Now this is a great diner. From the road, it looks like it might be one of those lousy retro diners (see our adventures the following day). Not the Tiffany. According to our waitress, this New Jersey gem was built in the 1940's, and has been in business ever since. It's had a couple of renovations, but it still retains all of its original charm. If you look carefully you can see an incomplete aspect of one renovation, as the tile floor meets up with some very old hardwood floors.

I love a diner with a good theme. As the name implies, the Tiffany Diner is decorated throughout with Tiffany-style stained glass. The soft glow of the lamps give the whole place a very warm, homey feel. Every window and every seat is within view of some lovely stained-glass work. Everything is in great shape. It's nice to see a diner that is so well cared for.

I had eaten here twice before, both times with our friend Dr. Randy Margolis. Randy and I loved seeking out classic diners, and we had loved our previous trips to the Tiffany. Unfortunately, Randy passed away a couple of months ago, and this was our first trip back since. Just being there made us all miss him even more. As good as the food was, we definitely missed having him with us. On this trip we had a special set of guests. Scott and AJ Brody, and Cecilia, were with us for breakfast. We made sure to raise our glasses and toast the memory of our departed friend, and even told some funny stories about Randy. Jack loved having his buddy AJ at the table, and the two of them spent most of the meal making faces at each other. Being a little older, AJ stayed in his chair the entire meal while Jack got antsy and spent quite a while wandering the restaurant. We did our best to make sure that he didn't put too much food from the floor in his mouth.

Diner breakfasts are almost always wonderful (the exception being our recent trip to the Stateline). Everybody had huge plates of great food. Most importantly, the Tiffany serves Taylor Ham, and Jason ordered some for Cecilia and AJ to try for the first time. They both loved it, and had a couple of helpings. Bravo to the Tiffany

for serving New Jersey's most important processed meat product!

I would be remiss if I did not mention the coolest little tidbit about the Tiffany. Most diners have pictures over the entrance to the kitchen. I don't know how or when that tradition started, but I can only assume it's for good luck. At most Greek diners you'll see photos of the town where the family originated. At a lot of classic diners you'll see pictures of the Virgin Mary, or Jesus. At the Tiffany, on the right-side of the door they have a signed photo of Vincent Curatola, the actor who played bad-ass New York Crime Boss Johnny Sack on TV's "The Sopranos". Scott and I were so impressed.

Oh, and the black & white cookie was pretty good.

The Tiffany Diner
1045 State RT 17
Ramsey, NJ