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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: THE CAMELLIA GRILL
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more classic greasy spoon than The Camellia Grill. The
diner has been up and running for some 70 years, minus a temporary closure post–
Hurricane Katrina. All of the seating is at a luncheonette-style counter that snakes its
way around an open-concept kitchen, invoking a real sense of camaraderie among
patrons. The servers are known for their friendly demeanors and longevity; the most
tenured waiter served for 50 years before his retirement in 1996.
On the Menu:
You’ll find all the standard, no-frills diner fare; favorites include grilled
cheeseburgers; massive, fluffy omelets (especially the chili-drenched kind); and the
chocolate pecan pie (a la mode, of course).
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: VICKIE’S DINER
Located on Las Vegas Boulevard, just north of the Strip, 24-hour Vickie’s Diner sits in
the corner of a building that has largely been unchanged for the last 60 years. Inside are
just a handful of red vinyl seats lined up at a counter, with Tiffany-style lamps hanging
from the ceiling, giving it the vibe of a bygone era.
On the Menu:
Recently rebranded from its original name, Tiffany’s Cafe, Vickie’s still
serves up the mammoth portions of fuss-free comfort food (think giant one-pound
burgers and old-school dishes such as liver and onions) that the location has been mak-
ing for years. It’s also great for breakfast fare, from pillowy omelets slathered in cheese
to chicken-fried steak soaked in gravy with eggs.
The first diner dates back to 1858,
when a part-time pressman named
Walter Scott decided to supplement
his income by selling sandwiches
and coffee to late-night newspaper
workers in Providence, Rhode
Island. The service became so popu-
lar that, by 1872, he quit his job to
sell food full-time from a horse-
drawn carriage.
The idea took off even further,
inspiring larger manufacturing com-
panies to begin constructing lunch
wagons to sell to would-be vendors.
These improved wagons allowed
patrons to dine indoors. They prolif-
erated so much, towns and cities
began to crack down with new regu-
lations. To circumvent this, owners
staked out semi-permanent loca-
tions in order to maintain the late
hours that made diners so popular
in the first place.
By the 1920s, diners had devel-
oped a reputation for serving cheap
food in less-than-tidy settings.
Looking to boost business and
appeal to a wider swathe of society
(particularly women), many owners
cleaned up their establishments and
began to offer booth service.
Manufacturers added indoor bath-
rooms and tables to their designs
and, looking to impart a more
upscale image, adopted the railroad-
car look and the term “diner,” a nod
to dining cars onboard trains. The
classic streamline design was intro-
duced in the 1930s, and remains a
symbol of Americana today.
HISTORY OF THE DINER
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