Big Daddy's Diner in NYC, NY
I love diners: they represent something I associated with the US during my childhood as I watched a lot of American series where there would be a scene at a booth, as characters were enjoying milkshakes (introduced in France by MacDonald’s and Ben & Jerry’s) or burgers (well also introduced by fast food chains although when a kid I did not like ground meat and always settled for a filet’o fish...). So I was excited to try Big Daddy’s Diner near Union Square: the neon and walls covered with American TV series names, singers, etc, giving a particular feel to the place.
The menu is also very interesting and fun, focusing mainly on big shakes, burgers and fried chicken sandwiches.
Dining room at Big Daddy's Diner in NYC, NY
Trivial Pursuit cards at Big Daddy's Diner in NYC, NY
Comfort food for sure, but comfort only on the menu. We should have had a hint when it took them time to seat us: at least they should have acknowledged we were there and let us know they had to clean a table first. Quite basic. Then, the food was subpar: Jodi had a vegetarian burger that was mushy and my Mac ‘n Grilled cheese was horrible; it looked more like two pieces of toasted bread with a bit of Mac and cheese in between. When you think about grilled cheese, you think about bread grilled on a skillet in butter and delicious charred cheese. There, they promise on their menu some oozing cheese sauce: they did not deliver.
Mac'n grilled cheese at Big Daddy's Diner in NYC, NY
Veggie burger at Big Daddy's Diner in NYC, NY
Mac'n grilled cheese at Big Daddy's Diner in NYC, NY
Veggie burger at Big Daddy's Diner in NYC, NY
At least the fries and tater tots were good, but I am sure I can do the same job with frozen products...
Tater tots at Big Daddy's Diner in NYC, NY
French fries at Big Daddy's Diner in NYC, NY
The service was also not good: they did not check on us, forgot to bring utensils and took forever to take our order or bring the food (the bill came faster though and fortunately, they had Trivial Pursuit cards at the table to let time pass), to the point that we decided to forget about dessert as it would have taken to so long that my parents would have alerted the authorities wondering where I was! Too bad: we wanted to try the S’mores waffles that looked promising and hopefully would have been a bit of a highlight. So the experience at Big Daddy’s Diner is unforgettable in a forgettable place where I am not ready to go back soon.
Enjoy (the post only)!
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Big Daddy’s Diner- 239 Park Avenue South, NY 10003
