As synonymous with America as apple pie and the open road, diners have been an indelible part of our national consciousness for more than century. While many longstanding establishments continue to carry on the genre's rich traditions of affordable comfort food, Art Deco architecture and folksy service, ambitious newcomers are giving classic diner dishes chef-driven makeovers and expanding our understanding of what a diner can be. With a playing field this broad and diverse, definitiveness is an impossible goal, but these 23 spots represent a panoramic view of today's American diner. -- Roger Kamholz
Sure, you can get a very SoCal breakfast of chicken salad-filled fresh Hawaiian papaya at Harry's. But we're guessing its 50-plus years of service is more thanks to the bacon-studded waffles, warm cinnamon rolls, old-fashioned milk shakes and famously strong joe. harryscoffeeshop.com
Photo © Carolyn Saylor
Touches like the checkered flooring and swiveling, vinyl-topped counter stools give Hopscotch its homey diner bona fides, as do menu favorites like buttermilk fried chicken and the First Base burger (it's layered with griddled beef tongue). But thoughtful cocktails and chef Kyle Itani's grounding in Japanese cuisine--evident in his elegant, roe-topped Yonsei oyster—make this modern diner a foodie destination to boot. hopscotchoakland.com
Photo © Lori Eanes
Chef Monica May and general manager Kristen Trattner took a gamble rehabbing a 1940s-era diner so close to Skid Row, but downtown L.A. has embraced Nickel and its refined (but no less hearty) approach to the classics of American diner-dom. Just try to finish the generous Double Stuffed Chicken. Or better yet, leave room for sweets like Nickel's beloved maple-bacon doughnut. nickeldiner.com
Photo © Kimberli Ransom
Let's be honest, sometimes we seek out diners to nurse a hangover. At Plow, the airy space works in tandem with the comforting food to set you right again. The diner's eponymous dish provides a tour of Plow's breakfast-centric all-day menu, with a combination of two eggs, sausage or bacon, two lemon-ricotta pancakes and the diner's celebrated crispy potatoes. eatatplow.com
Photo © Peter Belanger Photography
Since 1944, all of DC—from the political power broker to the value-conscious everyman—comes to the Florida Avenue Grill for a soul-food fix. Those in the know favor breakfast options (available all day) like hotcakes, biscuits, and fried catfish and grits. floridaavenuegrill.com
Photo © Tammy Gordon
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