BUD

DAN

Main Dish

Buffalo Chicken Wrap

I went in with buffalo chicken on the mind (which really describes my mind most days in most places), but the menu almost swayed me away. Several sections have super corny themes that seemed like they’d be just a delight to order. Sure I’d love grilled chicken with American cheese and tomato on a bagel—I mean a Barbara Streisand. What about a cobb chicken wrap? Oh, a P. Diddy! (By the way, he goes by Brother Love now. Please update the menu.)

It also bears noting that Pilgrim’s variety of bread options is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Of the chicken sandwiches, two come on the classic hard roll (safe), one on focaccia (a little daring), one on an Italian roll (ok, I’ll take it), one on pita (odd), one on a bagel (what in tarnation), and one on an English muffin (I can’t even). Our waiter said that most people sub-out the more unusual styles for a plain old hard roll—which I completely understand, though if I had ordered a chicken sandwich I think I may have tested whatever the recommended bread style was.

The buffalo chicken wrap I ordered was tasty and I think they did it right. Breaded chicken, lettuce, and—a nice surprise—crumbled blue cheese. I don’t remember seeing that in a long time, and it adds pleasant little bursts of smooth texture and sour flavor. I used the blue cheese dipping sauce a little more sparingly, and it worked out. I did notice that there was very little heat to the buffalo sauce; I don’t need five-alarm spice but the whole point of blue cheese is that it complements and offsets the heat. Also, I sensed an odd sort of floral or fruity note, which I thought at first was a feature of the hot sauce and then decided it had to do with the blue cheese and now I think it’s just because I have a bit of a cold. We may never get to the bottom of it.

Main Dish

Jets Burger

Oh, he’s going by Brother Love now? Happy for him, but now I’m going to need to update my baby name book because I like that better than Buddy Jr.

As for myself, look, I had a long week. I have the flu. I moved. My dog has diarrhea. I wanted something certain, something predictable. I wanted a burger. Pilgrim Diner had one of my favorites—beef burger, mozzarella, mushrooms, and fried onions. BUT IT ALSO HAD PEPPERS! I was like, this is too good to be true. Well, readers…it was.

So here’s the thing, the burger…the beef part itself was one of the best diner burgers I’ve ever had. There was no grease, it wasn’t over cooked, it was a nice 1/3 lb. (perfect burger size, IMHO). I could eat this burger every day. Our very friendly waiter boasted about what high quality ingredients Pilgrim Diner uses, and it definitely showed in this beautiful meat patty.

Half the burger made me realize Heaven is a Place on Earth (by Belinda Carlisle). The other half made me realize that “high quality ingredients” don’t necessarily correlate to high quality flavor. As I mentioned, the burger was topped with onions, mushrooms, peppers, and mozzarella. Well, it might as well have been topped with lettuce, lettuce, lettuce, and mozzarella. I think all of the toppings were sautéed in a nice blend of water, and steam from that water. Nothing had a hint of flavor and they all tasted watery and spongy. I was very disappointed with how flavorless the add-ons were, because they can upgrade a burger from good to out-of-this-world good.

Fries

I had to sprinkle a bit of salt, but otherwise these fries were very good. There were a few soft ones that Dan was happy to take off my hands, but generally they had a good crispiness without being downright crunchy. They reminded me a little of fast-food fries.

Fries

This was one of the few times I’ve ever regretted getting waffle fries over classic diner fries. The waffle fries were enormous and very good. Not greasy, not too crispy. Good texture.

But Bud’s fries. They were these beautiful pale fries with the rustic edges on them. Oh man, and some of them were all soft!

Either way you’re in for a good fry experience, but if you have to choose, go with the classic. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

Dessert

Strawberry Cheesecake

What Pilgrim lacks in variety, they make up for in quality. We saw the usual array of cakes but were really set on cheesecake, and in that area they could offer only three choices: plain, strawberry, or pumpkin. Dan was not feeling pumpkin (she said she doesn’t like that flavor but really I think she didn’t want to look basic), and plain is just not exhilarating enough for thrill-seekers like us, so we took the strawberry. It was so creamy that it looked virtually melted onto the plate. They omitted whipped cream, and the strawberries were maybe a touch too light, but otherwise I have no complaints. Also, there wasn’t a proper crust but rather the rim was dusted with some kind of crumbs, which I really liked.

Dessert

Strawberry Cheesecake

Bud, when have I ever hesitated to look basic? I just don’t like pumpkin! I’m as basic of a white girl as they come, otherwise! (Basic is the word kids use nowadays for “ugly,” right?)

This may have been the best strawberry cheesecake I’ve had since the diner blog started. If it was just one step creamier, I’d have to mix it into my coffee. It was so soft and rich and not too sweet. It was the absolute perfect mix of everything that makes a cheesecake a beautiful dessert. I haven’t had much of an appetite this week because of the flu, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t clean the plate because I just couldn’t stop eating this masterpiece.

As Bud mentioned, they could’ve spared like two more strawberries, though.

Service

I was disappointed to see that Pilgrim’s reviews on a lot of social media are mediocre or even poor—yet the one area it always excels is service. Our experience with the service was no different. Our waiter was Tom, and not only was he just a nice guy, but he’s the greatest cheerleader for his employer I think I’ve ever met. When me and Dan ordered, he approved our choices with great gusto and promised we wouldn’t be disappointed. Later, we somehow got on the topic of the diner’s history, and he told us about how it’s changed over the years and maybe looks a bit dated and rundown (you’re right, Tom) but the food and prices are as great as ever. Sometimes I don’t like a chatty waiter, but this was really nice. (Also, the food came out super fast.)

Service

Tom looks like he could kick my ass and I’d probably thank him for it.

Tom looks like heHe had this really rough-looking demeanor. Like a villain in a movie kinda look. This guy though, ended up being the friendliest waiter we’ve ever had. And, as Bud mentioned, he took such pride in his job and the establishment he works for. It was really an amazing experience to see someone work with such detail and dedication, and joviality. He talked to Bud and I like we were long-lost friends. His attitude toward his job was really inspiring, to be honest.

Value

Tom also mentioned that the menu hasn’t changed much in years—and he didn’t mean just the fare. The prices were remarkably low. My wrap with fries, cole slaw, and pickle was $9.25. The total bill was around $25. And the soda refills were free! What a time to be alive.

Value

I got a burger for $7.25 that would have EASILY been $14 at another diner. Between Bud and I, we got two entrees, one soft drink, and one dessert, and the bill was a hair over $25. I don’t think we can ever beat this diner on value. This diner has been around for a “very very long time,” it opened “a long, long time ago, has been there for years” (according to answered Google questions). Though I would have preferred an actual date, my point still stands: you don’t need to have high-end restaurant prices to stay afloat (COUGHTICKTOCK). You have good food, good staff, and a good reputation, and the hungry patrons will come. Pilgrim Diner has very likely not changed their prices in 10, 20 even, years, and they’re still a successful and impressive establishment.

Ambience

Look, let’s be clear: Pilgrim Diner is no Northvale or River Edge, and certainly no Candlewyck. The décor is fresh from 1992, and it’s seen neither an update nor a repair since. The prevailing style, with the wood and upholstery, is Grandparent Chic. There’s this weird foursquare of circular booths and the soundtrack is weird elevator-music covers. But despite what our friends and family think, Dan and I actually are not fancy, high-class people. The ambience was unimpressive but I was fine with it.

Ambience

Pilgrim Diner looks like one of those steakhouses filled with cigar smoke that all the mobsters meet at to discuss their goumads. I told Bud that if this place closed down, it could get turned into a steakhouse overnight. It had the music, the darker lighting, the wood…everything.

It was cute though, first diner I’ve seen like this. Despite its worn-from-years-of-use spots on tables, and a tear in the fabric of some of the seats, it showed a lot of care and pride is taken in maintaining this diner and keeping the place beautiful.

OVERALL

I had never heard of Pilgrim Diner before it popped up on a Google search of the local area, but I’ve now advised Dan that I’d be happy if it were to become our local diner of choice. The wrap didn’t blow me away, but everything else was so well done that I’m sure everything will be great next time.

OVERALL

This diner is by no means impressive in any one category by itself. But when put all together, this made for the best diner experience I’ve had since we started the blog. No, since ever. I loved this diner. There’s such an amazing feeling of warmth and friendliness and unpretentiousness. I felt like I’ve been going to this diner and talking to Tom for years despite it being our first time ever.

Because of some sickness and a big move for me and Bud, we’ve slacked big time on the blog. I’m glad that after the two-week hiatus, this was the diner we started back with.