I was in Bennington VERY briefly this summer. I didn't have time to stop at the Blue Benn. I wish I had timed things better and been able to have lunch there.

Museum is good, though. I completely rethought Grandma Moses.

They probably exist out here on the west coast, but I haven't found any. Other than the faux-Fifties shiny kind. The ecological niche is filled places like Denny's, Shari's, and Elmer's. (And truckstop places like the "Buckhorn" chain.)

Two kind of diners deserve the name:

* Tin shacks like the one my parents and I had lunch at last week. (EZ-Way Diner, on route 17 NW of Middletown, NY.)

* "Greek Diners," as often as not now run by Russians. These are standard buildings with very, very elaborate (Read: entertainingly tasteless) decor. Like blown glass jellyfish lamps and LCD screens built into the walls running aquarium software (East Bay Diner, Merrick Road, Seaford NY).

I suspect that the Blue Benn is an especially elaborate tin shack.

I have a menu here in my cube from a "Greek" diner. The Neptune, which may or may be out of business. I got it from a Tin Shack diner (the Old Port, Port Jefferson NY) when it closed about fifteen years ago. The owner, an Egyptian fellow named Mansour, kept it as a sort of cheat sheet of what a fancy diner should serve. (He served a last dinner to the members of the Stony Brook Science Fiction Forum after the place closed its doors. Cooked and eaten by candlelight, because the electricity had been cut off.)

I keep the menu to show co-workers what a real diner is. Four laminated pages, more than legal-sized and densely packed, plus four inserts listing Specials.

Omigosh, the food was yummy, as was the hot cider. And then, later, the candies from the Confectionery? Oh, yes, please, thank you. I heartily echo Melissa's recommendation.

Stefan - if you're ever in Silverton, Oregon (east of I-5, up in the hills), there is (or was last time I passed through) a little hole-in-the-wall on the main drag (all two blocks of it) whose name escapes me but they make a drinkable cup of Just Plain Ol' Coffee and passably good diner food.

You won't find them in the large cities - you have to get an hour or so away from the freeway, up on the back roads, in towns too small to sport a fast food franchise. There's always someplace where the coffee is plain and a bunch of wary old guys in overalls look every stranger up, down and sideways - but that's where the good food hides.

After thinking about diner food, I have this most incredible jones for some kind of pot pie.

There's a Trader Joe on the way home. I should probably see if they have something along those lines.

(In LA, for example, there's Clifton's Cafeteria, Cole's P.E. Buffet, Original Pantry, Philippe the Original, and Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles.)

Clifton's, Cole's, Original Pantry, and Phillipe's (100 years this week!) are all in downtown Los Angeles. Roscoe's is in a couple of places and it is a fabulous place to eat.

Phillipe's is famous for the french dip sandwiches, cheap coffee, long tables to sit at, and sawdust all over the floor. They had quite a celebration and served over 1,000 free sandwiches in less than 4 hours on their 100th anniversay.

By the way, our ex-mayor Richard Riodan is one of the owners of Original Pantry.

Roscoe's in Pasadena is where I first had the marvelous combination (amd their biggest seller) of fried chicken on a waffle covered with maple syrup.

The best place to eat in LA is a nice little Jewish deli in the Valley. Brent's Delicatessen won 5 stars from Zagat more than once, but it's just a deli. I usually have either a California Club sandwich with the best steak fries ever or a Monte Cristo sandwich. If you're ever in LA, I'd be glad to take you there or to Roscoe's for lunch or dinner.

I keep thinking I should write to AB and try to get him to come north and do a series on places like The Blue Benn, the Vt Confectionery, and here: http://www.lakesidefarmscidermill.com/

I would head down toward McMinnville or follow 99W toward Salem and scour the boarded-up main streets looking for the places that are still open.

It's what I mostly go by. Have for years, and not just with Macdonald.

(We also, on occasion, call each other by our old SCA names, because that was what we were doing when we met.)

I second Philippe's for the french dips. The lamb is very good. The back room has some actual booths and a lot of railroad photographs and memorabilia. Their mustard is hot and sweet.

The closest thing in Olympia (The Spar) got McMinnamoned.

Annie's Donut Shop
Dan & Louis Oyster Bar
Fuller's Coffee Shop
Halibut's
Nick's Famous Coney Island
Otto's Sausage Kitchen
Voodoo Doughnuts

I'll be thinking on diner food later.

Presumably Voodoo Doughnuts falls under the "Much Much More" in the subtitle.

Somewhere I still have the T-shirt, I expect...

Actually, what I'd really like is some place that does proper Southern food, within a reasonable approximation of driving distance of Mountain View. My wife once had actual honest-to-religion North Carolina barbecue (and greens and fried okra and all that, no less) in Chicago, so I know it's physically possible to export the stuff, but I haven't found it in this area yet, after more than a decade out here.

(Somehow, I'm pretty sure the combination Chinese take-out and "Southern Barbecue" place up the street isn't it.)

I don't so much want the barbecue, really, though some Brunswick stew like Stamey's makes would be nice, as the country ham and biscuits and peach cobbler that the National Park Concessions restaurant at Mabry Mill sells as their "daily" special.

There's a Famous Dave's in Gilroy

"Sausage is one of earth's divine pleasures, and we're rolling in it."

Takes a minute to load, but worth the wait!

The only good barbecue place I know in California is in West LA/Culver City. It's a bit south of Washington and has terrible parking... can't remember the address since we'd always walk or carpool there. A neighbor insisted that a barbecue place up around Motor and Motor (the spot where it makes a sharp left turn) was also good. This knowledge leads me to think that you'd find good barbecue in mixed Hispanic/black neighborhoods that are mostly blue collar workers.

And Roscoe's is definitely one of the things I miss about LA. Not a diner, but the food is great.

For BBQ, let me recommend Trail Dust in Morgan Hill. The decor is faux country cute, but the smoked meat is real.

[all locations named are in the San Francisco Bay Area, California]

I think it's one I've lost -- I prefer Lexington style, but the rest of the U.S. thinks North Carolina barbecue means Eastern style, with the vinegar sauce. (Also people laugh at me when I say "pig pickin'." They don't think it's real.)

And Brooks, did you know that when W visited Greensboro, he went to Stamey's? I was living just a few blocks from Stamey's at the time and almost wished I'd been there.

Famous Dave's is okay for a chain, but that isn't the same thing as being a real barbecue joint; those are almost always one-offs. Running one isn't so much a job as a vocation.

I remember being a kid on vacation at my Grandma's house, in north-eastern Arkansas. We went out to pick up some barbeque. It was someplace on the outskirts of town (east of town, I think). Everything was handled outside. We weren't that far from the pit, and you got your order in an old glass jar. I suspect the jar used to hold something rather more potent than barbeque...

I have to throw a plug in for Famous Dave's... Dave is a Minnesota Native American who has contributed millions to the company I both work and volunteer for. He's made life more livable for hundreds of Minnesota's homeless.

We don't share B-B-Q philosophy (I favour slow cooking drenched in sauce), but Mel and I eat there occasionally out of gratitude...

We were not mistaken.

As far as chains go, I think these are best when they're local chains, and are all run by the extended family.

Thank Cthulhu I'd already eaten lunch. I've been trying to remember which Lonely Planet episode in South America featured Justine and the guinea pig. Could have been Peru.

(A word to our moderators: Could "Cthulhu" be placed in the spelling list?)

If you are ever in Oshkosh, NE, the Korner Kitchen has the best burgers I've ever eaten that I didn't grill myself. They close early, though. If you go to Eddie's Supper Club in Great Falls, MT (mentioned in Roadfood) order the prime rib.