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Greek-Italian Diners


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Why can't anyone open a diner here like they have in NY?  Where you can order everything from eggs, eggplant rollatini, or souvlaki, etc.

I would argue that the Greek/Italian diner culture is more NJ than NY, but there definitely isn't anything like that around here.

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I would argue that the Greek/Italian diner culture is more NJ than NY, but there definitely isn't anything like that around here.

Yep. And that's just the nature of Washington DC. We weren't established as a commercial port or industrial town -- and thus did not have huge waves of post-industrialization Greek, Italian or Irish immigration. This is why we also don't have a ton of long-held Greek diners, checkered tablecloth Italian... or green Nationals caps :rolleyes:

That said, I'm still able to get my cheap diner fix at Tastee in Silver Spring and Bethesda. Plus some Greek-American and Italian-American cuisine when I'm in the mood for it. There's more in the suburbs. Reason someone can't plop an affordable Jersey style Greek-American diner in the District these days? $$$

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I would argue that the Greek/Italian diner culture is more NJ than NY, but there definitely isn't anything like that around here.

Northern Virginia has a culture of Greek-owned pizzerias, for whatever that's worth, and several diners seem to be Greek-owned - maybe they moved down from NY/NJ. :)

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Before it burned down the Claremont Diner in Verona, NJ might have been the largest of all;  Diner in the front, restaurant in the back-> huge  Friends of mine from NY used to come across the river to eat there  (okay, so they grew up near this place--but they still drove through tons of traffic and across the river to get there)

Diner in the front, big restaurant in the rear.  The diner was indistinguishable from other diners as I recall; breakfasts, coffee, pastries, burgers, fries, sandwiches.   It wasn't Greek owned as so many others, but from the diner side who could tell.

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Well, not to get too fine tuned here but its Manhattan that's never had a big diner culture, not all of NYC.  Brooklyn has literally had hundreds of them & I still have 3 in my immediate neighborhood (like a 10 block radius).  All Greek owned, all with far reaching menus.  Some with decent food.

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