Diner restaurants in California
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A
Swingers
Americana with a dollop of Hollywood is the ammo of this genuine retro diner where booths are red and servers wear fishnet stockings. Join the kool kids combating hunger pangs or hangovers with juicy burgers, awesome fries and other all-American faves while Little Richard heats up the juke box.
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B
Buckeye Roadhouse
A classic from the days when roadhouses were a common stop along the highway, the Buckeye is a Marin County gem. The food, American to the core, far surpasses traditional truck stop fare. Seared ahi (tuna) salad, fresh sole and Mongolian spiced pork chops appeal to contemporary taste buds and won't leave anyone hungry.
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Diamondback Grill
Fittingly pie-shaped, this wonderful little café serves up extraordinary food at superb prices. Sandwiches come with creative ingredients like pesto and the burgers are simply fantastic. Everything is homemade, including the addictive buttermilk parsley salad dressing. Daily specials feature steaks and seafood.
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C
Hob Nob Hill
Slinging down-home, mid-scale diner fare since 1944, this San Diego institution is a favorite with locals - elderly couples at breakfast, middle management types and hung-over twentysomethings at lunch - who come as much for the uniformed, been-around-the-block waitresses as for the food. Vegetarians will starve.
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D
Fred 62
It’s orange, it’s retro, it’s a little ironic and it’s also open all night. The grub’s standard diner fare – omelets, pancakes – but named with funky flair and given the occasional twist. Budding Elvises hanker for the Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Love pancakes with peanut butter, chocolate chips and bananas.
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Duarte's Tavern
Duarte's Tavern is like going home for dinner. It has been run by the same family for three generations. The menu is basic roadhouse fare: chops, steaks, deep-fried seafood, French dip sandwich, burgers and fries. There is a salad on the menu somewhere, but you'll have to look closely.
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E
Langer's
Generations of smoked-meat lovers have flocked to this old-school Jewish deli famous for its juicy hot pastrami sandwiches (No 19 with coleslaw and Swiss cheese is the best seller) and fresh chopped liver. The Metro Red Line subway station is right outside.
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F
Peggy Sue's Nifty Fifties Diner
A 15-minute drive north of Barstow, off I-15 exit at Ghost Town Rd, Peggy Sue's has thick milkshakes, chicken-fried steaks, a pizza parlor, a nostalgic candy store and a video arcade full of teens from the nearby military base. It's rowdy.
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G
Nancy's Diner
It's old-school, divey and hard to find, but after a night of partying, there's nothing like Nancy's greasy home-cooking to restore balance to the brain. It's behind a row of stores, near Albertson's supermarket.
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H
Beachcomber Restaurant
It's basically a diner with vinyl booths and a salad bar, but it has full ocean views. Expect fried fish with tartare sauce and iceberg lettuce.
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Wilma's Patio
Wilma's is a family-style institution on Balboa Island serving high-quality diner food in one of the island's original 1920s cottages.
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Dolphin
For fish on the wharf, you’ll get the most bang for your buck at this unpretentious, family-owned diner at pier’s end.
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Burger Lounge
Soul-and-belly-sustaining half-pounders best paired with a bucket of fries gussied up with pesto, garlic or Cajun spices.
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Cinema Cafe
For breakfast, it's hard to resist the chatty, small-town-diner scene at Cinema Cafe.
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Crystal Cove Shake Shack
Stop for a date shake on your way to the park. They're dee-lish.
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