Stories from New Jersey Diners: Monuments to Community

by Arcadia Publishing

Overview

Diners are where communities across the Garden State go to celebrate milestones, form lifetime bonds and take comfort in food. Daily life at the counter or in the booth inspires sentimental recollections that reflect the state's spirit and history. Late-night eats fueled Wildwood's wild rock-and-roll days. An entrepreneur traveled eight thousand miles from India and opened a diner in Shamong. From an impromptu midnight wedding in an Elizabeth lunch wagon to a Vietnam veteran sustained by a heartfelt note from a beloved Mount Holly waitress, these are true tales from the soul of New Jersey. Author Michael C. Gabriele documents colorful stories from the Diner Capital of the World.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467139823
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	09/23/2019
Series:	American Palate
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	1,100,623
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

This is Michael C. Gabriele's fourth book on New Jersey history, all published by The History Press. The previous books are (in chronological order): The Golden Age of Bicycle Racing in New Jersey, The History of Diners in New Jersey and New Jersey Folk Revival Music: History and Tradition. A lifelong Garden State resident, he is a 1975 graduate of Montclair State University and has worked as a journalist, freelance writer and author for more than forty years. Gabriele is a member of the board of trustees for the annual New Jersey Folk Festival at Rutgers University and a member of the executive board for the Nutley Historical Society and serves on the advisory board of the Clifton Arts Center. He writes an occasional diner blog for the website Jersey Bites: A Quest for Food with Attitude (https://jerseybites.com) and enjoys exploring the diverse regions of the Garden State.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 9

Introduction: "Nobody Ever Brings Anything Small into a Diner" 11

Stainless Steel Reflections 17

"The Rolling, Jingling, Coffee-Aroma Distributing Lunch Wagon" 23

Northern New Jersey 43

Central New Jersey 101

Southern New Jersey 129

Epilogue: "I Equate Memories with Life" 173

Sources 177

Index 185

About the Author 189

Editorial Reviews

"In his new book, while exploring the concept and construction of diners, Gabriele focuses on the cast of characters within different diners: the owners, the cooks and waitstaff, the regulars, the patrons such as you." Montclair Local

From the Publisher