you were inclined to stay with total strangers. If you could fund your transportation to the US and your transport for moving around between the cities you want to visit, you’d not have to pay for hotels. Plus, you could have a cool type of immersion experience. If you want to make a stop in Indianapolis, our house is open to you 😊.
I was thinking about this! He has such a positive attitude about The States, many of us would probably LOVE to help him see our country.
Hell yeah ! 🙌 come visit Chicago, we'll put you up. Come hang out during the summer where there's a ton of street festivals, taste of Chicago, etc. We'll even take you to one of our most iconic landmark, WALMART 😂. When you're ready to move on we'll take you with our semi truck and bring you to the next major city.
Absolutely!! Come on over! Central Florida.
I went to Dublin, Ireland this way! I stayed with people I had met on FB. We’d been friends for several years on there. Was a wonderful trip! Saved a fortune in hotel bills and was able to treat my friends to some of the things we did. I was able to see some of the touristy places but also able to see some of the what I’d call the real Ireland. It’s a great way to see different places. I’ve down sized since that time so I don’t really have a place for guest but would help you find a place. I’m in North Georgia at the foot hills of the Smoky Mountains. Tennessee isn’t far away.
Got room for you in Oregon
Your check list of where to go and what to do when you get here is gonna take you a LONG time. Two or five or ten vacations won't be enough. When you hear visitors say they are amazed at how big America is, what they are trying to say is "Holy F%#k! This place is HUGE!"
Agreed. My Dad met an Australian on vacation who despite being from a large place himself, was amazed at just how big the country is. My sister had a co-worker (fellow intern) from Ireland who asked how far we had to drive to get to the place they both were working at. We said it's not bad, only about a seven hour drive. He was so shocked. On the map that seven hour drive is about the width of a fingernail. He found it hard to believe that for the small states it takes three or more hours to drive across them, and the biggest ones take over twelve hours without stops. These times only work at highway speed, so if you take the slow roads you will have to factor that in as well.
i know this was posted a few months ago but just wanted to put in my post. I am 60 years old this year, my father was in the military. I have lived my whole life (with the exception of 2 years overseas) in the US. I have lived in California (both southern and northern), been to Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff Arizona, and the Rocky Mountains. I've lived on the East Coast as well, in northern Virginia (near Washington D.C.), driven through the Appalachian Mountains and South Carolina (where I have lived for the past 30 years). I have also lived in the Mid-West (Iowa and Oklahoma). I have driven or ridden through many other states and have been as far north as Chicago/Great Lakes and Rhode Island. This country has so many beautiful and awesome places to see. There are many states that I have never been to, mostly in the northern areas near Canada. Oh and I was born on Hawaii (O'ahu to be exact). Whenever you do get the chance to come to this amazing country, you will thoroughly enjoy yourself I am sure. As for our diners, my Grandparents used to own a drive-in diner when I was a child. I used to get free hot dogs and ice cream, LOL.
Re: passports: When I was a young woman (70 next birthday), we drove to Canada from New York & Pennsylvania without passports. It wasn't necessary in the pre-911 era. All you needed was something like a driver's license with your address on it. Children just needed to be with a parent. I understand that the Mexican crossing was similar for Americans, and we had a guest worker program that made it easier for non-citizens to cross back & forth then.
You still don't need a passport to cross state lines, at least not in my recent expereinces, nor even to fly domestically. But you're right it used to be you didn't need one to cross the southern border into Mexico and back again. That changed years ago, though. But for that you just need the passport ID card, not necessarily the booklet.
My recommendation is that if someone gets a passport, get both the booklet and the ID card.
In thec70 I just drove to BC Canada, you stopped at the border and told them how long you would be there, approximately, that was it! We didn't need a passport then.
Nothing better than a good mom and pop diner! Born and raised in the USA
Especially if it's a Greek diner. For those that don't know, Greek diners serve all the standard diner food ..usually cooked very well.... Plus they have gyros and souvlaki and other good tasty Greek things. Served American style of course.
One thing I enjoy about diners as opposed to national chain restaurants is that typically the diners near me in Minnesota let you take your time and don't hurry you to leave, so it's more relaxing .
I'm smack dab in the middle of the Midwest and I don't think I've ever been in a diner where they rush you.
The best sunsets aren’t at the beaches. They’re in the deserts. The dust in the air makes for the most incredible reds and oranges. Sometimes we do get great beach sunsets, but that often means something nearby is on fire. Also, diners were way more common in the 1950s and early 60s. Most people go to them now for the great food, but also for a good dose of nostalgia. (Yeah, I grew up in the 50s and 60s.)
Or anywhere that there is more pollution lol. It's messed up but true. 😅
Absolutely love the road trips! From beaches, mountains, desert, swamps!!!!! Big cities… small towns! ❤❤❤❤❤ Love it!
My grandmother worked in an old school diner when I was a kid. Little jukeboxes at each table. Long counter with people drinking coffee and eating pie. It’s since closed, and I miss it dearly.
Diners are such an important part of a community. The kitchen was the heart of our home - diners are that for neighborhoods imo.
I'd forgotten about those little juke boxes at every table! We used to beg our mum for a nickel just to play it.
Diner juke boxes had songs by ppl like Elvis, the Everly Bros, and the latest groups. Idk if those still exist but they were the coolest things ever!
I grew up in Florida and moved to London with an English friend. I loved it. I was 18 and it was the eighties. So different from where I lived. But listening to you is making me realize I shouldn’t take the States for granted. I’m planning a cross country trip with my daughter now!!!thanks!
Visit Nebraska?? I'll give a quick tour with places to stop. Odd ball beauties only locals enjoy. Oooo and take ft. Collins way through to see the Rockies.
Of course you shouldn't! The U.S. is amazing! It's a beautiful place to live and raise a family. So ecologically diverse. Europeans get confused as to why Americans never leave America for vacation... but why would we? You can travel the world just taking a trip across the U.S.!
Have fun with yours! I'm incredibly jealous!
Diners are the best! I'm 67, lived in US my whole life. Diners are usually owned and run by a family, so they are not big corporate outfits. Diners tend to cook home cooking, which is a lot of comfort food, and done really well. Diners are friendly. Not uncommon to have a conversation with your waitress, or even the table next to you, just about life stuff. Diners are definitely very cool. And they will exist as long as America exists.
America! My house lot is near 3 acres. Hop, skip, and a jump and I stand on 240 acres I own. It's an Ohio River overlook. Deep forest every where.
I am a 70 year old American. Diners are comfort to me. A large menu and good service. Great conversation with friends and family. There are less now than when I was a young guy but there are still alot. I'm not talking about the chain diners that are everywhere I am talking about the small business diners that are run by a family usually
The thing I love about diners here are that they’re open 24 hrs and you can orders Anything from eggs to steak at Anytime if day or night. The food is delicious and cheap with Heavy portions.
That Prius joke got me, Lol.😂☠️
I had a lovely conversation with three young ladies (early 20s) outside of King's Cross train station when I was trying to figure out how to make my American phone work. They approached me and asked if they could help. Super sweet. I've also chatted with Mongolians on a subway in South Korea, strangers in Australia...I think at least part of it has to do with my willingness to look people in the eye and smile...even shock them with a hello (small town, it's what we do). Why not try it and see if it makes a difference in how people relate to you.
I grew up in a small town in Michigan and we had a diner that everyone went to. After football games, dances, or basically any social gathering. I always appreciate the nostalgia and laid back vibes
Regarding passports; it's not just that we have so much in America that we don't need to leave it. There is a big percentage of people that don't have the money to travel. Example, I've never left Southern CA. I barely have enough money to leave my own city let alone travel to the next county. I only leave my city for something that is necessary. There are a lot of people like me.
I have a friend in Ireland that has the income of a lower scale here. It's very important to them to have holiday travel to other countries. They call it a holiday rather then vacation. They save thier money carefully in order to so every couple of years. Her son and daughter came here, another son went to Hong Kong, just prior to covid. She can't travel on airplanes and really has no desire. Even tho her kids are young adults who haven't lived at home for quite sometime, it is still in her mind her responsibility to help them travel. Idk where this comes from, I assume it's just old tradition there but it is very important it seems to make sure they do this. Realizing that our country is filled with different cultures who brought thier food and backgrounds with them, it really is true that we don't need to travel far to leave our culture. I live very remotely and the nearest little city is 100 miles away and it's little. Yet they have a Greek bakery ran by true Greeks. There is a Chinese buffet ran by Chinese. There is real Mexican food owned and cooked and served by real Mexicans. There is now Indian food, Asian food, Texas Barbque, Mongolian grills. All that is missing is true Italian. The Americans who are generational seem to have the hardest time succeeding, those still coming from other countries or those whose parents or grandparents migrated here do not have an easier time succeeding, they just work much harder to do so.
You can save a couple gas tanks worth of money and camp in Nevada or somewhere. Or get an Airbnb or stay in Motel. You owe it yourself.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but when I go to a diner, even when I’m having a bad day, the ambience, the kindness, and the people around, make me feel like I’m at home. Even the most mediocre of food I complement, because being there always lifts my spirit.
I went to my local diner recently because i had gotten some bad news and didn't feel like cooking for myself and sure enough the food and atmosphere fixed me right up. I couldn't help but smile as I ate my food. I was sitting at the counter in view of the kitchen window and the head cook leaned through it and asked if I enjoyed my food, noting the smile that I had on my face and how it made her happy as well; it turned my whole day around. It's those sorts of interactions that make diners invaluable. Much love to you Jesse.
Lived in the US my whole life. Diners are my favorite place to eat. We don't go all the time because there are fewer now. We usually go for breakfast or brunch. They always seem to have the best breakfast foods and unlimited coffee. The best part is the atmosphere. Its like going to eat at your grandmas house. Its warm, its an intimate space, usually a booth, where you can sip hot coffee, eat and lean in to conversation with the people you are with. Its inexpensive, tasty, comfort food. And did I mention unlimited coffee? Literally SO much coffee!
There is actually a road you can drive though that is through a sequoia tree. And no my mom was from England and lived in America for most of her life yet her accent never changed all that much. Sure she used words that she got from America but she always sounded like a Brit while saying it.
The drive through tree is on the Avenue of the Giants in Nor Cal, it used to be hwy 1, now the road parallels hwy 1. It's in Mendocino county. Or is it Humboldt county, hmmmmmmmm.
Yes, the diners are literally just like the ones in the movies. Much of the time they just used real diners for filming.
If you’ve ever seen Groundhogs Day with Bill Murray, that was filmed in my town and the diner scenes were in the diner I grew up eating in. The food was so good and it was so cozy and nice. I miss it. But it wasn’t some “special” thing to us. It was just one of our favorite places to eat, but standard for a small town; you know?
Go look up Arizona Sunsets, and then you'll realize why the Phoenix Suns chose those colors for their Uniforms.
California sunsets especially during fire season are amazing! I do love Arizona and it's sunsets!
My grandparents were from a small town. They would would drive about half an hour to the next town over to go to the same diner every single Sunday after Church. When I would visit in the Summers, even though I didn't know anyone there, the staff there would always ask me about my school and events that had happened in my year because my grandparents would always have these conversations with them about their grandkids. They were so friendly, and I loved that it felt like they really cared about my grandparents like they were old friends. Living in the city there aren't many tried and true diners anymore, so I'd say you're much more likely to encounter them in older smaller towns in the country so many may have never been to one especially if you're younger.
I’m a lifelong American & after watching ur videos I realize that I take advantage of living here & don’t realize just how lucky I am to be an American! I don’t have a passport & I don’t care to have one. Diners are great & they are just like the movies but I don’t go often. I live in CA near the mountains and it’s absolutely gorgeous, the mountains are behind my house. Here I have driving access to the beaches & snowboarding in the same day that if I wanted. But do I? Nope, hardly ever😢, but I could. However, I do recognize the beauty!
Get a passport and put it in a drawer. It is better to have it and not want it than to want it and not have it. This is true for tourist reasons, but just trust me on this... Seriously just trust me: things are a lot worse in America than you think. Don't even worry about how. Just have 6 months of food and a passport, maybe a shotgun if that's easy where you live.
@@theminister1154 ITA! People take too much for granted and don't pay attention to where the gradual changes are headed.
@@Julieb615 The overall combined vector is NOT good. We might lose the Tbill/oil denomination. that would be VERY bad. from where we are to where canada is, and in case you didn't know canada is FFFFFFFFFed. Median house price $680k USD, food off the chain
@@theminister1154 A good look at Canada and Australia should give everyone in the USA a chill to the bone. But, most are too busy with their phones, Taylor Swift, the latest assault on their "feelings", or just grinding out a living trying to raise their kids to even notice.
Lewis, of you're planning to go from Chicago to Yosemite, it will take week or more to drive. It is close to 2000 miles each way. Including two major mountain ranges!!
2 seperate oceans, 5 lakes that look like oceans, mountains, deserts, tropics, temperate, feet of snow, northern lights, stunning national parks, recreation areas everywhere, islands, wilderness, hiking, climbing, boating, & even ice fishing in the winter. There is just so much to do before you get into things like food regions & city entertainments.
I've lived in several regions in America and yes the sunsets in many places are something to behold that I would greatly miss. Being from Southern California though, I'm particularly partial to the sunsets in the west. The golden glow from either the deserts or beaches as the sun kisses the horizon, followed by the beautiful pink, purple and blue hues across the sky once it's dipped out of view... it's just stunning.
New Mexico is even better.... And rest assured I know San Diego sunsets are off the chain.
Oh. He's so right. Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, beats a western sunset. ❤️🔥
On the accent changing thing, I think it's much easier for a younger person to 'naturally' change accents when in another country than it is for an adult. As an example, I was born in the U.S. and we moved to England (Stockport) when I was 8. My sisters were 6 and 11. It really didn't take long, without us even trying, to take on the accent. It was around 6 months or less. But our parents never had the accent change. For them it was more a matter of a slow transition into using British words vs. American words for certain things. And then 4 years later we moved back to the States and as kids we lost our British accents within 3 months, and we started using American English words pretty quickly, but our parents used British English words (with their never-lost American accent) for quite a few years.
My grandparents were born in Maine. They moved to Florida when they were in their 40's and my dad was 10. They never lost their Maine accent but my dad did.
This.
I agree with this. As a kid, when we had foreigners visit us, I would find myself slowly starting to talk like them throughout the first couple of days with them. I felt bad because I was afraid they would think I was mocking them, but I just naturally would pick up on the accents of the people I was around.
Now that I'm older, I haven't had this happen, and I've never had to be concerned about it. I've always loved different people's accents!
Lol! Dude said, "Oh My God, School Bus!" LOL! Yeah bro, they're real, and they are EVERYWHERE. No flex.
I now live in Texas. I worked with a nurse that had been here since she graduated university and she was in her late 50’s. The most I ever laughed is every time she said “ya’all” in her British accent.
I'll keep clicking on your videos and look forward to the day that you do one about your trip to America!
I'm German born,we moved to the USA in 1969,celebrating my 6th birthday in Minnesota! All my schooling was in the States...after 37 years,I returned to Germany! Here I'm considered an American because of the way I speak...funny being told I'm a foreigner from actual foreigners!
The best thing about living in the Chicago area is the lake. Most people underestimate how wide the Lake is in Chicago. It is roughly 50 miles wide. To see a tiny bit of the Michigan shoreline you have to get up to the top of the Jogn Hancock building or what was first called the Sears tower. It also has to be a clear day! The parks along the lake and most beaches are public. Visit for sure.
Always called the Sears tower
Diner is probably the family feel. The friendliness. Home cooking.
American diners are like cozy & warm to the heart....the service is awesome (usually) the food standard (burgers, liver & onions, grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of soup....and breafast often served 24/7...and a great place to just go and get a desert after a Friday or Saturday night of partying.....however because fast food has become such a part of our modern culture, many diners have closed after the owner has passed on.....they started in the 1920's and hit their prime in the 1950's but still are a good part of our culture
I live in the Rocky Mountains and used to drive across country to my home state of Michigan every year. It’s a 28 hour drive, Nebraska and Iowa are one long corn field of a drive. I’ve been to Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Grand Tetons, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Everglades, Isle Royale, and Porcupine Mountains,
Diners are a treat...I live I the diner capital of the world...New Jersey. You sit you have water, if the waiter knows you...he comes to you with coffee in hand, your coffee he pretty much knows your breakfast order when you see him again he gives you toast and pours you more coffee...it's like your favorite pub you know the people you know the experience and you get a meal wearing a hoodie, leggings and slides
I am a 70 year old American woman, I love Diners, yes they are being replaced by fast food restaurants but they are still alive and well in small towns and the homestyle food and conversations are awesome. The national parks are worth never leaving America, each more magnificent than the last, from the grand canyon to the pacific national forest He really needs to drive through the Rocky mountains , the sunrise and sunsets are spectacular. I hope you get the chance to come here I know you will want to stay.
9:13 Yes! Thank you for pointing that out. I've had to explain that to a number of my overseas friends. Especially those in western Europe where there are a bunch of countries all nearby each other. For someone in the UK or France or Germany, having a passport and travelling to another country is fairly commonplace. But in America, we have every terrain and weather type in the world. Mountains, Lakes, Deserts, Snow, Ice, Rain, Shine, Tunnels, Caves, Bridges, Beaches, Islands, etc etc etc.... So in Europe, if someone in the UK wants to go skiing in the mountains, they have to go to someplace like Austria or Switzerland. But in the US, we just travel to another state, no passport needed.
Now, do I not want to see other countries? Of course I do!!! but travelling overseas is a pretty expensive endeavor compared to driving or taking a bus or plane to see another part of the US.
That said, there's only a few places I really want to travel to overseas, one of them being the UK. I want to rent a car and drive all over the country, spend time staying in a little cottage in the countryside overlooking the sea, hitting all the touristy places in London, take one of those walking tours, and going on a pub crawl... Just LOTS of things 😍😁😊
Those weren’t hash browns those were home fries. Big difference! Hash browns are shredded.
Also diners offer comfort food like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, all types of fruit cobbler and pies depending on what part of the country you are in. Pretty much anything you can think of and you can have breakfast anytime or dinner anytime (if it’s a 24 hour diner).
There is a highway that goes through the Rockies because we drove through to get to Denver, Colorado Every year as a kid from Connecticut. A three day drive, Awesome.
Let’s remember how Far these places are from one another. To fly from one coast to the other takes 5 hours.
Born in America & lived here all my life. Diners are so special. They are so different from a chain restaurant & the food is so good. I just got back from a trip to Arizona. We flew into Vegas, drove to Arizona & stopped at a Diner on Route66. The food was amazing! I love the way they decorate Diners, too.
Born and raised in USA and love diners. Been to at least over a 100 and the authenticity of food, conversational vibe is fabulous and impossible to replicate.
I remember years back, my son who worked in hospitality, wanted to move from Orlando to Las Vegas. I took a week off and drove him. We stayed at Ballys. I was going to catch a flight home on Sunday so I could work on Monday. On Saturday I heard him say to a friend, 'I don't know if I'm staying.' I was flabbergasted. I told him if he was not staying to get in the car. Lol...he's an adult but I'm still Mom. This was 1:00 PM in NV. We checked out and headed home. I drove all the way (he didn't drive fast enough to suit me) and I made it to work Monday morning at 7:00 am. No sightseeing on the way home. I have taken several trips out west though. My favorite was one trip that included Rocky Mtn National Park, Little Bighorn battlefield, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Black Hills (Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument, Deadwood), Wind Cave National Park...that was just one trip. It was amazing. The best thing we ever did as a family. Driving through the west, with those little roadside monuments, that said things like ' This is where Dr so-and-so and 5 others were killed in an Indian raid in 1865... it really made the entire trip even more interesting.
He screwed up. He probably got to Vegas and was put off by The glitz and the squalor. The first thing you guys should have done when you got to Vegas is hit up a good strip mall. Ironically as far from the strip as possible. Real Vegas is in the strip malls in the residential areas. I have never seen a town with so many good $20 meals. Not even DC, & DC has a lot of good $20 meals. And $10 meals for that matter.
Then you get your job on the strip or whatever and you learn all the little ins and outs by which the casinos can provide you with all kinds of very cheap luxuries. Plus if you learn to play poker you can really add a lot to your income. There are some tables that are basically just cash machines presuming you're decent at it.
My first two weeks in Vegas I didn't make a single bet... But the next time I came back I knew how to play poker and I did nothing but Gamble.
You should try reacting to the movie National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) to get an idea about what a road trip in América is like. Keep in mind, it is poking fun at all the things-that-go-wrong-with-a-road-trip. That or the first season of THE DETOUR.
I'm from New Jersey, diner capital of the USA. There are usually 2-3 in every town (I was honestly surprised when I moved to different states how few diners there were).
You usually have a favorite that you go to often enough that the server remembers your name, and they'll plunk down your coffee and put your usual order in unless you stop them (I worked at a diner for 5 years over a decade ago, and I can still tell you what Billy and his grandson ate).
Many diners are also open 24 hours, and you can get anything off the menu at any time. So when you stay out late drinking, you and your friends stop at the diner at 3 AM. Joe can get meatloaf and mashed potatoes, Tom can get pancakes and bacon, and I can get disco fries and a slice of blueberry pie.
I love diner atmosphere and I don't really want to live anywhere without a mom-and-pop diner that I love.
Love diners! Best food, relaxed, decent prices & friendly service. And I like that you can find them across the country.
My parents took 5 kids every summer for 2-3 weeks on road trips all across the country. When I was older I traveled Europe and Asia and while they were beautiful, coming back home was always the happiest part of my trips.
I had an aunt that had been born in Scotland and didn’t come here until she was 21. She was married to my uncle for 60+ years and never lost her accent. I realized it did soften just a slight bit because when she would go back to Scotland for a visit when she came back her accent was heavier for awhile.
Awesome that at 4:36 there is a shot of a diner in my hometown called "The Grill" in Athens, GA! I used to go there all the time when I was a student attending the University of Georgia! Right next to it is a great Georgia Bulldogs clothes and memorabilia shop, called "The Clubhouse", owned by a really good friend, Rick Maggiore! Go Dawgs!
“omg a yellow school bus!” 19:25 - that was adorable😂
Wow im realizing how lucky we are here! If we get cold, we fly south to warmer states or drive out west to see real countryside with prairie dogs or pick sand & sea! It is truly amazing! I so agree he really needs to get to those parks now!!!
I love traveling in North America (been many places in Canada, almost every state in US, and Mexico adding Costa Rica to the list the winter). It's fun exploring and learning more. Also been to many countries in Europe, the Middle East and New Zealand. Son lived overseas for 12 years so we explored. I won't claim England, as I never made it out of Heathrow, so doesn't count in my book😂. I've enjoyed everywhere we have been. Best most memorable for me so far are New Zealand and Petra (place in Jordan).
Diners as opposed to chain restaurants. Chain restaurants are almost all the same because they are a chain...a McDonald's in Alabama will have the same food as McDonald's in Georgia whereas a diner will have local taste in food. I love our diners. Diners are where you find delicious coffee, not over the top coffee like a Starbucks, but a regular cup of coffee in a nice heavy mug. Diners will also have a plate choice that will have 1 meat and 3 side choices, drink and dessert for one price. I just went to the local diner yesterday and had country fried steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet tea, and strawberry cake for $9. This is where the server will call you "Hon" and refill your glass or cup when it is about 1/2 full . A good server will never let your glass or cup be totally empty.
Years ago I had to go to California for a meeting and we had dinner at this beautiful waterfront restaurant in San Fran. My coworker who is from San Francisco said we need to go right before the Sunset. Me being from SE Florida don't get to see sunsets very often unless I'm down in the keys or on the west coast of FL. Needless to say I was quite excited. OH MY GOD, when that sun started setting this is going to sound stupid but I literally had tears in my eyes. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Like nothing I had ever seen!
Some American diners look very retro and those are a fun experience. Others might be "holes in the wall" but with great food. I live in the South. We have our own version of a diner right across the street that serves Southern country cooking. By the way, we (your subscribers) will fund your trips to America.
Yes because most of them are locally own and normally better food than big establishments
Yes it’s true.. diners are more rare now then they used to be. A good diner is a gem to find to be sure!
He got me as well. A diner often is a hometown place where the people in the general area come to eat. COVID did decrease the number of diners because they just couldn't survive the lack of business. The diners usually had a special for the day, something not always on the menu and usually less expensive. along with their normal menu. Traveling through the country was always great, even if the weather wasn't the best. Love how the mountain range he showed is actually in the eastern part of the states.
Just for curiosity, You do know how far apart all of the places you have talked about going are?
Yes, a person's accent can change depending on which part of the country they live in. My aunt, my mother's sister, grew up living in Arizona and California. From that time, the mid to late 60s, until today she has lived in the South and does have the southern drawl as if she has spent her whole life there. Even tho her and my mom grew up in the same house, no one would have guessed it because their accents were so extremely different.
Much the same in my family. Two sisters from NYC. As adults, the one (my mother) got a southern drawl living in rural FL, while the other (my aunt), despite decades in FL and still sounded like Brooklyn.
I’ve taken multiple trips in the US, but also to other countries, mostly on cruises.
Next Thursday, May 16, I’m flying to London with my step-sister. We’re going to explore London and the surrounding area on our own. before joining a fairly large group on a garden tour of England. The gardens are associated with castles and large estates. We are really excited about it!
I’m born & raised in America & I love diner’s. It’s usually owned by a family & it’s always good to support small local businesses. A lot of them especially the hole in the wall ones have the best food too & for a decent price compared to restaurants.
After reading through a number of the comments, I realized that most of your questions were answered very well and very completely. I may have not scrolled down far enough, but I didn’t see an answer to your question about beaches. I’ve been to beaches, both inland and on all three coasts. The inland ones are on freshwater and the costal ones are on salt water (with the exception of Salt Lake). I think the Gulf Coast, sometimes called the “Third Coast “ has the best beaches because the white sand is a fine grained silky texture and the water is warmer for more of the year. Some of the most magnificent sunsets are ones over the oceans. Laurence is right, though, Illinois can have beautiful sunsets too; I lived there for 57 of my 78 years there. I’m now back at my birthplace of Corpus Christi Texas. I would also be willing to finance a stopover for you here if you wanted to see Texas on your trip to America. Texas is the second largest state in square mileage, so if you to see Big Bend National Park, you would have to allow yourself travel time from south Texas to west Texas.
Born and raised American here and yes... diners are really *that* good. It's like getting home cooking, but you're not at home and someone else is doing the cooking. (and the clean up!) Older, more established diners are usually the best (in my humble opinion). The food is simple and homey and delicious and most of all, consistent. The older places have been doing what they do for so long, that they've worked out all of the potential problems, like maybe over-cooking or under-cooking the food or forgetting a mainstay ingredient, etc. They rarely change up their menu, except for the change of season and the daily specials, of course. But even those remain pretty much the same... they're just on a rotation. I think the consistency is what a lot of folks really appreciate the most, because you know that when you're really craving a particular dish, it's going to be there and it's going to be as good as the last time you had it. Now, it's essential that you make sure that you're going to the right places, but that's pretty easy to determine. You just have to ask the locals (and the long-haul truckers) and they'll never steer you wrong. (See what I did there? Honk! Honk!) Jokes aside, you really can't help but fall in love with the food, the atmosphere, the people and the overall experience, the first time you go to a "small town America" diner. Even if you have to take a little detour to get to a diner that's been recommended, you're not gonna regret it! ☺️ Oh... and most Americans have been out of the country. We just don't do it as often. 😉
Rode a motorcycle along route 66. Nothing else like it and Ive been in a few different fox holes around in one of my first jobs away from home(US Navy). There's some cool stuff to see in the world, but Id never leave my country today to do it. Anything there, is here with spirit added. I had 3 generations of Naval service to live up to or I would never have left in the first place. 4 generations including me and now my oldest son serves. 5 generations have served our great Constitution. The open road in the U.S. in the 80s-90s was unmatched across the globe, and dinners were a MUST
I grew up in the rural southern U.S. in the 80s so I was exposed to diners in movies and tv shows before I ever saw one in person. I have the exact same type of feeling Lawrence described in his video. There’s a diner very close to my house now, and we go there for breakfast twice a week without fail (within reason). The pancakes there are so good I can’t order anything else on my two weekly outings, so if one of their weekly specials piques my interest, I have to go for a third breakfast that week. I can’t even explain the pancakes. If we ever move I can’t go without getting the recipe. I won’t be okay.
The thing about diners is
they tend to be very much small town or local neighborhood places. If you live in some vast suburb you probably won’t have one (a restaurant in a strip
mall just doesn’t cut it); where they exist, they do serve as important “third
places” where you’re likely to be remembered and see neighbors.
I’m born and raised American and I love our diners as long as I’m in the mood for nostalgia, tradition, it’s after the bars close and I need food to make it home, a place to go with a large group of old friends to be loud and rowdy, or if I’m living in NYC and need a place to eat before work… these are the only times I am happy to see a diner 😂 I’m joking a little bit. I think we stopped LOVING diners when the franchise chains killed the mom and pop diners.
The best thing about a diner is the uniqueness of each one, the things that make it “your spot.” I imagine our diners and your pubs have a lot in common. But not in the ways that immediately come to mind. We don’t go to our diners as often or as regularly as you go to pubs, but our diners are the place we will go with our oldest friends from when we were young and spending time with the people who define our coming of age; after homecoming dances, after concerts, after football games. It’s the place young people gather and lots of people know each other at night. Or it’s the place older folks go for early supper because they all get discounts for their age, or they all meet before going to bingo. It’s really our only little local gathering place in the way a pub is treated in the UK.
Most people say our dive bars are like your pubs, I disagree. Our dive bars aren’t the kind of place a child would ever be seen and I believe children are allowed in pubs to eat with their families. Our dive bars are a bit gross and nasty, smell like stale beer and are dark as night to hide what you don’t want to see. Whereas your pubs are welcoming and not a place you’d get scolded for bringing a kid along.
With all that said, our diners are going extinct 😢
I have some very fond memories of going to diners. There was our family road trip to Walt Disney World and back. We stopped at just about every Union 76 truck stop and ate at their diners because my dad would get a discount as an employee. No road trip would complete without a stop at a diner or two. Also, after a night of cruising Whittier Blvd, crashing a party, or after a football game... my friends and I would meet up at Bob's Big Boy, get a table, sit back and have a very late breakfast or dinner and just talk about our evening. Great memorable times.
That “20 foot high spaceman” is called the Gemini Giant located at the Launching Pad resultant in Wilmington IL. My grandparents lived there for many years. A naming contest was held at the local grade school and Gemini Giant was the winning name. Inspired by the Gemini Space program. It has become a tourist photo stop along Route 66
Live in Louisiana my whole life and in my small town (1057 pop) we have a diner and the town next to me has 2....they are always packed and the conversations in the mornings are pure gold. Nothing beats diner food!
I live on the east coast, in eastern Pennsylvania, right on the border with Jersey, and diners are king here. We love diners and they’re everywhere. They serve all of our favorite comfort foods. If you can find a diner, you can find one of your favorite foods on their menu. And the menus are *extensive*. There’s no shortage of great options.
I live in a very small town (about 5000 people) in Northern NY and we have 5 locally owned diners that thrive here. The members of our community love just going to the diners and talking, eating homemade food, and getting all the “tea” on what is going on in town. We go at least once a week (sometimes more) after mass on Sundays. I would definitely miss the diners if I were to move away! I really hope you get to visit here very soon to experience all that the U.S. has to offer 😊 I can’t wait to hear your thoughts from first hand experience! Love your channel and all the reaction vids ❤ keep ‘em coming!
Personally, having breakfast at a diner is my number 1 personal choice for eating out. For many years, the Cup and Saucer Diner was my favorite place to eat and hang out period. I much preferred it to a fine dining restaurant that cost 10 times as much. I think I feel the about the Cup and Saucer the same as the English feel about their favorite local pub... ❣
As someone who grew up on Long Island with tons of real, New York style diners but now lives in rural Western Pennsylvania where the closest thing to a diner you get is Bob Evans, I miss them a lot. My teenage years were largely spent in diners with my friends.
Born and raised American, love a good Mom & Pop diner. They have the best food, service, and atmosphere.
Lady I work with had been in American for 20 years, but raised and lived in the UK for 30 years of her life so her accent is very ingrained in her.
6th generation American here - small town diners are an institution. The ambiance is COMFORT. You feel at home from the moment you walk in. People smile and say hello. It’s not unusual to strike up a conversation with the people at the next table. The food is delicious IF you ask for the daily special OR what their best seller is. Wait staff will treat you like a friend.
I’m 72 I’ve lived here my whole life. My family and I drove from Idaho to Ohio to my grandparents. There were no interstate roads. We went across America through all the small towns and byway. Every town had diners that became friends over the years. I grew up on Air Force bases and I went into Montana and my heart and soul is there. Look up Cut Bank Montana it is 36 miles from Glacier Park and 15 miles south of the Canadian border
I’m from New Jersey which is a diner haven. Breakfast is the best. 2 eggs ( any style) home fries and toast for $2.99 add a bottomless cup of coffee for $1.50 and you can eat and talk for a couple of hours on a weekday. No specials on week-ends. Also many diners are open 24 hrs. So you can always get a meal.
The vintage style movie diner is less common but we have a ton of small little eat in diner restaurants, Casual atmosphere, booths, friendly, young people on dates, simple comfort foods.
Diners are amazing! Scrambled eggs, hash rounds,bacon, etc.. Best time to go is after a night of drinking. 😂😂 Perfection! I don’t go very often and I am aware of how nostalgic and “American” they are, which is definitely part of the experience. Definitely add at least one to your trip when you visit!
That squirrel hill exit is 15 minutes from me !!! Yay Pittsburgh
I say yay PA! I live about 30 minutes from Philly and I'm in a log cabin in the middle of the woods. It is beautiful here, especially the parks.
I saw the original about a year ago and he got me TWICE!