Salem Diner

70 Loring Ave., Salem, MA - (978) 741-7918

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Posted By Michael Stern on 10/22/2000 5:47:00 AM

If you are an aficionado of the classic American roadside diner, put the Salem Diner on your must-visit list. It is a blue-plate beauty, opened for business on July 3, 1941, and built to look as futuristic as a streamliner locomotive or airplane. At the time, it was the height of modern design. Sixty years later, it has become a relic of a time when going places fast seemed the ultimate sign of progress, and it is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

An antiques expert would call this place “unrestored,” meaning it has been worn smooth by time and NOT refurbished to its original gleam. It remains an eye-popping structure with its cornerless rounded end that seems to be peeking out onto the road as you drive north on Route 1A just past a large liquor store (which apparently owns all the good parking spots). Inside, its green mosaic tiny-tile floor and curving barrel roof evoke a million hash-house meals of days gone by.

Breakfast can be close to instantaneous, especially if you have a counter seat where the plates are virtually slid to their destination and the coffee flows without end. We like the Spanish omelet, a neat, peppery egg package, with toast and potatoes. At dinner, you can eat such hash-house archetypes as meat loaf or liver and onions, lamb shank, roast pork, or stuffed peppers. On occasion, the menu will list American chop suey, the old New England way of stretching ground beef with noodles, tomatoes, and spice (what some other parts of the country might call chili).

Hours of operation at the Salem Diner are suited to working people: open at 5:30am, closed before 8pm.

Scorecard

Overall: One of the Best - Worth a Trip

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Reviewers Photos [Upload Your Photos]

"A roadside classic built by the Sterling Company to resemble a moving locomotive"
Michael Stern

"Even the insides of the Salem Diner are streamlined. Note the curving roof."
Michael Stern