Diners, Wawa, Soda

I love diners, especially ones that are open around the clock, are more than fifty years old, and sport lots of chrome. Doesn't matter where they're situated -- urban is as good as way out on Rte. 209, Hwy 61, or Rte. 66. I like diners where the cooks and wait staff wear uniforms, too, like the Melrose Diner in Philadelphia at 16th and Passyunk Avenue.















From The Blob (1958): If it was good enough for Steve McQueen, it's good enough for me. Downingtown Diner, Downingtown, PA.

Old school diners still thrive in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, and are otherwise scattered around the USA. Michigan's version seems to be the ubiquitous Coney, Coney Island, National Coney Island or Coney Island knockoff diners. In the South, the Waffle House is everywhere, along with bigger sitdown Dairy Queen eateries.



Driving in the Keystone Commonwealth? Check out Diners of Pennsylvania by Brian Butko and Kevin Patrick (Stackpole Books, 1999).









Another type of place I love checking out is the convenience store. Philadelphia and the surrounding area features the Wawa store or Wawa Food Markets, similar to 7-11. Why is it named such a weird thing? Because its headquarters are in Wawa, Pennsylvania.

It's intriguing to hear local lingo, too: references like soda, soda pop, pop, soft drink, Coke. Personally, I hate the world "pop" as applied to flavored soda water. There but for the grace of God . . .

I don't drink much of the stuff, but if I do, I'll go for Coke, Cherry Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mr. Pibb, 7-Up, Sprite, Ginger Ale, Root Beer, or Mountain Dew, among others. I loathe diet drinks and would rather have a small sip of the real stuff than a gallon of diet anything. Drinks for quenching thirst and food, I suppose, for thought. More coffee, please.


Next stop: Winn-Dixie and Piggly Wiggly. All aboard!