French Fry Diary 253: The Legendary Melrose Diner

Everyone of a certain age in the Philadelphia area knows the Melrose Diner. If not from living in the neighborhood and actually hanging out and eating there, then from the jingle that accompanied their radio commercials, "Everyone who knows, goes to Melrose..."

After one of the Philadelphia Wings games this past season, a group of us (The Bride, her sister, and friends Judi and Marc) wanted to grab a bite and talk. The Melrose was convenient, so we took in this historic landmark for some grub - including the favorite fried food.

The legendary Melrose Diner has a wonderful smell inside that fills you with joy as soon as you open the doors. It's the true scent of a good diner - pie and chocolate, nothing beats it. Our very helpful, friendly and entertaining waiter Nick took good care of us that night. It should also be noted that the tight booths of the Melrose are sooo not for larger folks. One would assume if you eat too much there, after a while you'll have to go somewhere else with bigger booths.

Marc was nice enough to let me get a photo of his fries and let me try some, so I ordered the home fries for myself, so I could get a double dose of the favorite fried food this trip. I couldn't convince anyone to order the onion rings though, maybe next time. The fries were old school crinkle cuts that tasted baked even though they were probably deep-fried. I could also see that the staff was making extensive use of a microwave in sight. It didn't matter, this was comfort food at its best in one of the area's greatest diners.

As I said, I ordered the home fries, or as Nick called them, the hash browns. These were shredded potatoes fried in what tasted like yummy bacon grease - the old fashioned way. They were really really good and I cleaned my plate. As an added bonus, they had crushed ice in the Cokes. Really, how can you lose? Good friends, good times, I'll be back to the Melrose.

French Fry Diary 32: Olga’s Diner 1949-2009

Originally it was located in Camden NJ and first opened in 1949. In 1960 they opened the location most people know it by on the circle where Route 73 and Route 70 meet. For sixty years Olga’s Diner was a South Jersey icon and landmark.

Whether you were on your way to Philadelphia or down the shore, Olga’s was the place you met and got together – though if you were local it was not necessarily the place you ate. Being open twenty-four hours it was sometimes where you ended up at four in the morning.

At one time the food must have been good. Supposedly the bakery was legendary. But for as long as I’ve been aware of Olga’s it was not the place to eat. Maybe get coffee or a Coke (although I think they gave you Pepsi no matter what you asked for) but nothing else.

For those wondering about the favorite fried food, they were typical diner fare. Regular straight cuts, probably frozen and then deep fried, and they were replaced by those awful Invisicoat things when that came into style. Bad fries to match the rest of the place.

It has been in serious decline the last decade. Closed due to health violations, pest problems (when it snowed you could clearly see the rats running in the parking lot), seriously defeated by the vastly superior Medport Diner down the road in Medford and the recent Marlton Diner right up the street, for sale several times, seized due to backtaxes, and now, possibly, finally dealt the deathblow of the Circle being demolished to facilitate a cloverleaf.

It looks as if now it will soon be torn down, and South Jersey will lose a friendly and familiar if tarnished landmark. I don’t know if there really ever was an Olga, but we’ll miss her and her Diner. Rest in peace.