Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome

Lovers of the diner experience, weep no more. The keepers of the gates of the American bistro have arrived. We have made it our mission to ensure the preservation of the high quality standards that have distinguished the culinary tradition of this land of the free. Due to budgetary restrictions we will probably limit our coverage to the New York metropolitan area, but we're sure with your love and support one day we will be able to extend this enterprise to a natiowide level, so that diner restaurant excellence can no longer be a dream but a reality for every American restaurant patron. Thank you.

Waverly Restaurant

Not to be confused with the Waverly Inn. The former is known to be crammed with stars wall-to-wall, while this one would rather have its celebrities hanging on the wall. That's right, headshots of their most famous patrons grace the walls of this joint, although we have to warn you the faces might be hard to place. As a matter of fact, when surrounded by all remarkably unfamiliar headshots, you'll have a hard time determining whether you're expected to order a meal or a haircut.

This place is cozy, a small venue with limited sitting. The crowd is a mixture of West Village locals, NYU lost souls and random characters. The ample windows allow you to get a great view of cab drivers charmingly misusing 6th Avenue.

As some other diners do, this ones serves food. The food is actually good, albeit on the pricey side (for a diner.) Scones had his way with a Chicken Salad sandwich, although ever so health-conscious he ordered on wheat. I, for the better part, indulged in a handsome burger. I'd like to get into detail about the quality of it but, as I was devouring it, Scones distracted me with this amusing story about this guy who forgot his leg inside a barbecue smoker, so I hardly remember anything other than it was good.

Now, if you're a diner conoisseur, you know that under every menu you can always find a hint at the owner's attempt at culinary glory. Such fine items are usually found in the sea food section and the Waverly Restaurant is no exception. This establishment delight us with such delicacies as Lobster Tails Broiled In Butter Garlic Sauce and Fillet or Sole Florentine with feta, crisp, spinach & herbs.

Its location an proximity to the subway make it no only a convenient place to eat, but to get away from (in case you need to.) It's a good spot to get a cab. Unless it's Halloween. Then it's hard because it's crowded.

Waverly Restaurant

Location:385 6th Ave, Btwn Waverly Pl & 8th St, Manhattan, NY, 10014. Ph. 212-675-3181
Category: Closeted high-end diner.
Stand out plate: We don't know, we always order the same.

Tick Tock Diner

Tick Tock Diner is conveniently located right across the street from Penn Station, maybe in the hopes of welcoming all those naive out of towners who might have no reference as to what a proper New York restaurant meal should look like. Even more, judging by the decor and atmosphere, one might say that the owners were as far as to ignore that fact they were in Manhattan altogether and set out to create Cleveland's nicest diner. We don't mean this in a bad way- this is the kind of place a Manhattanite can go to close their eyes and pretend they're stranded in some exotic Midwest location. That said, the venue is quite clean and big, ideal for those nights of off-site business meetings or post-date-rape anonimity.

Given the location, it's not a surprise that the clientele comes from all corners of the mind. The night we were there we had the privilege to witness a skimpy-clothed young lady being approached by a gentleman. There's no doubt that this gentleman must have thougt her lack of clothing came from a financial distress, because he was so kind as to invite her over to his table where another male friend awaited.

At Tick Tock the quality of the meals ranges from moderate to good to OK. We recommend you stick to their signature wraps, and particularly the California Bean warp which is quite delectable. Actually, it's their only good wrap, forget the other ones. They had the good idea of pairing it with a side of decent nachos complete with a mild salsa, in lieu of the traditional French fries. We were so please with it we overlooked the fact that such 'wrap' is nothing but a burrito.

Through a little bit of eavesdropping with we realized the woman and the guys were quite enthused with the menu as well. They seemed to be quite excited debating over a certain item on the menu, which judging from their expressions seemed to be rather appetizing. However, Scones and I failed to locate this 'Roman Two' plate they kept talking about so we can't tell you what it taste like.

We proceeded to devour our food, as tears of joy streamed down our face, deeply moved by the easy way in which random strangers in Manhattan can get to know each other.


Tick Tock Diner
Location: 481 8th Ave, At 34th St, Manhattan, 10001, 212-268-8444
Category: Pre-train ride bite.
Stand-out dish: California Wrap.