12 Classic Diner Foods That Deserve to Be Instagram Famous

Let me take you back to a time when selfies with food weren’t a thing, and marvels weren’t made to look pretty, but economically and practically styled with a hint small-town warmth. While food fads are garnering the attention of the masses, tried and true diner food should get its time to shine. Food that can teach those overpriced Instagram pics a thing or two about real American food culture.

1. The Perfect Patty Melt

One of the greatest American culinary masterpieces is the patty melt. This dish is a proud creation of the flat top grill. The ideal melt uses a combination of ground beef, sweet and savory caramelized onions, and gooey Swiss cheese, all encased in beautifully toasted rye bread. It’s not just a cheeseburger with a twist; rather, it embodies the spirit of burger innovation so crucial to American history.

2. Mile-High Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon meringue pie must have otherwise unremarkable diners to be complete. The combo of the tangy lemon curd with the airy meringue peak is a classic combo no modern dessert can replicate. Every worthwhile diner had a secret recipe for their meringue pies, and you can bet they all made that pie fresh every day.

3. Blue Plate Meatloaf Special

In every American diner, dessert was leftovers from the malt on a Thursday meatloaf night. The diner would serve a meatloaf plate with mashed potatoes, gravy, and veggies for comfort food and left over dessert from the milkshake. The best meatloaf would have glaze on the tangy side, with edges that were crispy enough to fight over.

4. Hand-Spun Chocolate Malts

Real chocolate malts were metal cup, metal mixing bowls, straws and long spoons and a real diner experience, not replicated with blenders and hamilton beach mixers.

5. Hot Turkey Manhattan

Open face turkey manhattans were marvels of construction, sliced turkey and bread smothered with house made gravy, the gravy had to be just the right thickness to coat the back of a spoon and the turkey sliced the paper thin. Some places, for that extra touch of home, added a cranberry.

6. Chicken Fried Steak

Any good diner cook would have to master breaded, fried, and peppered cream gravy cube steak. The breading had to be crispy enough to not overwhelm the meat and stand up against the gravy. Served with eggs and hashbrowns, it was the breakfast of champions.

7. Hash Browns, Extra Crispy

The sound of the seasoned flat top was music to my ears. The potatoes that made the noise were greasy enough to shine and tender inside. If scattered, smothered, and covered was a description it was a prayer.

8. Classic Club Sandwich

Toasted bread, turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato all secured by those special toothpicks that have a bit of colored plastic on top. The measure of a great club was how well it stayed together when you bit into it. Those little triangles were marvels of engineering.

9. Rice Pudding

Good rice pudding was worth the journey to the diner. Creamy, with a hint of vanilla and plump raisins, and topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a dollop of whipped cream made it a five-star pudding. Who can say no to that Comfort Food?

10. Tuna Melt Deluxe

A good tuna melt was a work of art. The chef had to find the right balance with the tuna salad, perfectly oversee the melting of the cheese, and grill the bread just right. If a thick slice of tomato and some crispy lettuce was added, you had yourself a perfectly balanced meal.

11. Hot Open-Faced Roast Beef

Tender sliced roast beef smothered in gravy. Roast beef sandwiches were a worthy knife and fork affair and the best ones came with a ton of mashed potatoes to soak up all the gravy.

12. Banana Cream Pie

Fresh whipped cream, a flaky crust, and layers of fresh bananas and vanilla custard. Not just dessert; it was a dream slice of America. It was the best diners who made them daily. The regulars knew when to come in for the first slice.