Waterford, NJ
The entrees at the Atco Diner are often not as appealing as what you can get on the side, the locals say.

It's not that the meals aren't mouthwatering.

Dennis Kain, a township resident and regular here, said he jokes to friends that he sold his stove because he's always here.

But Kain and others are also drawn here to catch up on township gossip and gripes. And no one can dish on that better than Dolores "Lori" Toussaint, whose family has owned this White Horse Pike diner for the last 42 years.

She usually holds court behind the lunch counter, barricaded behind rows of candy, gum and other snacks. She's quick to refill a cup of coffee or hustle into the kitchen to get an order. She is just as quick with advice, especially if the problem involves local government, the regulars say.

Groton, CT
A sign from the original Oh Boy diner on Route 184 is framed in the front entrance of the new, modernized version a half-mile further up the road.

On it, the statue of a child holding up a hamburger is reminiscent of the Big Boy restaurant brand, but the boy is wearing striped pants, instead of checkered ones.

John D'Angelo has now taken what his father, Phil D'Angelo, began in the 1950s and given the boy a whole new look.

The new boy is well groomed. His smile is open-mouthed, his cowlick combed down, and suspenders exchanged for a collared shirt.

The diner, too, with its outer-space themes, has a new identity.

D'Angelo hopes his Oh Boy, which was set to open its doors today at 6 a.m., will eventually become a franchise in the state.

Locals, however, will likely remember it as the diner that replaced the longtime Rosie's Diner.

It started out as the A&P Diner, and then the Twin Bridge, which D'Angelo's father also ran, before it became Rosie's.

For some, the Edgemere Diner is a run-down eyesore along a sparse portion of Rte. 20, while others see it as a historic building worth preserving.

The weathered, red and white façade of the traditional looking diner sits at 51 Hartford Turnpike where people generally speed by at 40 mph on their way to or from Worcester.

Although the diner has faced difficult times in recent years, which is evident from the overgrown weeds and cracked pavement defining the parking lot, a local diner enthusiast came forward recently to offer his assistance to the town with its ongoing attempt to sign a new lease for the land.

Greg Anderson, a volunteer with the American Diner Museum of Providence, has been in contact with Town Manger Dan Morgado since learning about the town’s hope for the property.

“The museum would be available to help with trying to find a new home for the diner or a new lease for the land,” said Anderson in a recent interview.

“We’ve rescued many diners over the years from being demolished.”

The museum recently helped a 1939 diner formerly located in Fall River move to a small town in Utah town named Oakley rather than let it be demolished.

By Judy Laurinatis | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette July 19, 2007

It's summer and sometimes writers' fancies turn to road trips on historic highways lined with quirky things to see.

At least that's what happened with two writers who will sign their new books from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at one of those quirky sites -- Ligonier Beach on Route 30 just east of downtown Ligonier in Ligonier Township.

Mr. Wallis, a native of Tulsa, Okla., along with Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Michael S. Williamson, took off on the Lincoln Highway, or U.S. Route 30, from New York City's Times Square to the State Line Truck Stop in Wyoming to the California coast in Sutro Heights.

Some 300 color photos are included in Mr. Wallis' new book. He also wrote "Route 66," which has sold more than 500,000 copies.

Mr. Butko, who edits the magazine Western Pennsylvania History for the Sen. John Heinz History Center, traveled west with his wife, Sarah, on Route 66, stopping at dinosaur parks, the largest ball of twine shrine, the stand dedicated to petrified wood and more.

On the return trip, the couple, who live in West Mifflin, took Route 30, the highway Mr. Butko featured in his earlier book, "Greetings from Lincoln Highway." He has written more than a half-dozen books featuring travel through regional history, including one about Pennsylvania's roadside eateries, "Diners of Pennsylvania."