BUD

DAN

Main Dish

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

There are three features that made this a hit. First, the chicken was breaded. I believe this is a standard expectation for buffalo chicken, but it is not always so. Second, the buffalo sauce: it was thick, comparable to maybe barbecue sauce, and it was fairly spicy but not in the pungent vinegary way you usually get. A+. Finally, it came with blue cheese by default, and in a separate side cup for dipping. So many diners and restaurants use ranch dressing. What kind of lunatic thinks ranch is a better match than blue cheese for buffalo chicken? Sure, you can easily swap it out when you order, but I shouldn’t have to bear such a burden.

Main Dish

Burger Deluxe

For my first entree of my first post of the blog, I decided to go with a tried and true favorite and our blog’s namesake: The Burger Deluxe™. I got a medium-well burger with lettuce and two slices of juicy tomato. A classic.  I felt the burger was cooked a bit more well than I’d have liked (check out that charring), but maybe next time I’ll try for medium. I’m just a simple city girl who doesn’t know how I like my meat cooked. The burger was excellent but, sidenote, they had one of those ketchup bottles and I swear I was slapping that bottle like it owed me money before I finally got out the goods.

Fries

In my perfect world, the only fries that exist are thin shoestring fries, preferably crispy and salty. Most diners do something thicker, resembling a steak fry. They’re usually soft and starchy and need extra salt. At State Line, the dimensions resemble the latter, but they’re very crispy—so, not my ideal, but better than average. They still needed some salt, though.

Fries

Here’s one topic that my darling Buddy is just objectively wrong (along with suggesting cats are better than dogs)—waffle fries are the way to go. These waffle fries were the ones to beat. Seasoned perfectly, not greasy, and lots of those nice end pieces that have the outside of the potato—you know what I’m talking about! I always get myself a side of honey mustard and State Line’s was delicious. Sometimes the diners don’t quite achieve the delicate balance between honey and mustard but State Line nailed it—sweet with a little zing.

Dessert

Brownie Cheesecake

The dessert case was full of the usual options, and we went for brownie cheesecake because we enjoyed it the last time we were here. I don’t think the pictures do justice to how large a slice it was. The diner tour has developed Dan and I into discerning cheesecake connoisseurs, and I think we agreed that this one was excellent. The cheesecake part in particular was a hit—creamy and not grainy, a little tangy—though I liked the brownie and frosting(?) layers less. The sheet of chocolate ganache on top looked delicious, and I’m sure I would have enjoyed it if Dan didn’t eat the whole thing.

Cheesecake, 3½ burgers out of 5. Dan’s sharing skills, ½ burger out of 5.

Dessert

Brownie Cheesecake

Just wrap me up in a blanket of this ganache and leave me to die.

Service

Our waiter, Ari, was outgoing and and attentive. More than once, he refilled my drink before I asked, which is always a pleasant surprise—it felt like he was trying to get me drunk on Diet Coke with lemon. The only demerit is that it took a while for the food to come out. That’s not a dig against Ari or even against the diner overall—it was crowded, and the wait wasn’t unreasonable. But when we visited this diner before, the service was so speedy that we may have been spoiled.

Service

Service was fine. It was incredibly busy and we had three other people in our dining party so the time waiting was appropriate. I never dealt with an empty glass of water and our waiter didn’t forget my side of honey mustard (which happens a lot???). I’d give this category five burgers if the time between us finishing dinner and Ari checking in to see if we wanted dessert wasn’t unusually long.

Value

My sandwich (deluxe, with lettuce, tomato (gross), pickle, cole slaw, and fries) was $9.50, which is pretty typical or a touch cheaper than the usual. But there were free drink refills (which is common but not universal) and—remarkably—the generously sized cheesecake was just $4. Most other places price it around $6 or $7 for the same or smaller size. I’m tempted to give five burgers instead of four and a half, but it feels premature…maybe we’ll find a place where the cheesecake is literally free.

Value

My Burger Deluxe was priced at a cool $8.75, with the waffle fries being $1 extra, which is expected. Like Buddy said, the value of the cheesecake alone makes this a worthwhile trip. It is by far the most inexpensive cheesecake slice we’ve gotten and I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say it’s twice the size of any other diner’s cheesecake slice. Overall, this is one of the best value diners I’ve been to and you don’t need to pay an arm and a leg for a burger and fries, unlike those crooks at Tick Tock Diner (review coming soon!).

Ambience

We were seated at a round table near the front door. It was a little tight—my back was brushing another patron’s chair for much of the night—but not uncomfortably. The table was a little wobbly, and every time Dan rested her elbows it tipped annoyingly toward her. I didn’t tell her at the time, but I guess she knows now.

Bonus points for the warm bread served free before the meal. I can’t think of any other diner where I’ve seen that recently.

Ambience

State Line Diner is clearly THE place to be on a Friday night. I couldn’t believe how crowded it was. That being said, we were sitting all very close to one another as well as each other. I was brushing up against Buddy’s back the entire night, making everyone around us uncomfortable. I actually found it charming how crowded it was. You can tell this place is a local favorite amongst family and friends.

Also, the basket of warm bread before the food came out was delightful.

OVERALL

I found the food excellent (both main dish and dessert), the service friendly (if a little slow on a busy Friday evening), and the prices considerably lower than the norm. I would feel comfortable awarding the elusive five-burger rating if we weren’t still so early in our diner travels.

OVERALL

State Line diner was chosen to be the first diner we’d blog about for a reason—it sets the bar. I always leave with a smile on my face and ketchup all over my shirt. I’m absolutely filthy. If you ever find yourself hungry and up in the lovely city of Mahwah, do yourselves a favor and pop in. While you’re there, be sure to namedrop Bud and Dan. I guarantee they won’t know who we are, but I like knowing that people are namedropping me.